Trade the Congressional Effect: How To Profit from Congress's Impact on the Stock Market

Chapter 6

Where Will Washington Strike Next?

When I was a young lawyer coming out of law school, I interviewed for a prestigious job with a very large law firm with one of the top regulatory litigators at the firm. At one point the discussion turned to having kids and the state of television. He casually mentioned that he was really bothered by how hackneyed and puerile TV had become, and in response he sharply limited what his children could watch.

I asked, “how limited are their choices?”

He replied, “I only let 'em watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and that's it.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Once they know about the jungle, they've learned everything they need to know from TV.”

Impressed with the partner's success in litigation in Washington, D.C., it occurred to me I needed to know about the jungle. I found myself occasionally watching naturalist films, many of which were made by Sir Richard Attenborough. Describing the danger in which a wounded animal found itself in the savannah, increasingly surrounded by predators who were increasingly aware of the wounded animal's weakness, I remember vividly the voice of Sir Richard Attenborough intoning, “There are no secrets on the Serengeti,” as the predators went in for the kill. I think having a heightened sense of the law of the jungle explained why that partner did so well in his D.C. practice. But the truth is that while Washington may appear to be open, it is not for the ordinary citizen on many issues. Understanding what will ...