"Politics is our business."

Posted at 6:20 PM on January 24, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MPR in D.C., U.S. House, U.S. Senate

I'm in Washington D.C. for the next 36 hours as a part of MPR's coverage of the State of the Union. While Morning Editionhost Cathy Wurzer will be doing more formal interviews with Minnesota's Congressional delegation to gauge the impact of "Minnesota's clout in Washington," I'll be covering the delegation and President Obama's State of the Union around the edges.

Some of the issues will be serious. Others will be funny. I hope it's entertaining.

Which brings me to the first headline:

You would think one of the leaders in Congress, the White House or a high-priced political strategist may have uttered those words at some point. Especially given the major disagreements between Democrats and Republicans across the country. Those disagreements mainly are fought in full view here in Washington D.C.

But I didn't hear any politician utter that phrase (yet).

Instead, it was Mohamed Ali.

Ali, who went from listening to WAMU (a public radio station playing classical music) to WETA (another public radio station that airs NewsHour) exactly at 7pm, said those words to me as he drove me from Reagan National Airport to my hotel.

Ali said a bulk of his cab fares come from those who either work for the federal government or have business with the federal government.

And he dreads when Congress is out of session.

"I would say my business drops fifty percent when Congress is in recess," Ali said.

I guess that means the people running the place (hospitality staff, etc.) really rely on the people running the place (the White House and Congress).

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