My father taught me a lesson critical to my career as a political reporter: don’t romanticize Washington, DC.
We moved there from Berkeley in 1953 after his appointment as assistant attorney general. One summer day, before high school classes had started, he told me to put on a suit and come for a ride.
At the Justice Department, I met J. Edgar Hoover, whose name I recognized. At the Capitol, I met Senators of both political parties. It was all very cordial. But, as we drove home, my father explained, “I just want you to know that powerful people put their pants on one leg at a time, just like we do.” He also prescribed what I’ve learned is a High-Holidays teaching: “Judge them by what they do, not what they say.”
When school began, my classmates were mostly the sons and daughters of Democrats, who’d been dominant for so long, and one said, ”Why would your father be a Republican?” When I asked, Dad said, “Son, the only thing that keeps me a Republican is the Democrats.” He was later instrumental in creating the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, just one of his actions that outraged J. Edgar Hoover.
By the time I started reporting on politics. I was ready for anything.
Warren Olney is a journalist who has worked in print, commercial TV, public radio and podcasting. tothepoint@kcrw.org
