Early this morning as I was taking my 36-minute run (see, Orszag only runs for 35), I thought about what it takes to make a good public servant. Well, not the whole time — part of it I was thinking about when I could stop running. But I’ve been mulling over Jodi Kantor’s New York Times profile of Peter Orszag. The shot of the dashing young OMB chief in his spotless living room, a blur of efficiency passing the lovely family photos on the side table . . . (more photos here!). The mention of his new girlfriend . . . . Orszag’s comment, tossed in casually at the end, about the short tenure of most directors at OMB — as if he’s worried about his future in Washington! It was all so beautifully calibrated and made me wonder . . . where the hell is my publicist?
A profile of another ambitious Washington type, this one in the Washington Post, filled me with slightly more hope. This was Ashley Halsey’s look at Chuck Fox, a guy who really matters for government in your backyard if you live anywhere near the Chesapeake Bay (about 17 million people do). Fox, now senior adviser at EPA, has devoted most of his life to the environment and many years to saving the Chesapeake, which is a beautiful place, but a rapidly deteriorating one for all kinds of fish, shellfish, birds, plants, and people.
Two important public servants. Two generously-drawn portraits in Washington’s favorite newspapers. But one difference in these men’s ambitions: Fox’s have (to date at least) focused on a specific set of issues, people, and places. As for Mr. Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget? May God bless him and his work. But let’s hope that all he does is about more than Peter Orszag.
GIMBY is Understanding Government’s effort to capture what government is doing where people live. All kinds of public servants will end up under our microscope, and we’re going to ask our readers to tell us about government employees who have made a difference or made things worse. If you have someone you think our growing readership should know about, please contact us. That’ll help keep us running. -NH