All the great politicians and legislators I’ve known over the course of my career in Congress were different. They were masters of the rules, or unassailably knowledgeable about a given issue, or supremely watchable orators. But they also shared key traits that I wish more elected officials possessed. For starters, the great politicians I’ve met […]
All the great politicians and legislators I’ve known over the course of my career in Congress were different. They were masters of the rules, or unassailably knowledgeable about a given issue, or supremely watchable orators. But they also shared key traits that I wish more elected officials possessed.
For starters, the great politicians I’ve met enjoyed the game, and they worked on the skills needed to play it well. They were good speakers and adroit persuaders, whether on the floor of the Congress or sitting in a supporter’s living room with a dozen strangers.
They also embraced a life in politics because they believed they could make a difference. They had confidence in themselves, their ideas, and their ability to find their way out of tough spots. They were not dismayed by the give and take of politics — if anything, they relished it.
The great politicians I knew could master legislative detail. Serious legislating requires mind-numbing work. Effective legislators not only don’t mind this, they see it as an opportunity to put their imprint on the law.
Many of the strongest political leaders I met over the years had a passion for leadership. We have 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 senators; they’re already leaders. So the people who in turn rose to the top of those ranks had something extra — they wanted to be leaders of the leaders.
And not just in Congress. Their attitude toward the presidents they served with was interesting. They had a deep respect for the office of the presidency, but they insisted that the president display equal respect for Congress. They took the idea of a co-equal branch of government seriously.
They applied the same sensibility to their colleagues. They were serious about strengthening the institution from the inside. They sought to build its capabilities — for research and analysis, for oversight, and for all the capabilities a branch of government charged with making policy might need.
Lee Hamilton is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years, representing a district in south central Indiana.
