Title of Mr. Obscure Is the Kind of Political Award Packard Likes

It was the best of news. It was the worst of news. Sometimes it’s hard to tell in Washington.

Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) was included Monday on a list of the 10 most inconspicuous House members.

Parlaying a congressional record “long on substance and short on style,” Packard was one of five new members named to the Obscure Caucus, an annual “public service” offered by the twice-weekly Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

To some voters a taciturn, unheralded lawmaker may be the best kind. But being tagged obscure may be pushing it too far for most politicians.

These are tough calls.

The tongue-in-cheek honor was bestowed on Packard in light of his penchant for behind-the-scenes legislative efforts and his belief that “constituents and . . . attendance records are what count,” according to Roll Call.

“The members of the Obscure Caucus . . . are supposed to be masters of ducking the limelight, legislative workhorses who know that the key to reelection is not good press but good works--or at least public works,” the newspaper noted.

Yet lurking just beneath the surface of the pseudo-praise is the inescapable suggestion that caucus members’ profiles are so low that they are virtually invisible.

What’s the proper response to such unsought glory?

Late in the day, Packard released a written statement embracing his new peer group:

“I am gratified to be on a list of members that Roll Call labels ‘workhorses.’ I’ve never sought the limelight--my goal has always been to serve my constituents and my district. I think it’s more important to get the job done than to get the credit.”

Packard went on to note that last week he was named the most fiscally conservative member of the House by a national taxpayers group.

“If that qualifies me for obscurity, then I hope I’m on the list again year. . . .”

In an article headlined “The Few, the Proud, the Obscure,” Roll Call lamented how scandal and highly publicized reelection contests had forced the removal of five previous members of the Obscure Caucus.

But finding replacements was “a snap,” Roll Call said, “despite the House Bank affair.”

Not surprisingly, six of the 10 Most Obscure had no bad checks, and the rest had single-digit accumulations. Packard placed second with four overdrafts.

Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale), without a single overdraft, is the only other Californian among the 10 Unknowns.

Publicity is the bane of the caucus. Ethical missteps and unexpected oratory will surely knock a member off his perch.

Equally damning is drawing attention to one’s obscurity, as was done by Rep. Bob Borski (D-Pa.). In 1990, Borski ran a newspaper advertisement citing his membership in the caucus “as one of those little-known legislators who, instead of self-promotion, concentrate on constituent service, attendance and the gritty work of governing,” according to Roll Call.

Borski was bounced for the faux pas.

The five-term Packard may have staying power, Roll Call hinted: He “is so obscure that he was passed over twice for the caucus.”