Popular opinion has it that Washington, D.C., is filled with amoral, self-interested people who don’t really believe in anything save their own professional advancement. Of course, such people do exist. But their influence is short-lived. They come and go.

Real influence comes from those who gain a reputation for their honesty, thoughtfulness, and selflessness. Those who quietly and sometimes not-so-quietly toil to advance the causes that they believe in.