main hearing room of the House Education and Labor Committee in Washington-Rayburn 2175-has a 30-foot ceil- ing, a two-tiered mahogany rostrum seating 36 committee members, and gold carpet covering its auditorium-sized floor. But it is not so big that proceedings there cannot be dominated by Representative Carl Perkins (D-Ky.), with his quiet, slow voice, his whispered asides to his experienced staff, and his wis- dom in the ways of Congress. When the committee convenes to deliberate on the fate...