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By The Hill Editors
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Posted: 07/27/07 05:19 PM [ET] |
Interviewing Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is challenging. He does not like to be interrupted and has no qualms about answering a question by criticizing its foundation.
Frank is certainly media-accessible, but he is not a backslapping politician who enjoys small talk. When The Hill interviewed him at his office recently, we started off by saying, “Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us and — ”
“Just go,” Frank said, dispensing with niceties and urging us to get right to it.
Frank listened to the first question as he looked at the papers on his desk and opened an envelope. But soon thereafter, he was sitting back in his chair, talking about the bills he is pursuing as chairman of the Financial Services Committee.
It is clear Frank is enjoying his new role, especially after being in the minority for a dozen years. He has had his eye on a run for the upper chamber, but with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) reelected in 2006 and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) running for a fifth term this cycle, Frank is likely to be wielding a House gavel for the foreseeable future.
For the most part, lawmakers, like Washington-based journalists, are either policy wonks or political animals. Frank, however, is one of the few who can comprehend the minutiae of legislative text while being acutely aware which way the political winds are blowing.
Frank revealed in the interview that he was concerned he lacked a policy grasp on certain issues essential to leading the Banking Committee, saying, “I had more power than knowledge.”
That admission is refreshing on two levels. Rarely does such a powerful lawmaker concede that he isn’t up to speed. Frank said he dived into books and policy papers, adding that the first couple months of his chairmanship were stressful.
Secondly, when is the last time a panel chairman said publicly that he doesn’t need any more power than he already has?
Frank said he respects House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and claimed she has evolved from her “girly” public persona while in the minority. He went so far as to predict that Pelosi would be the first genuinely successful Speaker since Rep. Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.).
Minutes later, as the House bells tolled for an imminent vote on the floor, the interview ended. As we exited, there was no discussion about the weather or the chairman’s vacation plans for the August recess. Frank is not the warmest legislator on Capitol Hill, but he is among the most genuine.
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