[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 7398-7399] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO MIKE CAUSEY, COLUMNIST, ``FEDERAL DIARY'' THE WASHINGTON POST ______ HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON of the district of columbia in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 9, 2000 Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask the House to join me in honoring Mike Causey, the venerable Washington Post columnist who wrote his last Federal Diary column for the Washington Post today. Most Members of the House have been unable to get through a year, and certainly an appropriations period, without consulting Causey. Federal Diary provided an always reliable place where anyone could be knowledgeably and quickly informed of all one often needed to know about federal sector matters. Especially for those of us ``inside the beltway,'' a phrase coined by Mike Causey, his column was an indispensable resource. We welcome Mike's successor, Stephen Barr, and trust he will continue to make the Federal Diary a congressional habit as it has been for many others as well. I ask the House to join me in honoring Mike Causey's 36 years of giving the Congress and the region the ``real deal'' on the federal sector ``inside the beltway,'' and I submit for the Record his final column and Bob Levey's tribute, Hat's Off to a Top Colleague: Mike Causey. [From the Washington Post, May 8, 2000] Hats Off to a Top Colleague: Mike Causey (By Bob Levey) Today, his column appears in the Metro section. There won't be another. Mike Causey, longtime perpetrator of The Post's Federal Diary, is done. My pal, my fellow scribe, my listening post, my wailing wall, is leaving a perch I thought he'd occupy forever. He is going to try columnizing in the high-tech world. The geeks had better get ready for a whirlwind. You don't produce six careful, newsy columns a week for more than three decades without knowing how to hammer. This fellow may be a grandfather, but he can get it done like no youngster I've ever seen. And he can get it done with surpassing accuracy and touch. When your constituency is federal employees, someone always knows more than you about every topic. If you fumble the provisions of the latest federal retirement bill, thousands will point it out. Fumble often enough, and the gang will stop reading you. But Mike fumbled less than most, and he built a constituency better than any. I say that because the sincerest form of flattery has been visited upon me for nearly 20 years. People mistake me for Causey (even though he isn't very gray, and he underweighs me by 50 pounds). They've accused Mike of being Levey, too. I'm sure he grinned and bore it, with his usual wry comment about how immortal newspapering makes you. How hard is it to be such a prolific columnist for so many years? Mike said it best many years ago, as I waltzed into the office at the spry hour of 7 a.m., only to discover him already hard at it. ``If being a columnist is such an easy job,'' said Mike, ``why are we the only ones here?'' The Big Boss, executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., had this to say about Causey--and his output--when I asked him for comment: ``Mike Causey, of course, does not exist. Mike Causey is a pseudonym for a composite group of Washington Post reporters and researchers--1,342 at last count--with several dozen working together at any one time to produce all those columns.'' Len said that ``a marketing research firm'' had been engaged to develop ``the many male models we use to represent Mike Causey at interviews, press conferences, lunches, dinners and other appearances. Each is tan, fit and speaks with a subtle nasal accent.'' Editorial writer Bob Asher and Metro editor Walter Douglas, who began as copy boys with Mike back near the Civil War, remember him as being very efficient, and a bit of a scamp. Walter remembers the way Mike would answer the newsroom phone. Most copy boys did it formally and decorously. Causey would flip a toggle switch and announce, ``Newsroom, Mike.'' ``A bit unorthodox, but it got the job done,'' Walter said. Bob Asher said Causey was a legend for running every copy boy errand route through the cafeteria. As for Causey's current office--a notorious six-foot-high collection of junk--``there's wildlife in there,'' Bob said. Having sat in the next office for all this time, I can deny that rumor. Wildlife wouldn't survive--not Of course, Mike always claimed that he knew where everything was. Since he never missed a deadline, it must have been true. Of course, the Disastrous Causey Office led to moments of great merriment. When Ben Bradlee was executive editor, he would wheel a huge trash can up to the lip of Causey's office door once a year. ``In two days,'' he'd bark. And it would be done. Although it would need to be done again in less than a week. How bad was the crud? For years, Causey and I used computers that were linked somehow. If one broke, the other would have to be disconnected so the ``bad'' one could be worked on. When mine broke one day, technicians tried to reach Causey's terminal to disable it. Like a bunch of disappointed explorers on the Amazon, they gave up after a few minutes. Mike Causey invented the phrase ``Inside the Beltway.'' He and a Post photographer were the first civilians to circumnavigate the Capital Beltway. He covered the first Beatles concert in Washington--as a bodyguard to ``a more experienced (and fragile) reporter,'' as he put it in his official Post biography. What Mike didn't say, there or anywhere else, was that he became an institution. ``In the mornings, federal employees have their coffee and Causey at their desks,'' said Bob Asher. Indeed they did--thousands of them, across thousands of days. The guy is the Cal Ripken Jr. of journalism--even if he failed a tryout with the Cleveland Indians as a young man. Mike even contributed to my wardrobe. One year, my wife stole a favorite Causey expression and turned it into a birthday T-shirt. The front says: ANYONE CAN BE A DAILY COLUMNIST. The back says: FOR THREE WEEKS. Whenever Mike and I would pass in the halls all these years, he'd say to me, in his joking, conspiratorial way: ``I'll cover for you.'' From now on, I'll return the favor, Mr. C. Well done! You'll be missed in a big way. ____ [From the Washington Post, May 8, 2000] Today's the Day Diary Columnist Turns the Page (By Mike Causey) Well, there comes a time, and this is it. This is my last Federal Diary column for The Washington Post. I leave this job pretty much as I entered it: still suspicious of the statistics that powerful organizations pump out. For example: The usually reliable Washington Post--my longtime home-- says I produced 11,287 bylines. It seems like more than that. But who's counting? Also, The Post says I've been here for 36 years--as messenger, copy boy, reporter and columnist. They got the job titles right. But 36 years? It seems like only yesterday. Honest. So, how to sum up? The most-asked question (other than, ``Did a real barber cut your hair?'') has been this: How could you produce six columns a week, year after year, without going nuts? The answer is simple: For several years I did the Federal Diary column seven days a week. When they gave me Saturdays off, it removed all the pressure. Almost all. Secondly, it was part of the job description. Finally, I loved every minute of it. Honest. Being here for nearly four decades has been an incredible and enriching experience. You can't imagine. Over the years--in the line of duty--I have been shot at, gassed, tossed off a building. I covered the first Beatles concert and got to be one of the first people to circle the Capital Beltway. I was once run out of a small town in Western Maryland by a mob that, now that I think about it, had good reason to speed my departure from its fair community. Being a newspaper reporter means never having to grow up. I got to see how things work, or are supposed to, or don't. The events and machines and tours were fascinating. The people-- almost without exception--were wonderful. Reporters get to meet lots of VIPs. But for most of us ``beat'' reporters, the best part is the so-called ordinary people who, more often than not, are extraordinary. Just quieter than VIPs. The reason they are so good is simple: It's part of their job description. They say (by, the way, in all these years I have never discovered who ``they'' are) that reporters are only as good as their sources. True, up to a point. Sources are critical. But the real secret weapon for a successful reporter has two parts: * The people (as in colleagues) you work with. * The people (as in readers) you work for. It is that simple, and that complicated. Working with several generations of Washington Post types has been an education. Trust me on that one. [[Page 7399]] Reporters get the glory. But they only look good if they have great editors, researchers and backup. And reporters wouldn't last a minute, and you would never read their award- winning words, if it weren't for the people who do the real work. Like sell and process ads, make sure folks get billed and paid--so we can get paid--and produce and deliver the paper. For 25 cents you get, every day, the equivalent of a book printed overnight. Not a bad deal. Working with, and writing about, federal employees and military personnel has been a treat. If there are more dedicated people in this country, I have yet to meet them. I have known lots of people who would die for this country, and several who did. Few bankers, columnists, lawyers or CEOs can make that claim. Bureaucrats--and I don't have to say this anymore--are indeed beautiful. And don't you forget it. I could go on, but I hope you get the idea. Besides, time and space--as always--are limited. So has this been fun? And rewarding? Short answer: You bet! But this isn't a wake. Or even a goodbye. More in the order of see-you-later. I hope. Next stop for me is the brave new world of the Internet. I'll be at 1825 I St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20006. Stay in touch. I'm leaving here, but The Post will always be home. Always. This column has been around since the 1930s. It's been on loan to me for a long time. My successor, Stephen Barr, is an old friend. He's a Texan and a Vietnam vet, and he knows the beat. Best of all, he's a very nice guy. I hope Steve has as much fun as I did. Remember, he's had nearly half a century to prepare for his first column, which will begin Sunday. But he will have only one day to write his second column. So a little help and encouragement from you would be nice. Thanks. Mike. ____________________