What I learned from being profiled in the newspaper: There is almost nothing fun about being interviewed by a reporter. Members of Congress must have a special neurotransmitter that lets them enjoy answering questions about themselves. I can say now that it is a lot more fun asking the questions than having to come up with answers. Lucky for me, Betsy Rothstein, who edits The Hill’s Capitol Living section, took the edge off of the experience.  We sat down one day in the Speaker’s Lobby in just off the House floor to do the interview, and basically laughed our way through it. To be honest, I had forgotten how much time I used to spend listening to the radio late at night, or that I spent a stint as an illegal immigrant in Canada, before Betsy asked me about it.

And also lucky for me, I only had to answer enough questions to fill a 450-word sketch. Now the photo session, that was another matter.

Hill photographer Benjamin Myers and I had a good time one afternoon scouting out a location for a photo befitting the “Power Breakfast” name. We chose a Capitol Hill location of Cosi, and bought the only glazed donut in the place as a prop. We must’ve taken a hundred different photos, most of them ridiculous, before Ben settled on the very plain one he wanted to use. That was surely for the best.

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