From Haley Barobour and Ed Rogers, Foreign Policy:  Last week, we learned that the Chinese government had hacked into the computers of some of Washington’s most prominent organizations — law firms, think tanks, news outlets, human rights groups, congressional offices, embassies, and federal agencies — not to steal intellectual property or unearth state secrets, but rather to find out how things get done in the nation’s capital. . . .

[I]t’s possible to use espionage to learn the inside thinking at one of Washington’s prestigious think tanks. Or you could just attend any of the dozens of daily seminars, issue briefings, and the like in town, raise your hand, and get a direct answer to almost any question. You might even get a free bagel and a cup of coffee. . . .

In Washington, you don’t need a satellite to find out who is raising money for whom. Just look at the co-host list of an invitation to any fundraiser. And if the Chinese really want to get a look at where the power decisions get made, send an undercover eater to see who’s dining with whom at the Four Seasons for breakfast, Tosca for lunch, and the Palm or Oceanaire for dinner. And here’s a secret in Washington the Chinese haven’t hacked into yet: Actual decision-makers will meet with the actual experts and affected parties in order to make as informed a decision as possible. Shhhh. Don’t tell the Chinese. . . . .

Maybe the Chinese don’t understand that a literal transcript of what is said in Washington does not tell the real story. It never has. It never will. People are always saying something here. All we do is talk. At any given time you can find someone saying anything you want to hear — on any given side of any issue — from missile defense to agricultural policy. That doesn’t happen in Beijing. And that’s part of the reason it’s so easy to be busy and yet so hard to be productive in D.C. It takes time to know who is relevant to a decision, to understand that person’s history and how he or she approaches an issue. That’s extremely important and not always easy to figure out. . . .

Finding the right people is important. But more and more, Washington has become a place that rewards what you know rather than whom you know. Sure, friendships and political affiliations make introductions easier and some meetings friendlier, but really hearing what was said and accomplishing something afterward requires real work and a lot of relevant, persuasively presented information. And though Washington always gets a bad rap, the people who make decisions that matter really do take their independence, transparency, and integrity seriously. While inside deals and doing favors are the commonplace caricature, they don’t represent how Washington really works today.

Haley Barbour is the founding partner and Ed Rogers is the chairman of BGR Group, a prominent government affairs and public relations firm in Washington.   (photo: Erica Franz)

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