The Sultan of Swap

As the tax-cut drama unfolds in Congress, a pivotal role belongs to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski. It is a rich bit of casting: for the next few weeks, an old-style Chicago ward heeler will be the nation's premier economist-accountant-social philosopher.

Rostenkowski, 53, known widely as "Danny," is a member of an endangered species: a dyed-in-the-polyester Cook County pol trained by late Mayor Richard J. Daley to put party before everything. Rostenkowski learned his lesson well. He once impressed House Democrat Richard Gephardt of Missouri by following up some legislative support he had promised with a simple note: "I keep my word. Dan." Says Chicago political analyst Don Rose of Rostenkowski: "He is not an ideological politician. He is Mr. Practicality."

Discipline and loyalty have been Mr. Practicality's watchwords. Born in Chicago in 1928, he was educated at St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., served in the infantry in Korea, and was graduated from Loyola University in 1951. A baseball player who was once invited by Connie Mack to try out for the Philadelphia Athletics, Rostenkowski reluctantly obeyed his father, a Chicago alderman, and entered politics instead.

He became a committeeman in his father's ward (a post he still holds), caught Mayor Daley's eye and, at 24, became the youngest member of the Illinois House. At 30, he was elected to the U.S. House, where he has remained for eleven terms-- although as a member of the Capitol's Tuesday-Thursday Club, he spends four days a week on average back home.* His wife and four children have not moved to Washington, and he estimates he has spent only nine weekends there.

Not much inclined to author legislation, Rostenkowski over the years has built a reputation on the Hill as likable, earnest, cautious,and absolutely trustworthy. Among the show horses of Congress, he is a workhorse. Rostenkowski was close to his goal of becoming Speaker when the 1968 Democratic Convention intervened. Lyndon Johnson, watching the convention slide into disarray as violence escalated in Chicago's streets, phoned Rostenkowski from Texas and told him to take charge. Rostenkowski did, but only after snatching the gavel away from embarrassed Majority Leader Carl Albert. Two years later, Albert, then Speaker, vetoed Rostenkowski's nomination as majority whip. Rostenkowsi's golf buddy Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts got the nod instead and went on to become Speaker. Last November the whip's position was again within Rostenkowski's reach, but O'Neill needed a staunch loyalist to chair Ways and Means. Though a stranger to the fine points of the tax code, Mayor Daley's man characteristically acquiesced to the wishes of his party.

Rostenkowski has thrown himself into the new job, impressing colleagues with his diligence. If he performs well in the tax fight, he could once again have a shot at the Speaker's role. But considering his distaste for Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, Rostenkowski may redirect his ambitions. Says Analyst Rose: "Any Chicago politician understands a basic truth, that being Mayor of Chicago is more important than becoming a Senator, grand vizier--or Speaker of the House."

* The club comprises Congressmen who generally spend only the middle of the week in Washington, returning to their home districts every weekend.

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