Working his way down the St. Patrick's Day parade route on Staten Island last Sunday, Representative Michael G. Grimm stopped to talk to nearly every reveler. An aide in an Irish fisherman's sweater proffered Mr. Grimm's tiny Yorkie, Sebastian, for people to pet. Mr. Grimm stopped regularly to exchange brotherly greetings with fellow Marine veterans.Mr. Grimm seemed to give each passer-by total attention, showing off the charm that helped rocket him from obscurity to Congress in 2010.
Mr. Grimm, 42, an embattled Republican, has had to draw heavily in recent weeks on his political gifts as he tries to shake off allegations of improper or even illegal campaign fund-raising.“We fight the uphill battle that others won't fight,” he declared at a meeting that the Staten Island Republican Party held last month to rally support for him. “It's not just fighting the fight when it's easy.”
Mr. Grimm has been a rising star in the Republican Party, with a record of public service that party leaders considered political gold. After serving in the Persian Gulf war, he worked 11 years as an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, going under cover on Wall Street to put white-collar criminals behind bars.An avid weight lifter nicknamed Mikey Suits for his sartorial style, Mr. Grimm is a Capitol Hill rarity: a flamboyant New Yorker who has won the trust of red-state Republicans. Several said they liked his conservative social positions and relied on his Wall Street experience to clarify complex financial legislation.
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