It’s not often that a rookie Republican senator gets a White House summons for a face-to-face chat with President Barack Obama. But for Scott Brown (R-Mass.), who was summoned to the White House to talk with Obama about climate change, this kind of lavish attention is no longer a novelty.
The president has actually called him before — from Air Force One. Brown is kind of a big deal in his own party, too. Not only is he a frequently cited inspiration for GOP candidates across the country, but he’s the closer to whom Republicans go when they are trying to persuade prospective recruits to run for the Senate.
His high profile is already making him among the most recognizable Senate Republicans and has put him in a special class of recent celebrity senators — a group that includes former Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Al Franken. Yet he’s following a very different path from Clinton and Franken, both of whom have actively dodged the limelight, as he attempts to manage his national notoriety and his status as a vulnerable rookie whose seat will be difficult to hold in 2012, when he’s up for reelection.
“He’s been very helpful, but obviously he’s a new senator and has got to take care of his own politics,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas. “I think he’s been helpful. He helped talk to some candidates with recruiting — it’s the area where I think he’s been most helpful because he’s a guy with the most recent electoral experience.”
Full story: The GOP’s closer – Shira Toeplitz – POLITICO.com