Dan Rostenkowski

CHICAGO -- On the morning of the worst day of his life, on the day he would be called a swindler, a thief and a liar on national television, Dan Rostenkowski sat alone, connected to the world only by a telephone.A call came in from a well-wisher, not an important call, just another call from the legion of people who owed something to Rostenkowski, to Rosty, to the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.Rosty took the call and, to the surprise of the caller, he did not seem down in the dumps.

WASHINGTON - In the first batch of pardons of his final holiday season in the White House, President Clinton pardoned 59 people yesterday, including Dan Rostenkowski, the once-powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a man whose conviction exemplified the passing of an old-fashioned style of leadership in Congress. Rostenkowski, who was reared by the Chicago Democratic political machine, brought to Congress a mastery of the game of legislation with its premium on brokering, bluffing, and figuring out the compromise that gives the little required but gets a bit more in return.

WASHINGTON - In the first batch of pardons of his final holiday season in the White House, President Clinton pardoned 59 people yesterday, including Dan Rostenkowski, the once-powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a man whose conviction exemplified the passing of an old-fashioned style of leadership in Congress. Rostenkowski, who was reared by the Chicago Democratic political machine, brought to Congress a mastery of the game of legislation with its premium on brokering, bluffing, and figuring out the compromise that gives the little required but gets a bit more in return.

Washington. -- Whatever happened to the generational war? A year or two ago, the op-ed pages seemed to be filled with representatives of Generation X complaining about the economic hand they had been dealt by their elders. Where did they all go? Law school, I fear.The Xers were especially angry about Social Security. It was ''a generational scam,'' declared the authors of one youthful manifesto.They had a point. When it came to Social Security, today's elderly -- ''greedy geezers,'' one magazine called them -- seemed to have cut themselves an awfully cushy deal, securing retirement checks that far exceeded the contributions they had made when they were working.

WASHINGTON -- Common Cause, a citizens' lobbying group, has asked the House ethics committee to investigate reports questioning Rep. Dan Rostenkowski's rented campaign office space and postage-stamp purchases.The group asked the committee to look into whether any of Mr. Rostenkowski's activities violated House rules prohibiting converting campaign funds to personal use. Common Cause did not raise any new allegations against Mr. Rostenkowski, D-Ill., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, but it cited newspaper reports in calling for the investigation.

AS HE strode down the marble hallways, the Corridors of Clout, where he was once treated obsequiously as a king, Dan Rostenkowski was hounded by press watchdogs baying for blood."

CHICAGO -- "Money," Roman Pucinski is saying as Dan Rostenkowski takes the stage. "It's about money."Pucinski should know. He and Rostenkowski were both elected to Congress from Chicago in 1958. While Rosty stayed to become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Pucinski returned home after 14 years to serve as an alderman, a seat he held until 1991.Now, at age 74, his voice reduced to a whisper, he still helps out a friend in need, he still serves The Machine.This is the Democratic Machine whose obituary has been written by the media for decades but which still manages to return people like Dan Rostenkowski to Congress.

Attorney General Janet Reno's call for the resignation of al incumbent U.S. attorneys is politics as usual. When Democrats win the White House, Republican lawyers lose jobs, and vice versa.But because one of the heads to be chopped belongs to U.S. Attorney Jay B. Stephens, and because Mr. Stephens is investigating House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski, and because Mr. Rostenkowski is the self-described downfield blocker in Congress for President Clinton's entire economic package, what we have is Washington high drama.

For a president who takes his victories where he finds them, the triumph of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski in his Chicago primary battle must have been especially sweet. President Clinton had gone to Chicago to campaign for Mr. Rostenkowski despite the threat of an indictment that still hangs over the powerful congressman. In so doing, he put his prestige on the line while underscoring how crucial Mr. Rostenkowski is to the administration agenda.Had Mr. Rostenkowski been defeated, his control over Ways and Means would have eroded.

WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for Rep. Dan Rostenkowski are trying to resolve the nearly completed criminal investigation of the Illinois Democrat, sources say.One source, speaking only on condition of anonymity yesterday, told the Associated Press Mr. Rostenkowski's defense attorney, Robert S. Bennett, was "having discussions" with prosecutors aimed at avoiding a lengthy criminal trial.Lawyers told the New York Times yesterday the discussions could lead to Mr. Rostenkowski's agreement to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

CHICAGO -- On the morning of the worst day of his life, on the day he would be called a swindler, a thief and a liar on national television, Dan Rostenkowski sat alone, connected to the world only by a telephone.A call came in from a well-wisher, not an important call, just another call from the legion of people who owed something to Rostenkowski, to Rosty, to the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.Rosty took the call and, to the surprise of the caller, he did not seem down in the dumps.

WASHINGTON -- Nobody in his right mind would argue that the indictment of Dan Rostenkowski is not bad news for the Democratic Party and President Clinton.Republicans already are braying, understandably, about the case as the inevitable product of 40 years of Democratic control of the House.But the notion that health care reform has been put in dire jeopardy by the absence of one committee chairman is overblown.It is true that Rostenkowski has demonstrated a remarkable facility as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for forging compromises that can enlist differing Democrats behind common legislative purposes.

WASHINGTON -- The indictment yesterday of Rep. Dan Rostenkowski will have little effect on the prospects for passing health reform legislation, lawmakers and White House officials predicted yesterday.Although automatically stripped of the powerful chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee and replaced by Rep. Sam Gibbons, a Florida Democrat, Mr. Rostenkowski will remain a member of the panel and is expected to retain considerable influence as a deal-maker.The Ways and Means Committee is taking the lead role in the House in trying to fashion reform legislation that meets President Clinton's insistence on guaranteeing health insurance for all Americans.

When I was an avid fisherman, I seldom kept fish. Instead, I carefully removed the hook and returned them to the water. That way, I might catch them or their offspring again.That's how I feel about politicians. It can be great fun chasing them down and catching them in some act of mischief. But never with the goal of seeing them locked up. As a conservationist and sportsman, I prefer to toss them back and catch them again some day.Which leads me to the subject of Chicago's very own Dan Rostenkowski, who appears to be up to his ears in very deep doo-doo.

AS HE strode down the marble hallways, the Corridors of Clout, where he was once treated obsequiously as a king, Dan Rostenkowski was hounded by press watchdogs baying for blood."

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Rep. Dan Rostenkowski have approached federal prosecutors to try to negotiate a plea bargain that would avert a broad felony indictment against the powerful Illinois Democrat, lawyers involved in the case said yesterday.The lawyers said the discussions could lead to Mr. Rostenkowski's agreement to plead guilty to a lesser charge. At this point, they said that the government and Mr. Rostenkowski's lawyers were still far apart and that the effort to reach an agreement could go nowhere, in which case Mr. Rostenkowski could be indicted, possibly before Memorial Day.The inquiry that threatens Mr. Rostenkowski began in 1991 when investigators began examining accusations that postal clerks had stolen money from their cash drawers at the House mailing office.

Joseph "Big Joe Rusty" Rostenkowski was a Chicago alderman of the old school. He was loud and rough-edged and kept a tavern on the ground floor of his home.He lived by the simple rules that guided Chicago politics then as now: Reward your friends, punish your enemies, and always know which is which.Big Joe Rusty married Priscilla Dombrowski -- they lived in a large Polish enclave on the city's Northwest Side -- and they had twin daughters, Gladys and Marcia, and a son, Daniel David.Dan was the charmer of the family, a born leader who as a child would come down to the tavern and listen to the barbershop quartets and mingle with the crowd.

WASHINGTON -- Nobody in his right mind would argue that the indictment of Dan Rostenkowski is not bad news for the Democratic Party and President Clinton.Republicans already are braying, understandably, about the case as the inevitable product of 40 years of Democratic control of the House.But the notion that health care reform has been put in dire jeopardy by the absence of one committee chairman is overblown.It is true that Rostenkowski has demonstrated a remarkable facility as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for forging compromises that can enlist differing Democrats behind common legislative purposes.

WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for Rep. Dan Rostenkowski are trying to resolve the nearly completed criminal investigation of the Illinois Democrat, sources say.One source, speaking only on condition of anonymity yesterday, told the Associated Press Mr. Rostenkowski's defense attorney, Robert S. Bennett, was "having discussions" with prosecutors aimed at avoiding a lengthy criminal trial.Lawyers told the New York Times yesterday the discussions could lead to Mr. Rostenkowski's agreement to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

For a president who takes his victories where he finds them, the triumph of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski in his Chicago primary battle must have been especially sweet. President Clinton had gone to Chicago to campaign for Mr. Rostenkowski despite the threat of an indictment that still hangs over the powerful congressman. In so doing, he put his prestige on the line while underscoring how crucial Mr. Rostenkowski is to the administration agenda.Had Mr. Rostenkowski been defeated, his control over Ways and Means would have eroded.