Jon Kyl prepared for public lifestyle as whip
November 29th, 2007, 7:17 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
Jon Kyl (as seen in Time magazine)
Sen. Jon Kyl has had something of a love/hate regard for a short Time magazine article that appeared on April 14, 2006. Rightly or wrongly, that three-paragraph piece has gone a long way toward defining his entire 21-year political career.
In fairness, it should be pointed out that Kyl himself is largely responsible for the article’s stature. It labeled him one of the “10 best” senators in the country, and Kyl repeated that line relentlessly in advertising during his multi-million-dollar re-election campaign against Jim Pederson last year.
Of course, the “10 best” line sits fine with him. But other lines in that article continue to irk him more than a year later. For example, the article also called him “The Operator” in reference to his mostly uncredited behind-the-scenes work in shaping legislation. In reference to immigration policy, Time commented, “Watch for Kyl to play a pivotal role – if not the most conspicuous one.”
Kyl argues that he never actively avoided the media’s glare during his time in the House and Senate. It just worked out that way. He told me he’s comfortable with the idea of becoming more of a high-profile public figure if he’s confirmed as the new Senate minority whip next week as expected. At a minimum, he will become a regular guest on the Sunday morning talking head TV shows and a sought-after interview for nightly newscasts.
Kyl said, “I have never avoided the media, but I’ve never sought it, either. I find I can be most affective if I’m just doing my job and not worrying about the publicity, so that’s the way I’ve tried to do my job. But of necessity, the job I have now, as conference chairman, is a position about messaging. It’s about meeting with the media and conveying the Republican message, so naturally, I’ve been out front a little bit more. And the position of whip or assistant leader, is likewise higher profile, so I’ll be, of necessity, a little bit higher profile, but it’s not something I necessarily sought.”
Kyl said, “None of the positions that I’ve had were the results of some grand plan. The opportunities presented themselves and they seemed like the right thing to do at the time. And in leadership, if you perform well, your colleagues turn to you naturally when other leadership positions open.”
And, um, a little personal recommendation here: Don’t even get Kyl started on the line in that same Time article that called him an “ultraconservative.”
