President Jimmy Carter stories
come to mind as I learned of his cancer battle.
#1 – The New Mexico Amigos – The Official Goodwill
Ambassadors of New Mexico – were on the 1973 trip that included a stop in
Atlanta. Governor Jimmy Carter was a guest at the
luncheon held at a downtown hotel. It was not uncommon for the media
to cover a visit of The Amigos - 120
guys in grey slacks, white shirts, gold ties, and blue blazers walking down a sidewalk
turned heads.
At this luncheon in Atlanta, the media was there to cover us and
New Mexico Governor Bruce King and Governor Jimmy Carter. That night, the only mention on TV was not of
The Amigos, but rather the parking ticket the limousine for the Governor of Georgia had received while he was visiting the Amigos.
#2 – Again in the mid-70s as part of my news
responsibilities I was briefed by a couple political operatives who were
working on getting Jimmy Carter elected President of the United States. That meeting was held at the airport hotel,
and there were maps, schedules, plans, strategies, etc. It wasn’t until years later that I realized
(perhaps in my own mind) those political operatives were really testing me,
perhaps not as a reporter – but perhaps as a staff person to help during the
campaign. Opportunity missed.
#3 – As News Director at KOB-TV in Albuquerque I was invited
to a briefing in The White House cabinet room with President Jimmy Carter. It was special. Apart from realizing that I was really in The
White House, I remember two things a) sitting next to me was the Publisher of
The Denver Post, and I don’t think he’d ever been to a news briefing in his
life, and b) I headed out from The White House without saying hello to Tim
Kraft, a New Mexico guy who was the top ranking scheduler for POTUS. As I’m leaving the grounds, security stops me
and escorts me to a meeting with Tim in The Roosevelt Room across the hall from
The Oval Office.
No comments:
Post a Comment