The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker offers an inside look at the two primary budget negotiators, John Boehner and Harry Reid’s chiefs of staff.
“The real negotiations to reach a budget deal occur in unscheduled visits and late-night phone calls between two men you’ve probably never heard of. At one end of the Capitol is Barry Jackson: quiet and unflappable, a plump, shaggy and rumpled Midwesterner who loves auto racing (he’s a regular at the Indy 500) and settled in Washington 20 years ago as John Boehner’s right-hand man.
“At the other end is David Krone: hard-nosed and crafty, a multi millionaire former cable lobbyist who travels around playing the best golf courses, prefers fine shirts and custom-tailored suits, usually pinstriped (‘Definitely not Jos. A. Bank,’ says an associate), and looks up to his boss, Harry Reid, the way a son idolizes his father.”
As far as political stereotypes go, a bit of role reversal there.
