Career planning.

The second change, first identified by our alumnus Steven Waldman in his book, The Bill, occurred in the '80s and '90s. Congressional staffers began to aspire to be lobbyists. When I came to Washington, Hill staffers were mostly bright and dedicated to getting their views enacted into law or were politicians who were grateful for the reward of a nice job in Washington. Few talked about becoming lobbyists, but as they saw the bucks the lobbyists were raking in during the '70s and the fancy restaurants they were enjoying that the staffers couldn't afford, the staffers got greedy. And the development that Waldman identified began to occur. Staffers, instead of trying to get their own views into law, were trying to please lobbyists, who might give them lucrative employment on K Street. Understanding this development turned out to be the key to Jack Abramoff's rise to power.