Name Dropper

I got busted on Friday by one of the big bosses here. She says the only reason why I blogged about Romney last week was so that I could mention I had lunch with the General Manager of the station. This is that she wrote to the staff.

"Mike Walter billed his latest posting as a story about why Romney dropped out of the presidential race. But it was really a chance to show off about having lunch with the big boss!"

The ironic thing is I was going to start the Romney blog by saying I wasn't name dropping, and then decided that was a dumb way to start the blog. So out went that sentence. Not a smart move! Well I figured since I'm being blamed for name dropping I might as well give it a shot this time around. If you are wondering who the guy is to the left, it's my first boss in broadcasting. It's Leon McAuliffe. He was in the band Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. He made enough dough as a performer to buy a small radio station in Northwest Arkansas. Back then owning a small station in a small town was a license to print money.

Most of you probably don't know this, but even though I grew up in Southern California my first job in broadcasting was in Arkansas. I worked at KAMO in Northwest Arkansas. I was the News Director at McAuliffe's station. The station is still on the air, but it's changed quite a bit. I don't think there is anyone there who would even remember me. I was just a young pup fresh out of college. http://www.us94.com/kamo/

It was there when I came to know the Attorney General of the State Bill Clinton. I like to say I knew Bill Clinton, before he was Bill Clinton! I covered him quite a bit back then. We haven't spoken in years. The last time we talked was back in the 1990's when I was working in Kansas City.

So I think you can imagine how shocked I was last night when the phone rang and there he was on the other end of the line. Our conversation was cordial, and rather one sided, like most of our conversations in the past. One thing you need to know about the former President is this, he likes to talk, and he has a lot to say!

This time though it was different, usually I can get a word in edge wise. In the past I'd always been able to pepper him with questions. But this time it was different. There was a sense of urgency in his voice. He only wanted to talk about Hillary. He urged me and the entire family to vote for her.

I couldn't believe it, but just a few minutes later it's a phone call from Senator John McCain. Now admittedly I had spoken to McCain more recently than President Clinton. It was just a few years ago at Reagan National. Even so, I was stunned that he was calling too. To top it all off I also had Senator John Warner on the phone. I had no idea that all of these guys had my number. Now there is one little piece of this story that I've neglected to mention. All of these calls were generated by machines, and the reason I couldn't talk to any of these guys is because they were all recorded messages. Now admit it, it was a pretty good story until I got to the ending. To be honest even though I have spent time with McCain and President Clinton, (Clinton on several occasions) I'm convinced both of them would have difficulty picking me out of a police lineup. But it still was great to hear from them after all these years, even if it was memorex. Their calls didn't have much of an impact. The primary is just a few hours away, and I'm still undecided.