The Federal government in Washington is not usually regarded with much esteem, and several people tell Cohen that it has a damaging effect on private enterprise. Peacock is especially irate at the pollution control devices which the government says he must install in his cannery to prevent organic waste from being discharged into the sea.

"The government is interfering in a very irresponsible way," Peacock says. They want me to spend $75,000 to put in a pollution control device, and when I ask them how long the thing will work, they say they can't guarantee it for even one year. Now how can I possibly spend that much," he continues, "when I'm losing money as it is and when the thing might fall apart a couple of months after I buy it. And they tell me I'm going to have to close down unless I get it. I tell you, he concludes confidentially, "sometimes I'm really tempted to close down and tell Washington to shove it."

The lack of confidence in the government is increased by the Watergate scandal, and many residents of Lubec and the rest of Washington country talk with Cohen about it.

"Watergate has hurt the whole political system," says Cohen. "It confirms the people's belief that the government hasn't been telling the truth. Nixon has the power to resolve, one way or another, many of the questions surrounding Watergate by simply divulging the contents of the tapes."

A woman who runs a filling station with her husband agrees with Cohen. "Why won't they release the tapes if it will clear it all up?" she asks.

"I think we've wasted enough time on this Watergate thing," insists one matronly woman who is selling fruit and vegetables in a stand by the side of the road. "It's the kind of thing that all politicians do."

Cohen says he wants to destroy this image of the politician as a bad-guy, and hopes his two-week walk will bring the people a little closer to the political system. "By walking, as opposed to driving, through the district," he says, "people can really see what I'm like, what I stand for. Most important of all, I can listen to them. When they see that I'm concerned with what they're saying, I think they may realize that the government can be responsive to its citizens."

Even those who are not actively involved in political issues are glad to see a Congressman walk up to them and ask their opinions on the nation's state of affairs. "I'm one of those people that don't go to town meetings or anything like that," says a 60-year-old house painter, "but when it's all over, I still like to sit back and quarterback. It's good to know that there's someone who's willing to listen."

One man, however, believes that merely walking through the district and talking with the people is not enough. "When you go back to Washington," he tells Cohen, "and you take off your work shirt and put on a suit and tie, just don't forget about us."

"It's good to know that there's someone who's willing to listen."