> The U.S. government makes a big effort to reach out to important think tanks, often through the little noticed or understood mechanism of small, private and confidential roundtables. [...] The very occasion is full of intrigue and ritual.
> Nameless peons in sensible suits clutch government-issue notepads around the outer rim of the room as the thinker takes his seat at the center table, only somewhat disappointed to see so many other familiar thinkers in the room—including some to whom he had been obliquely hinting about the meeting the day before.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/who-influences-whom-reflections-on-u-s-government-outreach-to-think-tanks/

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