The serious business of the Republican Convention was Big Business. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the face-off between two powerful House members vying for chairmanship of the committee that corporate America cares most about--the House Commerce Committee.
The Ox and the Swamp Fox--Ohio Representative Mike Oxley and Louisiana Representative Billy Tauzin--held dueling parties during the week, bankrolled by many of the companies regulated by the committees. Both lawmakers drew on their personal traditions. Tauzin threw a mini Mardi Gras featuring Cajun cuisine, flashy beads and the New Orleans sound of the Neville Family Celebration. Oxley reached back to his...