As the tax-cut drama unfolds in Congress, a pivotal role belongs to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski. It is a rich bit of casting: for the next few weeks, an old-style Chicago ward heeler will be the nation's premier economist-accountant-social philosopher.
Rostenkowski, 53, known widely as "Danny," is a member of an endangered species: a dyed-in-the-polyester Cook County pol trained by late Mayor Richard J. Daley to put party before everything. Rostenkowski learned his lesson well. He once impressed House Democrat Richard Gephardt of Missouri by following up some legislative support...
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