You've got to reach out. You can't try to present your point of view if you don't even know them. Not all of them are going to rush to answer your telephone calls if they don't know who you are. If they do, you might get a fairly brusque call, or you might wait several weeks to see them. So the social life in Washington is very useful because it provides a common field in which people can meet, get to know each other, and actually do business.
Parties are a continuation of business by other means.
The number of transactions or contacts that are made at night, or informally, is astonishing. The most popular receptions in Washington, the ones which really draw, are those given by the media. That's because the media's so powerful. But you can walk into a media reception of some TV program that's congratulating itself on its birthday, and you may have 20 or 30 senators, you'll find half the Cabinet. But, if you meet him at a party and you start talking, and you're having a drink, or you're sitting beside him at dinner, then fair is fair.