How Washington Works

Questions
1. Why is the theme that Washington is disconnected from the country a misleading notion?
2. Does this short work week actually help create more time? Do Congressmen actually take advantage of this time?
3. Why is it surprising that Washington is open to newcomers?
4. Does discovering what tiny fragment of power Congressmen grasp surprise them?
5. Why is the nations destiny set in Washington?
6. How is the conceit of Washington like the conceit of Paris or Moscow?
7. What is the difference between constant dollars and current dollars?
8. Why is the Department of Transportation pronounced "D-O-T" and never 'dot'?

Facts/Details
1. Washington is different, but not isolated
2. Congress works a short week in Washington (Monday to Friday) to give members more time with constituents
3. Those who arrive to serve in Congress learn to live in two worlds (hometowns and states and in the special world of the capital)
4. To get more power, newcomers make alliances, join groups, get appointed to committees, make contacts with the press, and find friends in the administration
5. Potomac fever - the incurable addicting of wielding political power or feeling at the political center
6. Very few politicians go home to retire or make money. Most stays in Washington and become lawyers, lobbyists or consultants because they've grown accustomed to Washington's ways
7. Power is the aphrodisiac- the special brand of federal power that is Washington's monopoly.
8. Political Washington is a special community with a culture all its own
9. The city and suburbs of Washington are encircled by a sixty-four-mile freeway loop know as the beltway
10. Many people treat the work politician as a synonym for hypocrisy