The Book of Bob.

• Author: SHECTER, JENNIFER
• Position: Excerpts from Bob Packwood's diaries

Packwood's diaries are filled with steamy tidbits, but they are also a guide to what needs fixing under the Capitol dome, A Monthly annotation

In a town of perpetual charade, Bob Packwood spent 26 years confiding his every thought--no matter how scandalous, lecherous, banal, or absurd--to a tape recorder. He turned to his diary, by ritual, every morning in his Senate office. Like a movie star sneaking a cigarette off-camera, Packwood used this time out of the public eye to record his thoughts with unsparing honesty.

Then, a wave of sexual misconduct charges rippled through the press and the halls of Congress. The Senate Ethics Committee subpoenaed Packwood's diaries, conducted an investigation, and ultimately recommended that he be expelled from the Senate. (On top of the original allegations, Packwood's attempt to alter some diary entries played a major role in the committee's decision.)

The public now has full access to these diaries, published in two thick volumes by the Government Printing Office. Although much of the media coverage has focused on Packwood's sexual peccadilloes--such as a hilarious moment when Packwood is so engrossed by a woman's skill at bridge that he can "hardly concentrate on [her] breasts"--the diaries tell other, more important stories: how money, friendships, and politics mix in Washington to produce policy; how politicians openly skirt campaign finance laws and abuse their power for personal gain; how even the most powerful can be desperately insecure.

These diaries highlight some of the windmills The Washington Monthly has been tilting at for more than two decades. It is as clear as ever that the serious flaws in our political process require immediate attention--a lesson that is particularly relevant now, as the House GOP leadership has pushed back campaign finance reform until next year.

The following excerpts, reprinted in their original version and chronological order, offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes into how the nation's capital really works and explain why, so often, it doesn't work. Except for explanatory notes and a few comments, we have left Packwood's words to speak for themselves--and for the state of the capital's institutions. The punctuation and spelling reflect that used by the Ethics Committee. THE PACKWOOD DIARIES

June 19, 1989: The American Iron and Steel Institute was in to lobby me for an extension of the voluntary restraints on steel. I let them in because Ron Crawford now represents them. Boy, if this isn't a group of overweight, stand pat, white, past middle age pedestrian men, I've never seen it. No wonder the steel industry is in bad shape.

November 9, 1989: Mike Kelly and I got to the Bill Furman breakfast. It was Furman, [Name Deleted], the former ICC Chairman or at least commissioner, Jim Beale, the lobbyist for Greenbrier, somebody from Westinghouse Credit Corporation, and a sixth person. And it was nothing but to thank me for what I had done on Trailer Train (?) and the investment tax credit--whatever it was I got for them in the tax reform bill--and of course Furman has said he'll join Tim Lee in helping keep Georgie solvent. It was a particularly delightful breakfast. Back to the office about 9:15.

January 18, 1990: A quick lunch with Cliff. It was a nice friendly lunch. He said, "Is there anything I can do?" I hit him up to give a job to Georgie, but he said, "Gosh, we've got that ICI client. It wouldn't look good." I said, "It

doesn't matter if we're separated." Well, Cliff said ... and this was after he was bragging about all the money he had, how much they're making, how much he's setting aside, what kind of trust he has for the kids and that he needs to work five more years until he can retire comfortably on his investments and income for the...