A LEADER FOR THE LEADERLESS

It was a brisk, and unseasonably cold morning in the nation's capital. Washington D.C in early February is not usually this cold, but it had already been a difficult Winter. Almost a foot of snow came in mid-December, and over a foot more was in the forecast for the coming weekend. By way of comparison, the mood inside the halls of Congress was equally cold, with almost daily storm activity. For most of the previous year and for the first month and a half of the current one, Democrats and Republicans battled over major reforms to Social Security.

Various bills had been introduced over the past 13 months, most of them going down to defeat. Despite the partisanship and the heated debate, Congress was closer than it ever had been to enacting serious reforms to the nations retirement system as the holiday recess approached. It was agreed that the House would send a bill to the Senate by the first of the year, and in turn the Senate would produce their own bill, and at that point the process of reconciling the two bills would begin. Before any of that could happen however, there was still another matter to attend to. For on this cold February day, the man who would assume the seat vacated by the passing of the venerable Massachusetts Senator Theodore McColgan was due to arrive and be sworn in. It was this event, dreaded by some, and rejoiced by others, that had the potential to make the delicate process of Social Security reform as much of a white knuckle ride as driving on the Beltway when a winter storm raged.

Scott Barry. As with Senator McColgan, depending on which side of the political spectrum you favor, the name itself is either reviled, or embraced.