An Early Introduction to the Ways of Washington

A few individuals also forked over money, but not much. Some members of Swanson's group are receiving $1,000-a-month stipends and a few S4 events have been subsidized. (The most notable involved a fake snowman and ice sculptures near the Capitol to bemoan how Congress has given private accounts the cold shoulder.) The total outlay for the summer is no more than $30,000, a pittance by D.C. standards.

For that minor investment, a dozen or so would-be politicos have learned a tremendous lesson: how to construct a policy structure that lasts. S4 has a fundraising director, a public relations manager, and a coordinator of op-ed publications. It has staffers who write talking points and give media training to students who are interviewed by local TV and radio stations. Controlling it all is a chief of staff, who, with others, keeps close tabs on what each campus affiliate is doing.

Even the most advanced lobbying group couldn't ask for a better arrangement.

Students on the left who oppose private accounts also have an organization to turn to. In May, a group called Students United to Protect Social Security announced that it had 43 campus affiliates across the nation. But unlike S4, that group was the creation of an existing lobby -- Americans United to Protect Social Security -- and has been dormant all summer while S4 has slaved.

During a 9 p.m. conference call last week, Swanson and his co-workers sat around a conference table at FreedomWorks and urged everyone who had called in to take on specific responsibilities. Swanson also asked for their commitment and energy -- two things he clearly possessed. Ever since he and others had met with Bush at the White House, he said, "we are completely psyched we're jumping up and down."

Swanson is taking off the fall semester to run his organization from Washington. His presence will be an inspiration, not just to other college kids, but also to grizzled veterans of the lobbying scene. "They've got such passion, such commitment to the concept of personal accounts that they really give the rest of us renewed energy," said Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

As for the future, Swanson said that one day he wants to become an economics adviser to the president. His training in the trenches this year will give him a running start.

Jeffrey Birnbaum writes about the intersection of government and business every other Monday. E-mail him atkstreetconfidential@washpost.com.