The King of Quotes; why the press is addicted to Norman Ornstein

Washington Monthly, Dec, 1986 by Steven Waldman

THE KING OF QUOTES

A day in the life of the King of Quotesbegins as it should: in the make-up room. Mild-mannered Norman Ornstein ?? patiently and just a bit anxiously as a producer pats powder onto his cheeks and under his eyes. 8 a.m., ten minutes until air time.

He walks onto the set of CBS "MorningNews,' on which he has a regular political discussion with Cokie Roberts of National Public Radio. The host, Charlie Rose, greets them from a TV monitor, noting thankfully how little he has to coach his two guests. "You two make this so easy for me. It's like breathing for you.'

They're on, and after five minutes of chit-chatabout the Senate elections, the segment is over. But Norman Ornstein's day as one of the most quoted people in Washington is just beginning. An hour later he is off to the Brookings Institution to give a speech to visiting business executives. They listen politely as he offers brief analyses of Senate elections, congressional performance, the summit, and tax reform, and urges responsible leadership to cure the deficit. The polite attention shifts to excitement, with several people literally moving to the edge of their chairs, when Ornstein, a frequent guest on "Nightline,' tells them what Ted Koppel is really like. "I hold him in awe,' he says, to their delight.

Back to his office at the American EnterpriseInstitute in downtown Washington. In the hour Ornstein has been gone, ten people have called, including reporters and producers from Westinghouse Television, The Christian Science Monitor, the Swedish Broadcasting Network, and Aviation Week. In the next hour he is interrupted by calls from the Chronicle Broadcasting network and WFAA, the ABC affiliate in Dallas.

At noon he dashes down the hallway to a nearbyconference room, where he does a sit-down interview assessing Congress's performance. "What grade would you give them?' asks a reporter from Westinghouse. "A "B'. . .. It surprises me that we got as much done as we did,' says Ornstein.

Ten minutes later, he's down the elevator andout in front of the building to do a stand-up interview. A half hour later, a different crew is there for another. Passersby stop and gaze at the celebrity.

Monday morning has finally ended for NormanJ. Ornstein, political scientist.

Like a narcotic

Norman Ornstein is officially a residentscholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Unofficially, he is the number-one professional analyst of Congress and, increasingly, of Washington in general. He has appeared about ten times on "Nightline' and 30 times on "The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour' in addition to frequent appearances on the CBS "Morning News,' National Public Radio, and NBC's "Today Show.' He's quoted in publications ranging from Sport to Ladies Home Journal to The Wall Street Journal. In the past year he was quoted more than 300 times by major print news organizations and at least as often by smaller newspapers--a level of visibility that would make many a U.S. senator envious.

Journalists have been known to go to greatlengths to talk to Ornstein. "Nightline' producers who were preparing a show on tax reform last May discovered to their horror that Ornstein was in Bermuda. They tracked him down and set up a special satellite hook-up. "He is certainly accorded royal status,' says Tara Sonenshine, a "Nightline' producer. "We wanted him bad and were willing to go to Bermuda to get him.'

Los Angeles Times political reporters had beenquoting him so often that editors out West last year tried to impose an Ornstein moratorium. "The editors said there must be someone else in town you could quote,' recalls Robert Shogan, national political correspondent at the Times and a regular Ornstein user.

Reporters speak of Ornstein quotes almost asif they were a narcotic. "You get hooked,' says Helen Dewar, Capitol Hill correspondent for The Washington Post and a longtime Ornstein addict. "Sometimes I'd go in circles trying not to quote him, and then I'd get to writing and there would be that Norman Ornstein quote that just summed it up and I just had to use it.'

It is not readily apparent how this bright butseemingly unremarkable man became the main voice in the media expressing expert opinion and analysis about American politics and government. Although a few TV producers point out that he is "cute,' his is a rather ordinary cuteness. While he is considered a well-polished TV commentator, he still conveys a slight nervousness. When he is introduced on CBS "Morning News,' his smile is sudden and tight, as if someone just asked him to say "cheese.' He is articulate, but his prose doesn't ignite. Obviously, there is more here than meets the camera lens; Norman Ornstein is a phenomenon. His importance tells much about political journalism, how it has changed and what its limitations are.

The punchy entrepreneur

When isolated and dissected, the Ornsteinquote does not seem particularly impressive. Its beauty, say many reporters, lies in part in its simplicity. It is often a straightforward, bold, declarative statement. "Norm has learned how to give the unconditional quote,' says Garrison Nelson, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont and the Norman Ornstein of that state. "Most academics are so fearful of being wrong that they pile on qualifications until the quotes lose their verbal stamina.'