Generation i

摘要

"Don't talk to the press. Have a good attitude. Always say yes. You are not here to change the world." And ladies, please, "Do not put us in a position to remind or suggest what qualifies as proper attire." These are among the instructions given to interns in the office of John Boehner, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, in an 8o-page manual accidentally left at a Capitol Hill house-party last summer and then posted online. Interns in "Boehnerland", as his offices are known, spend their time answering the phone, sorting through the post and giving tours of the Capitol ("Do not make something up."). They are instructed to point out a photograph of Mr Boehner with his high-school friends, "illustrating [his] humility". Boehnerland's Washington offices are employing 24 unpaid interns this summer. The 534 other members of the House and Senate have many more-no one knows exactly how many, because Congress is exempt from freedom-of-information laws, but perhaps 6,000, with more in spring and autumn. Down the Mall, the White House has employed 429 unpaid interns in the past year. The Supreme Court has its own programme. In all, each summer between 20,000 and 40,000 interns work in Washington's government departments, lobbyists, non-profit groups and firms.