'EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES'

I went recently to a state hearing on the Clean Election Act. A panel of about a dozen legislators sat in a small, boiling-hot room. Rhode Island politicians have a way of slicking down their hair so that even if they aren't wearing toupees, it still looks like they are. (Even barbers should be able to get elected to political office, I remembered Chen's saying, and thought that this reform could not come soon enough.) They asked some good and pointed questions. They listened intently to what supporters of the legislation had to say. It's hard to know whether this was in fact all for show, since they know the bill doesn't have much chance of passing. Chen told me she recently went to one legislator's office to pitch him on Clean Elections. After hearing her out, there was a pause. Then he started laughing.

© 2005