Accused during the 2006 campaigns by Republicans that he would lead a "radical homosexual agenda" Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts and chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the full and entire financial services industry, has surprisingly bridged the partisan gap and "emerged as a key deal-maker" despite or because of his sharp wit.
“I think that Barney is misunderstood in some quarters as just being a hard-bound ideological liberal,” said Michael G. Oxley, the former congressman from Ohio who preceded Mr. Frank as chairman of the Financial Services Committee, “when in fact his legislative career has been really full of accomplishment and understanding of how markets work and how systems work.”[...]
“Because he is looking to get things done and make a difference, he focuses on areas of agreement and tries to build on those,” Mr. Paulson said. “He doesn’t waste anybody’s time, your time or his.”
And, he added, “It’s always more fun to work with someone who has got a sense of humor.”
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