The mid-twentieth century comedian Jimmy (“the Schnozzola”) Durante always got a big laugh from his audiences with his trademark line, “Everyone wants to get into the act.”

I thought about that last week in considering all the kerfuffle in Washington over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. It seemed everybody was competing for attention to make the news. That’s an exaggeration, of course. A vast majority of prominent politicians want to stay away from any scent of scandal. But their more vocal colleagues more than compensate.

Imagine you are in a classroom of very bright students and the teacher poses a difficult question. Forty hands shoot-up immediately to answer. Now, multiply that number by ten and you get some sense of what it’s like to be a member of the 435-person U.S. House of Representatives. Nearly everyone has answers to most issues, no matter how disparate their views. Who gets recognition, how, and what is the public reaction to those varying opinions?

You might get a 10-second soundbite on television from your press conference or House floor remarks, or from your postings on a social media platform. Can you call this a success? Momentary attention counts for something, but did you get results?

Durante may have been right that many want to get into the act, but not everyone does. Those who do often dazzle by their clever........

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