After 38 Years, Valenti Prepares To Move On Jack Valenti took a break from cleaning out his office the other day to expound on a subject he knows well: the art of persuasion. Over minestrone soup and hummus at his usual table at the restaurant in the Hay Adams Hotel, Valenti, the 82-year-old dean of Washington lobbyists, reflected on how Washington has changed and how lobbyists should operate here.