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Check It with Larry. In his operations on Capitol Hill, O'Brien's greatest asset is the all-out backing of the President himself. In the first days of the New Frontier, Jack Kennedy made it obvious to Congressmen that Liaison Man O'Brien was armed with all the authority he might need. Senators and Representatives calling Kennedy with political proposals invariably were asked: "Have you checked that with Larry O'Brien?" They soon got the idea.
O'Brien knows precisely how far the President will go in making legislative concessions to Congress. More than once, when approached by Democratic congressional leaders with suggestions for compromises that might speed Administration programs through the Senate or House, O'Brien has accepted on the spot, without having to refer to the President.
As a man who prefers the carrot to the stick in his operations, O'Brien uses the power of the presidency sparingly. Time and again, congressional leaders have urged him to recommend that President Kennedy intervene directly in legislative matters. Time and again, O'Brien has refused, acting only in crucial cases when a presidential telephone call or White House talk with a key Congressman is most timely and can be most effective.
The Friendly Lobbies. Other top Administration officials follow the President's lead in helping O'Brien move New Frontier programs through Congress—and it is indeed a crusty legislator who is not flattered by a friendly telephone call, made at O'Brien's suggestion, from a member of the Kennedy Cabinet.
O'Brien has also made effective use of the pressures that can be brought to bear on Congressmen by the liberal lobbies that abound in Washington—notably that of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., under its own able legislative man, Andy Biemiller. When Administration legislative interests coincide with those of a particular lobbying group, O'Brien makes certain that one of his staffmen compares notes and coordinates efforts with the lobbyists. Intelligence is exchanged, a list is made of Congressmen whose votes might be swayed, and high-tempo lobbying techniques, ranging from direct-mail campaigns to carefully arranged visits from constituents, are turned on the solons.
The Use of Patronage. Just before O'Brien took over as President Kennedy's liaison representative to Congress, he conferred with Republican Dwight Eisenhower's man on the Hill, Bryce Harlow. From Harlow, O'Brien received a piece of sage advice: not to get too overtly involved with patronage problems. Said Harlow: "With patronage, you will have to turn down ten men for every one you say yes to. You make people unhappy instead of happy."