Bridging the Political Gap: Recent Episodes
Randal Wallace
"Bridging the Political Gap" originally was an 11 episode series on how to bridge the political divide our nation now faces. Based on lessons learned from the World War 2 Generation of leaders who created the American century. Over its multiple season run the Podcast has become a history show looking back at the last half of the 20th century for lessons in leadership to help us today. Currently the show is looking back at the life, career, and Administration of Richard Nixon, as part of a much larger review of the Vietnam War through Watergate. It was the most divisive time in modern American History and we hope to take lessons from it for today. Our show has also made the largest most extensive use of the secret White House tapes of both Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, ever assembled in one place, other than the National Archives, and the Nixontapes.org website of historian Luke Nichtor. We invite you to come along with us on a wild ride through the high points and low moments of modern American History, in an effort to show the citizens of today that we are an amazing and resilient nation. Our Podcasts are separated by individual Documentary style titles. -- Season 1 : Bridging the Political Gap episodes 1 -11 --- Season 2 : Lessons in Leadership : --- The GIANTS of the Senate and Joe Biden episodes 14 - 16 ---- World War 2 Episodes 17 - 20 --- General MacArthur You're Fired Episodes 21 - 23 ---- A Celebration of the life of George Shultz episodes 26 - 28 ---- November 1963 : The end of the Age of Innocence episode 29 ------The Vietnam War and Watergate Seasons 3 - 8 ----- Season 3 ----The Johnson Treatment episodes 32 - 39 ---- Upheaval 1968 episodes 40 - 50 ---- Season 4: Richard Nixon 1968 -1971 The Man Who Saved the Union episodes 51 -67 ----- Season 5 Richard Nixon 1972 The Foundation of Peace episodes 71 - 96 -----1973 Ten Days in January 97 - 100 -- coming soon -----Season 6 Richard Nixon 1973 : Enemies at the Gate ---- Season 7 Richard Nixon 1974 Through the Fire ---- Season 8 Richard Nixon 1974 - 1994 The Fall and the Rerise of Richard Nixon. ---- Plus there are commentaries, tributes, and special edition shows scattered through out our episode catalogue. (FAIR USE NOTICE : This presentation contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The use of this footage is for educational and historical commentary. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material.) * Ranked number 17 as one of the 60 best American History podcasts of 2022 by Feedspot.comhttps://blog.feedspot.com/american_history_podcasts/
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Our first column of our new publication on Substack.
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An introduction to a new feature for our podcast and publication on Substack.
Please come over to Substack and The Randal Wallace Journal and join our email list for future updates on the journal, the podcasts and the coming books over the next year and beyond.
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No one saw it coming. There had been no public hearings, the story had died down, the Ethics Committee had been predicted to censure Senator Packwood, and most likely strip him of his Chairmanship of the powerful Senate Budget Committee.
Then it announced that in a 6 - 0 vote, it would recommend expulsion to the full Senate.
As the old saying goes, that is when it hit the fan.
Here we will tune in to the dueling press conferences as Senator Bob Packwood went on the offensive to defend himself and try to salvage his 27 year career. Just after his press conference ended the Ethics Committee Chairman, Mitch McConnell R- Kentucky and Richard Bryan, the ranking member, D-Nevada, stepped in front of the cameras with thousands of pages of materials and made their case.
Bob Packwood was cornered, but he was not without friends and as you will hear, many of them, including members of the press would come to his defense, and often it wasn't even subtle. It would be some of the most interesting and riveting hours that I ever can remember in politics.
Over the next few episodes we will take you through it all as Senator Bob Packwood, one of the most popular and powerful members of the United States Senate saw his career finally unravel in front of the world.
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In this special short episode, we are introducing our new publication on Substack and new short feature for the show.
The Randal Wallace Journal is a new publication on Substack and we invite you over to sign up and get on our email list. Here is the Link https://substack.com/@randalw
The Randal Wallace Journal will be bringing you several different columns including the return of Politically Speaking with Randal Wallace, which was our political column from 1995 and 1996 at the Lander College Forum Student Newspaper.
On this show, we will be sharing with you our history collection where we commented on the very events the final two Bob Dole seasons will be covering and we will also be writing some new columns on today's issues.
Here is the various columns you will have access to on The Randal Wallace Journal on Substack.
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Politically Speaking with Randal Wallace (Contemporary and the History Collections)
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Leadership Lessons
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Presidential Notebook
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Behind the Story
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From the Archives
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Myrtle Beach and South Carolina
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In this epsode we will listen tot he one full length interview Bob Packwood gave reporter Barbara Walters about midway through the ordeal that would consume thirty-three months in total before it toppled his career.
It is an in-depth interview an examination of the scandal and it does leave you with lingering questions about the entire ordeal that I think still echo through time all of these years later. The accusations were, in all but one case, decades old. the accusations about his diaries and him looking for jobs for his now ex-wife, all seems to be a little bit without merit.
Was Bob Packwood about to pay the ultimate price to atone for the sins of the senate and powerful men for decades. Was the process fair? Or was the case just that overwhelming.
My own opinion is it was a little of both, but we will let you decide as you hear it all unfold over the next several episodes.
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In this episode we examine the scandal that would eventually lead to Senator Bob Packwood's fall from grace.
We will hear from the women involved in their long form "60 Minutes" Interview, where 10 of the accusers sat down with Morley Safer of CBS News and told their stories.
Then will let you hear from the reporter who broke the story and let her tell you how she uncovered the story, how hard it actually was to get it printed, her interactions with the Senator himself, and her thoughts about modern journalism in the 1990s.
Finally, we will take you live to the Senate Press room gallery where Senator Bob Packwood would attempt to take this scandal head on in December of 1992 as he fields question after question, apologizes for his behavior and frankly, accepts that his behavior had been wrong.
But will it save him? As you will see, the flood waters were rising and the scandal will begin to take on a life of its own.
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This is a new feature that will actually be introduced later in the season when it fits more perfectly in our timeline with the Bob Packwood Special Series. But these two stories were discovered when we were doing the research to reintroduce the history of our old column at The Lander Forum Student Newspaper.
In honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11, 2026, we thought we would go ahead and share these two articles with you. We hope you like the new feature of our podcast.
In future episodes, we will be sharing our old columns from 1995 and 1996 from the Lander Forum Student Newspaper. These are articles and columns that we wrote as we were living through the timeline this season and the next season of our podcast are dealing with. We thought we would share them during the run of these two seasons.
Also, we are reintroducing the column as part of our new publication on Substack, The Randal Wallace Journal. We invite you to go over to Substack and subscribe, it will get you on our email list and allow us to get in contact with you. We plan to share our current columns on here as part of the Politically Speaking segments as well, with both a history column and a separate current events column too.
We will have more on this new segment later in the season when our first historical column would have entered the story in the Bob Packwood Special Series currently running. We decided to share these two stories now, after the death of Lindsey Graham, who emerged on the national stage, representing the South Carolina Third District, where Lander University is located, during this same time period.
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In this preview we look back at arguably the biggest game changer of 1995 for Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. It was the loss of his chief Lieutenant in the United States Senate, Bob Packwood.
Dole and Packwood were friends, and both men were experts on the Federal budget.
Packwood’s loss cannot be overstated.
In this special series we will examine the scandal that brought him down, the agonizing three years it unfolded and the shocking 24 hours in which one of the most brilliant and powerful leaders in modern Senate history saw his two decade career collapse.
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: OUR SENATOR – A Tribute, Part 5: A South Carolina Original
Our five-part documentary tribute concludes with a look back at the remarkable public life and enduring legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the most consequential political figures in modern South Carolina history.
In this final installment, we revisit Graham's role as a leading voice in Washington, D.C., hearing once again from the senator himself through interviews that reveal his convictions, humor, and approach to public service. We also return to one of the defining moments of his career—his passionate defense during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings—and to his final major appearance before the people of South Carolina as we listen to his victory speech following his Republican primary victory just weeks before his passing.
The episode also includes the heartfelt letter from South Carolina's new United States Senator, Darlene Graham Nardone, addressed to the people of the Palmetto State as she begins her temporary service in the Senate.
Closer to home, host Randal Wallace appears before both the Myrtle Beach City Council and Horry County Council to propose that the terminal at Myrtle Beach International Airport be named in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham. If you are a South Carolina listener and believe this tribute is fitting, we invite you to respectfully share your thoughts with your local elected officials and encourage them to consider this lasting recognition of Graham's decades of service.
We conclude with one final bipartisan tribute as Senator Chris Coons of Delaware reflects on his friend and colleague, followed by the United States Senate's formal adjournment in Lindsey Graham's memory. The series closes with the moving Republican Senate Caucus memorial presentation, "Lindsey Graham: An American Original," celebrating the life, service, and legacy of a senator whose influence reached far beyond the borders of South Carolina.
Thank you for joining us for this special five-part documentary series. We hope these episodes preserve not only the history of an extraordinary week, but also the story of a man whose career left an indelible mark on South Carolina, the United States Senate, and the nation he served.
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: OUR SENATOR – A Tribute, Part 4: Senate and House Tributes
The tributes to Senator Lindsey Graham continued as members of both the United States Senate and the South Carolina congressional delegation reflected on the life and service of a man who shaped South Carolina politics for more than three decades.
In Part Four of our five-part documentary tribute, we present additional Senate memorial speeches along with heartfelt remarks from South Carolina Representatives Ralph Norman, Russell Fry, and Joe Wilson. Their tributes recall Graham's dedication to public service, his leadership on national defense and foreign policy, his devotion to South Carolina, and the friendships he forged throughout his career.
These remarks also capture a pivotal moment in South Carolina history as the state's leaders honored Graham's extraordinary legacy while looking ahead to the future of the Senate seat he held for so many years.
Through these speeches, we preserve the voices of those who served alongside Lindsey Graham and ensure that their reflections become part of the historical record.
This is Part Four of our five-part documentary tribute honoring the life, leadership, and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham.
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To celebrate Bob Dole’s 103rd birthday we have assembled all the previews for our special series on his life and career.
The Bob Dole Preview Collection featuring the bonus preview on the special series The Fall of Bob Packwood too. Previews include: 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing, The Life that Brought Him There, 1995 Clinton's Comeback, The Fall of Bob Packwood1996 The Campaign of a LifetimeQuestions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: OUR SENATOR – A Tribute, Part 3: The Senate's Tributes
As the United States Senate gathered to honor one of its longest-serving and most respected members, colleagues from both political parties rose to remember the life and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham.
In Part Three of our five-part tribute, we present the moving Senate memorial tributes delivered by the men and women who served alongside Graham throughout his three decades in Congress. Their remarks recall his unwavering commitment to South Carolina, his leadership on national security and the judiciary, his wit and humor, his fierce loyalty to friends, and his willingness to work across party lines when he believed it was in the nation's best interest.
These speeches offer a deeply personal portrait of Lindsey Graham—not simply as a senator, but as a mentor, confidant, and friend whose influence reached far beyond the Senate chamber.
This episode preserves for history the voices of those who knew him best, creating a lasting record of the respect and affection Senator Lindsey Graham earned from colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
This is Part Three of our five-part documentary tribute honoring the life, leadership, and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham.
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: OUR SENATOR – A Tribute, Part 2: Shocked and Saddened
The shock of Senator Lindsey Graham's sudden passing continued to reverberate across South Carolina and the nation as friends, colleagues, political allies, and even longtime opponents reflected on the life of one of America's most influential senators.
Part Two begins with Darlene Graham Nardone taking the oath of office as South Carolina's temporary United States Senator before following the continuing news coverage and public reaction to Graham's death. Through interviews, press conferences, and conversations from those historic days, we hear memories of the man behind the public figure while revisiting many of the defining moments of his long career in public service.
This episode captures a state—and a nation—coming to terms with an unexpected loss. It is a portrait of grief, gratitude, and remembrance as South Carolinians begin to reflect on Lindsey Graham's decades of service and the lasting impact he made on their state and the country.
This is Part Two of our five-part documentary tribute honoring the life, leadership, and legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham.
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This is a housekeeping episode produced to update everyone on the significant changes to our Network wide schedule for July and part of August due to the death of Senator Lindsey Graham.
They include:
The episode looking at NixonMaxxing and Vice President J.D. Vance, will not air in July and we will air it in August on the Richard Nixon Experience.
This week we will be airing, starting today, a 5-part special series looking back at the historic week in South Carolina we just lived through, and honoring the memory of Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolinian of the 21st century so far. The episodes will run starting today, Sunday July 19, through Thursday July 23, 2026.
This will move our current season eighteen series "Bob Dole 1995 Clinton's Comeback," to airing episodes next week, While the special inner-season series on Bob Packwood will air one episode now in July and then run in August.
We will also run an episode covering the State Funeral of Lindsey Graham but it will air in early August due to time constraints.
This episode will go through all of those scheduling changes in detail.
Thanks for listening,
Randal Wallace
Host of the Wallace Podcast Network.
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: OUR SENATOR – A Week of History, A Tribute (Part 1)
In one of the most extraordinary weeks in modern South Carolina political history, we look back at the remarkable events that unfolded from Senator Lindsey Graham's final overseas trip to Ukraine through the days that followed his unexpected passing.
This first installment traces the timeline of a week that stunned the nation, beginning with Senator Graham's final public appearances abroad and concluding with Governor Henry McMaster's announcement appointing Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve as South Carolina's temporary United States Senator. Throughout the episode, we hear from political leaders, friends, colleagues, and longtime associates who knew Lindsey Graham personally, offering their reflections on his life, his service, and the legacy he leaves behind.
Drawing from press conferences, interviews, and public statements recorded during those historic days, this documentary preserves the voices of those who worked beside him and provides a chronological account of one of the most significant transitions in South Carolina's political history.
This is Part One of our special tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham—a week of history, remembered.
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Senator Lindsey Graham has died at age 71. He has been a good friend to me for my entire political career . I cannot say enough good things about him as a human being and as a United States Senator. Here is our look at his career.
This is a giant loss for the nation,
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In this special episode, we will listen to the audio of a special short film. It is the campaign introductory video for Bob Dole in 1996. Of all the campaign videos I have saved and seen in over 40 plus years around politics, this is my favorite.
That is probably because Bob Dole is my favorite. When I contacted the campaign in 1995, they had me come up to Columbia S.C. and get boxes of the videotapes to give out in Greenwood S.C. where I lived and went to college at Lander University. I kept a box and wrapped them up for Christmas gifts in December. I know, what a present right?
I was as fanatical a Dole man as you ever wanted to meet, and 1995 and 1996 are still the best years of my life in politics. I had so much fun, and this video was the start. So, enjoy as we look back at the campaign of 1996, the campaign of a lifetime.
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In our second ever special event we take you back , as though you were watching live coverage, of the day Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole R- Kansas announced his candidacy for President of the United States of America.
It was an extraordinary moment in the history of the country because it was not just the announcement of candidate for President, it was the announcement of the start of the final campaign for a generation of Americans who had built the American Century. Underneath all the pomp and circumstance, underneath all the anticipation for yet another Dole run for President, underneath all the hype for another Presidential year on the horizon, was that under current, that everyone seemed to realize, that what we were actually watching was the beginning of the last campaign for the Greatest of Generations.
It was mentioned throughout the day repeatedly, and everyone realized it was time listen, to soak in history, as it was passing before our ears and eyes.
It was a big moment, and in this episode we will take you back in time, and relive the day as if we were there covering it all live in 1995.
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This is a housekeeping show to explain why we decided to add a season to our Bob Dole series. this additional season also includes a miniseries on the fall of Senator Bob Packwood, one of Bob Dole's chief lieutenants in the Senate. We hope you enjoy our coming season and our continued look back at giant political figure and the last of the Greatest Generation to run for President, Bob Dole.
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Season Eighteen of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole takes us into one of the most dramatic and consequential years in modern American politics: 1995.
At the beginning of the year, Republicans appeared to be at the height of their power. Fresh off the Republican Revolution of 1994, Bob Dole stood as the overwhelming favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, and many believed the White House was within reach.
By the end of the year, however, the political landscape had changed dramatically.
In this special season preview, we look ahead to the major stories that will define our upcoming episodes, including:
• Bob Dole's long-awaited announcement for President of the United States
• The tragic Oklahoma City bombing and its political aftermath
• The stunning fall of Bob Packwood and its impact on the Senate
• The crowded Republican presidential field challenging Dole's path to the nomination
• Colin Powell and his brief flirtation with a presidential campaign that captivated the nation
• The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the shockwaves it sent through the world and the Middle East peace process
• The growing crisis in Bosnia and the difficult decisions facing American leaders
• The two federal government shutdowns that would redefine the relationship between Congress and the White House
At the center of it all stands Bob Dole — Senate Majority Leader, Republican standard-bearer, and a man attempting to navigate a rapidly changing political environment while pursuing the presidency he had sought for decades.
Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton begins one of the most remarkable political recoveries in modern history. Written off by many after the 1994 elections, Clinton would spend 1995 rebuilding his presidency and setting the stage for a comeback that few saw coming.
This season is a story of ambition, tragedy, triumph, political warfare, and unexpected turns.
A year that changed Washington.
A year that reshaped two presidencies.
And a year that would determine the course of the 1996 election.
Welcome to Season Eighteen.
Bob Dole: 1995 — Clinton's Comeback.
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A discussion about the things coming up across the Wallace Podcast Network and an update on all three of the books we have coming out soon.
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Episode 458 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 39)
A Bonus Show: A Couple of Stories by Bob Dole
As our journey through the life and career of Bob Dole continues, we take a brief detour from the main narrative to share a collection of fascinating stories that simply deserved to be heard.
Over the course of researching this series, we encountered a number of memorable moments from Dole’s oral history interviews that, while not essential to the chronological story, offered unique insights into his experiences, personality, and remarkable career. Rather than leave them on the cutting room floor, we’ve gathered them together for this special bonus episode.
We begin with reflections on Dole’s life and legacy from Karl Rove, recorded during FOX News coverage of Dole’s funeral, providing context for how his colleagues and admirers remembered him after his passing.
From there, Dole takes center stage, telling stories in his own words, including:
• His meeting with Saddam Hussein and the impressions he took away from the encounter
• His experiences meeting Daniel Ortega during a turbulent period in Central American politics
• A fascinating story involving Slobodan Milošević during the conflicts that reshaped the Balkans
• His work with Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the effort to preserve and strengthen Social Security
These stories highlight a side of Bob Dole that often gets overlooked — the diplomat, the negotiator, the observer of world events, and the Senate dealmaker who built relationships across party lines and around the globe.
Some are humorous.
Some are revealing.
And all of them provide a deeper appreciation for a man whose public career spanned some of the most consequential decades of the twentieth century.
Not every story fits neatly into history’s timeline.
But sometimes the stories left over are among the most interesting of all.
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Episode 457 – BOB DOLE: The Life That Brought Him There, Part 38
The Bush Years (1989–1992) (C): The ADA, the 1990 Budget Deal, and the End of the Bush Administration (Season Finale)
As the George H. W. Bush years draw to a close, Senator Bob Dole finds himself at the center of some of the most consequential legislative battles of his career.
In this season finale, we examine three defining chapters of the Bush Administration and Dole's role in shaping them.
First, we look at the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, landmark legislation that transformed opportunities for millions of Americans. For Bob Dole, a wounded World War II veteran who spent years overcoming the challenges of disability himself, the issue was deeply personal. We explore how Dole worked across party lines to help move the legislation through Congress and why the ADA became one of the proudest achievements of his public life.
Next, we turn to the bitter struggle over the 1990 budget agreement. Facing mounting deficits and economic uncertainty, President Bush entered negotiations with congressional leaders that culminated in a controversial bipartisan deal. The agreement broke Bush's famous "Read My Lips: No New Taxes" pledge, triggering outrage among conservatives and creating divisions within the Republican Party that would linger for years. We examine Dole's difficult position as Senate Republican Leader and his efforts to navigate the competing demands of governing, party loyalty, and fiscal responsibility.
Finally, we trace the final years of the Bush presidency, from the triumph of victory in the Gulf War to a slowing economy, rising political challenges, and the turbulent 1992 election. As President Bush's popularity declined and Governor Bill Clinton emerged as a formidable challenger, Bob Dole increasingly found himself looking toward the future—and toward the possibility of his own presidential campaign.
This episode closes the story of Bob Dole's journey from war hero to Senate Republican Leader and one of the most influential figures in Washington during the Bush years. Along the way, we have witnessed the experiences, struggles, triumphs, and setbacks that shaped the man who would soon become the Republican Party's standard-bearer.
Next season, the story continues with BOB DOLE: 1995 – Clinton's Comeback, as America enters a new political era marked by divided government, the Republican Revolution, and the opening chapters of Bob Dole's final quest for the presidency.
The life that brought him there is complete. The campaign that will define his legacy is about to begin.
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Episode 456 – BOB DOLE: The Life That Brought Him There, Part 37
The Bush Years (1989–1992) (B): The Tower Nomination (2) – The Fight!!
The battle lines are drawn.
What began as what appeared to be a routine confirmation for former Texas Senator John Tower to become Secretary of Defense quickly exploded into one of the most bitter and contentious nomination fights in modern Senate history.
In this episode, we follow the escalating political war that engulfed the Senate as allegations concerning Tower's personal conduct, drinking habits, and relationships with defense contractors dominated headlines across America. Democrats questioned whether Tower possessed the judgment necessary to lead the Pentagon, while Republicans argued that an accomplished public servant was being subjected to rumor, innuendo, and character assassination.
At the center of the fight stood Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole. A longtime colleague and friend of Tower, Dole emerged as one of the nomination's most forceful defenders. As the controversy intensified, Dole worked behind the scenes and on the Senate floor to rally Republican support, challenge the accusations against Tower, and defend what he believed was the constitutional responsibility of the Senate to judge a nominee fairly.
The confirmation battle soon became about far more than John Tower. It became a struggle over partisanship, personal character, the advice and consent role of the Senate, and the future relationship between Congress and the newly inaugurated Bush Administration.
Through committee hearings, floor speeches, media scrutiny, and intense political maneuvering, we examine how the nomination transformed from a personnel decision into a national political showdown. Along the way, we hear from the senators who fought for Tower, those who opposed him, and the leaders who understood that the outcome would set a precedent reaching far beyond a single nomination.
This is the fight—the bruising Senate battle that tested friendships, challenged political loyalties, and became one of the defining confirmation struggles of the late twentieth century.
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Episode 455 – BOB DOLE: The Life That Brought Him There, Part 36
The Bush Years (A): The Tower Nomination (1) – Who Is John Tower?
With the election of President George H. W. Bush in 1988, a new Republican administration arrived in Washington, but one of its first major battles would become one of the most controversial cabinet confirmation fights in modern American history.
Before we can understand the nomination battle itself, we must first understand the man at its center: former Texas Senator John Tower.
In this episode, we examine Tower's remarkable rise from a young Texas history professor to the first Republican elected to the United States Senate from Texas since Reconstruction. We follow his twenty-four-year Senate career, his emergence as one of the Republican Party's leading voices on national defense, and his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he became one of the nation's foremost authorities on military affairs.
We also explore Tower's relationship with fellow Republican leaders, including Senator Bob Dole, President Ronald Reagan, and Vice President-turned-President George H. W. Bush. Along the way, we examine his role in Cold War defense policy, arms control negotiations, and the Iran-Contra investigation that further elevated his national profile.
By January 1989, Tower appeared to be the obvious choice to become Secretary of Defense. Few Americans possessed his depth of experience in military affairs, and his confirmation seemed almost certain. Yet within weeks, allegations concerning his personal conduct, drinking, and ties to defense contractors would ignite a political firestorm that would divide the Senate and place longtime allies like Bob Dole in a difficult position.
This is the story of the man before the battle—a look at the life and career that brought John Tower to the center of one of the most dramatic confirmation fights in Senate history.
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Episode 454 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 35)
Bush vs. Dole: The 1988 Campaign (B) — The New Hampshire Primary
In Episode 454 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we turn to one of the most decisive moments of the 1988 Republican presidential race: the battle for New Hampshire.
Fresh off his victory in the Iowa Caucuses, Bob Dole appeared to have the momentum. For the first time in his long political career, the Republican nomination seemed within reach. The press was talking about a Dole surge, and supporters believed Iowa might be the breakthrough he had spent years pursuing.
But standing in his path was Vice President George H. W. Bush, whose campaign suddenly found itself fighting for survival.
The New Hampshire Primary would become the turning point.
This episode examines:
• The aftermath of Dole's Iowa victory
• Bush's determination to stop Dole's momentum
• The media battles that shaped public perception of the race
• The campaign strategies employed by both candidates
• The famous and often tense exchanges that became hallmarks of the New Hampshire contest
• How one primary helped determine the future nominee of the Republican Party
The campaign was more than a contest between two candidates. It was a clash of styles, personalities, and political identities within the Republican Party.
Dole brought decades of legislative experience, sharp wit, and a reputation as one of Washington's most effective leaders.
Bush brought the prestige of the vice presidency, the legacy of the Reagan administration, and a national campaign organization determined to regain control of the race.
As the candidates crisscrossed New Hampshire, every speech, debate, television appearance, and campaign stop carried enormous significance.
For Bob Dole, New Hampshire represented an opportunity to transform momentum into inevitability.
For George Bush, it was a chance to save his campaign.
Only one would leave with the advantage.
And the outcome would reshape the course of the 1988 Republican presidential nomination battle.
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BOB PACKWOOD (1932–2026): A Look Back
Special Edition — Plus a Preview of Our Upcoming Bob Packwood Series
This special edition of our podcast is dedicated to the life and legacy of Bob Packwood, who passed away this weekend at the age of 94.
For nearly three decades, Packwood was one of the most influential, controversial, and consequential members of the United States Senate. A senator who often defied easy ideological labels, he played a major role in shaping tax policy, budget negotiations, health care debates, environmental legislation, and some of the most significant legislative battles of the late twentieth century.
In this episode, we look back on Packwood's remarkable life and career through obituary coverage, historical reflections, and an assessment of his impact on the Senate and the nation.
Like many influential public figures, Packwood's legacy is a complicated one. His legislative accomplishments and political skill are inseparable from the controversies that ultimately ended his Senate career. This episode seeks to examine the full story of the man, his achievements, his flaws, and the lasting impact he left on American politics.
Adding a bittersweet dimension to this tribute is the fact that our production team had just completed a comprehensive 14-part series on Bob Packwood's life and career before learning of his passing.
As a result, this special edition also serves as a preview of that upcoming series, giving listeners a glimpse into the topics we will explore in greater depth, including:
• Packwood's rise in Oregon politics
• His years in the United States Senate
• His role in major tax and budget legislation
• His relationships with fellow senators, including Bob Dole
• His influence on the changing Senate of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s
• The controversies that brought his career to an end
• His place in the larger story of American political history
For listeners who have enjoyed our long-form Senate and Bob Dole series, Packwood's story offers another fascinating look inside an institution that shaped modern America.
This episode is both a remembrance and a beginning.
A farewell to a senator whose influence stretched across generations.
And a preview of a series that will explore one of the most complex figures ever to serve in the United States Senate.
Bob Packwood. 1932–2026.
A life.
A career.
A complicated legacy.
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Episode 453 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 34)
Bush vs. Dole: The 1988 Republican Primary (A) — The Iowa Caucus Campaign
In Episode 453 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we begin our examination of one of the most important and hard-fought campaigns of his political life — the 1988 Republican presidential primary.
For years, Dole had risen through the ranks of American politics: Congressman, Senator, Vice Presidential nominee, Chairman of the Finance Committee, and Senate Republican Leader. Now, with Ronald Reagan preparing to leave office, Dole saw what many believed would be his best opportunity to capture the Republican nomination for President.
Standing in his way was Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, the early favorite and heir apparent to much of the Reagan coalition.
This episode focuses on the opening battleground of the campaign — the Iowa Caucuses.
We explore:
• Why Iowa became so critical to Dole's strategy
• The strengths and weaknesses of the Dole and Bush campaigns
• The role of retail politics and grassroots organization in Iowa
• The issues and themes shaping the Republican contest
• The intense competition between two longtime Republican leaders
The Iowa campaign showcased two very different political styles. Dole relied on his legislative experience, sharp debating skills, and Midwestern roots, while Bush sought to build upon the popularity of the Reagan administration and his standing as Vice President.
As the candidates crisscrossed Iowa, the stakes could not have been higher. A strong showing could provide momentum toward the nomination. A poor performance could bring a campaign to a sudden halt.
This is the beginning of a rivalry that would shape the Republican Party's future — and one of the most fascinating presidential contests of the Reagan era.
The battle lines are drawn.
The caucuses are approaching.
And the road to the 1988 Republican nomination begins in Iowa.
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In this special edition episode, we turn our attention to one of the most accomplished public servants of her generation, Elizabeth Dole, as we revisit her 1990 Landon Lecture delivered at Kansas State University.
At the time serving as U.S. Secretary of Labor, Dole brought to the podium a wealth of experience gained through leadership roles in multiple presidential administrations. Her lecture explored the challenges and opportunities facing America at the dawn of a new decade, addressing issues of work, economic change, personal responsibility, public service, and the evolving role of government in American life.
Known for her intellect, poise, and commitment to public service, Dole offered thoughtful reflections on the values that strengthen communities and the importance of leadership in times of transition. Her remarks provide a fascinating snapshot of the political and economic landscape of 1990 while highlighting themes that remain relevant today.
Join us as we examine Elizabeth Dole’s message, the historical context surrounding her address, and the lasting significance of her contributions to American public life in this special presentation of the 1990 Landon Lecture.
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For Episode 452 of the podcast, we continue our in-depth exploration of the remarkable life and career of Bob Dole with Part 33 of The Life That Brought Him There. In this episode, we revisit Dole's March 25, 1985 appearance at the prestigious Landon Lecture, where the Kansas senator delivered a speech titled “The Dream of America.” The lecture came at a pivotal moment in Dole’s political rise, as he was emerging as one of the most influential voices in the United States Senate and would soon become Senate Majority Leader.
Drawing inspiration from the legacy of Alf Landon, Dole reflected on American ideals, opportunity, technological progress, national responsibility, and the challenges facing a new generation. He spoke about the importance of courage in public life, the promise of individual dreams, and the need to confront issues such as poverty, nuclear tensions, and fiscal responsibility while preserving the values that define the American experiment.
Join us as we examine the themes, historical context, and political significance of this landmark address, offering a window into Dole’s vision for America and the principles that shaped one of the most consequential public servants of the twentieth century.
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In Episode 451 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we examine the substance of Bob Dole’s years as Senate Republican Leader — the legislation passed, the compromises forged, and the institutional changes that reshaped the United States Senate during his watch.
By the time Dole reached the height of Senate leadership, Washington was entering a period of major political and procedural transformation. The Senate of his early years — built heavily on personal relationships, committee power, and bipartisan negotiation — was beginning to evolve into a more partisan, media-driven institution.
At the same time, major policy battles were unfolding across nearly every area of government.
This episode explores:
• Key legislation and policy accomplishments during Dole’s leadership years
• Budget battles, tax policy, and fiscal negotiations
• The increasing nationalization of Senate politics
• Changes in Senate procedure, leadership dynamics, and party strategy
• How television, media, and messaging began reshaping the institution
• The challenge of governing during an era of growing polarization
Throughout the episode, we see Dole operating not simply as a partisan leader, but as a legislative manager trying to balance ideology, political reality, and the practical demands of governing.
The Senate was changing.
The country was changing.
And Bob Dole stood at the center of that transition.
This is the story of leadership during a transformative era —
when major policy was still being passed,
but the institution itself was beginning to become something very different.
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In Episode 450 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we move beyond the title of Senate Republican Leader and examine the qualities Bob Dole brought to the job — both as Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States Senate.
Leadership in the Senate is unlike leadership anywhere else in American government. It requires patience, discipline, persuasion, timing, and above all, the ability to manage strong personalities while navigating constantly shifting political realities.
This episode explores the leadership characteristics that defined Dole’s approach and helped him become one of the most respected congressional leaders of his generation.
Among the traits examined:
• His sharp political instincts and tactical discipline
• His mastery of Senate procedure and legislative strategy
• His ability to negotiate and build coalitions
• His use of humor and wit as political tools
• His loyalty to the institution of the Senate itself
• His balancing act between ideology and practical governance
Whether serving in the majority or the minority, Dole understood that Senate leadership required flexibility as much as conviction. He could be partisan when necessary, bipartisan when possible, and pragmatic when governing demanded it.
The episode also reflects on how Dole’s wartime experiences, personal resilience, and years in public service shaped his leadership style — giving him both toughness and perspective in moments of conflict and crisis.
This is a portrait of leadership not built on charisma alone, but on preparation, endurance, and understanding how power actually works inside the Senate.
A leader of strategy.
A leader of relationships.
And a leader shaped by both ambition and experience.
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In this special tribute edition, we say goodbye to one of the great institutions in American broadcasting history — CBS News Radio — with a rebroadcast of its final network broadcast after nearly a century on the air.
For generations of Americans, CBS News Radio was more than a news service. It was a trusted companion through war, triumph, tragedy, elections, disasters, and defining moments in world history. From the earliest days of modern broadcasting through the rise of television, cable news, and now podcasting, CBS Radio helped define what broadcast journalism sounded like.
Its voices carried history into homes, cars, offices, and communities across the country.
This special edition honors that legacy by revisiting the network’s final sign-off — a moment filled with reflection, gratitude, and the recognition that an extraordinary chapter in American media history has come to a close.
Throughout its existence, CBS News Radio represented:
• The golden age of radio journalism
• Live coverage during moments of national crisis and world conflict
• The evolution of modern news reporting
• The foundation upon which much of today’s audio broadcasting and podcasting culture was built
For those of us working in audio today, this is not simply the end of a network — it is the farewell to one of the pioneers that made everything we do possible.
The technology changed.
The platforms changed.
But the power of a voice telling the story of the world remained.
This episode is offered in tribute and appreciation to the journalists, broadcasters, engineers, producers, and storytellers who carried the CBS News Radio tradition forward for nearly 100 years.
From one era of broadcasting to another…
thank you, CBS News Radio.
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In Episode 449 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we examine one of the defining turning points of his career — his election as Senate Republican Leader.
After years of legislative battles, committee leadership, presidential campaigns, and political setbacks, Dole rose to one of the most powerful positions in Washington: leader of the Republicans in the United States Senate.
But what exactly makes a Senate leader?
This episode explores not only how Dole secured the position, but what leadership inside the Senate truly required during an era of intense political change. More than a title, Senate leadership demanded strategy, negotiation, discipline, coalition-building, and the ability to manage competing personalities and priorities within the Republican conference.
In this episode, we explore:
• The political circumstances surrounding Dole’s rise to leadership
• The internal dynamics of the Senate Republican caucus
• How Dole earned the trust and support of fellow senators
• The leadership qualities that defined his approach
• The challenges of balancing ideology, governance, and party unity
As Republican Leader, Dole became more than a senator from Kansas — he became one of the central figures in national politics and a key architect of Senate Republican strategy during the Reagan era and beyond.
This episode marks the beginning of a new chapter:
From legislator…
to strategist…
to leader.
And in the process, we begin to see the qualities that made Bob Dole one of the most consequential Senate leaders of his generation.
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Episode 448 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 29)
Feeding Children All Around the World with Senator George McGovern
In Episode 448 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we explore one of the most remarkable bipartisan partnerships in modern American political history — Bob Dole’s work with former Senator George McGovern to combat hunger and feed children around the world.
Though they stood on opposite sides of the political spectrum — and had once represented very different visions for America — Dole and McGovern forged a friendship and working relationship rooted in shared humanity and a belief that fighting hunger should rise above politics.
Together, they became leading advocates for international food assistance programs and school nutrition initiatives designed to help children in some of the poorest regions of the world. Their efforts would eventually contribute to programs that provided meals, hope, and opportunity to millions.
This episode explores:
• How the unlikely partnership between Dole and McGovern developed
• Their shared commitment to fighting hunger and malnutrition
• The creation and expansion of international school feeding programs
• How bipartisan cooperation made these efforts possible
• The personal respect and friendship that grew between the two senators
At a time when politics is often defined by division, the story of Bob Dole and George McGovern stands as a reminder that public service can still be guided by compassion, common purpose, and the willingness to work across ideological lines.
This is not a story about campaigns or elections.
It is a story about feeding children.
About finding common ground.
And about two former political rivals who chose to leave the world better than they found it.
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Episode 447 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 28)
Saving Social Security
In Episode 447 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we examine one of the most important bipartisan legislative efforts of the modern era — the fight to preserve and stabilize Social Security during the early 1980s.
At a time when the Social Security system faced a looming financial crisis and fears grew that the government could soon be unable to meet its obligations, Washington was forced into difficult negotiations with enormous political stakes.
This episode explores the effort to “save Social Security” — and the central role Bob Dole played in navigating one of the most sensitive and consequential policy debates of his Senate career.
Working alongside President Ronald Reagan, congressional leaders, and members of both parties, Dole became a key figure in the negotiations that ultimately produced a compromise designed to strengthen the program’s long-term stability.
In this episode, we explore:
• The financial crisis facing Social Security in the early 1980s
• The political risks surrounding reform efforts
• Bob Dole’s role in the negotiations and legislative strategy
• The bipartisan cooperation required to reach an agreement
• How the reforms reshaped Social Security for future generations
This is a story not just about policy, but about governing — the challenge of balancing political reality with fiscal responsibility while dealing with one of the most important programs in American life.
In an era often remembered for ideological battles, the Social Security compromise stood as a reminder that major legislation still required negotiation, trust, and compromise.
A system on the brink.
A Senate forced to act.
And Bob Dole at the center of one of Washington’s defining bipartisan moments.
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Episode 446 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 27)
Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole
In Episode 446 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we take a closer look at one of the defining relationships of the 1980s — Dole’s partnership with Ronald Reagan.
Moving beyond policy and legislation, this episode explores the personal and professional dynamic between two very different leaders who nevertheless worked together to shape an era. Dole, the disciplined Senate tactician, and Reagan, the communicator-in-chief, formed a relationship grounded in mutual respect, political necessity, and a shared sense of purpose.
Through firsthand reflections and recollections, we also hear from fellow senators who worked alongside Reagan — offering a portrait of a president who inspired not just loyalty, but genuine affection.
In this episode, they reflect on:
• What it was like to work directly with Ronald Reagan
• How Reagan built relationships across the Senate
• The balance between leadership, delegation, and persuasion
• The personal side of Reagan — including his well-known love of humor and storytelling
The tone is unmistakable: admiration, respect, and, in many cases, fondness.
These are not just political recollections — they are personal memories. Stories of conversations, moments of levity, and the kind of human connection that often goes unseen in the historical record.
At a time when leadership required both vision and relationships, Reagan left a lasting impression on those who served with him.
And through Bob Dole’s experience — and the voices of his colleagues — we see why.
A president remembered not just for policy…
but for presence, personality…
and the ability to bring people together.
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Episode 445 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 26)
The 1981 Tax Bill, TEFRA, and Ronald Reagan
In Episode 445 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we examine one of the most consequential policy chapters of the early 1980s — and one that placed Dole at the center of economic policymaking in Washington.
This episode focuses on two landmark pieces of legislation:
• The sweeping 1981 tax cuts championed by Ronald Reagan — a cornerstone of the Reagan economic program that aimed to stimulate growth and reshape the federal tax system
• And the follow-up legislation, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), designed to close loopholes and address the fiscal challenges that emerged in the wake of those cuts
As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Bob Dole played a critical and often underappreciated role in navigating both efforts — balancing ideological goals with the practical realities of governing.
This episode explores:
• How the 1981 tax bill was crafted and passed
• The economic and political consequences that followed
• Why TEFRA became necessary just one year later
• The tension between tax reduction and fiscal responsibility
• The working relationship between Dole and President Reagan — cooperation, negotiation, and occasional friction
At the heart of the story is a fundamental question: how do you govern when policy goals collide with fiscal reality?
Through these debates, we see Bob Dole not just as a political figure, but as a legislative strategist — working within the system to make ambitious policy function in the real world.
From bold tax cuts…
to difficult corrections…
and a partnership that helped define an era.
This is the story of policy, power, and pragmatism in the early Reagan years.
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Episode 444 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 25)
Mr. Chairman!! The Finance Committee Chair
In Episode 444 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we arrive at a defining moment in his rise to power in the United States Senate — his elevation to Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
For years, that gavel had been held by Russell B. Long, one of the most influential figures in the Senate and a master of its internal workings. His tenure symbolized an era when seniority and institutional control defined leadership.
But with the arrival of the Reagan era, the ground beneath Washington began to shift.
As the political realignment of Ronald Reagan took hold, Bob Dole stepped into the chairmanship — marking not just a personal milestone, but a broader transition in power, policy, and direction.
One moment captures it all.
When the new chairman was called upon for his vote — for the first time, that chairman was Bob Dole. And in a telling, almost poetic gesture, Russell Long himself responded “aye,” acknowledging both the change in leadership and the passing of an era.
In this episode, we explore:
• How Dole rose to claim one of the most powerful positions in the Senate
• The significance of the Finance Committee in shaping national policy
• The transition from Russell Long’s leadership to Dole’s
• What this moment revealed about the changing nature of Washington in the early 1980s
• How the Reagan Revolution reshaped both policy and power inside the Senate
This is more than a change in chairmanship —
it is a moment of transformation.
From Long to Dole…
from one era to another…
and from the old Senate to a new political age.
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Episode 443 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 24)
The 1980 Republican Presidential Primary
In Episode 443 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we turn to one of the most pivotal — and ultimately disappointing — chapters in his political journey: his campaign for President in 1980.
Viewed through the lens of Dole’s candidacy, this episode offers a revealing look at a Republican Party in transition — searching for direction in the aftermath of the 1970s and on the brink of a conservative realignment.
At the center of that transformation stood Ronald Reagan, whose vision and political momentum would come to define the era. Alongside him was George H. W. Bush, representing a different wing of the party and mounting a formidable campaign of his own.
Caught between these two rising forces, Dole’s campaign struggled to find its footing.
This episode assesses:
• Why Dole entered the race — and what he hoped to achieve
• The challenges he faced in a rapidly shifting political environment
• His relationships with Reagan and Bush — both as rivals and future allies
• The strategic and structural weaknesses that hindered his campaign
• How the outcome reshaped Dole’s future in national politics
Though his presidential bid fell short, the campaign itself provides valuable insight into Dole’s political identity — pragmatic, disciplined, and deeply rooted in the Senate — and highlights the difficulty of translating that identity into a national movement during a time of ideological change.
More broadly, this episode captures a turning point in Republican politics:
A party moving toward Reagan…
a field adjusting to that reality…
and a candidate in Bob Dole, whose moment had not yet arrived.
A campaign that didn’t succeed —
but still helped define the path forward.
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Episode 442 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 23)
The Senate (F): The United States Supreme Court Fights
In Episode 442 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we examine one of the most contentious and consequential arenas of the United States Senate — the confirmation battles over the Supreme Court.
This episode traces the evolution of those fights across the Dole era, beginning just before he entered the Senate with the failed nomination of Abe Fortas — a turning point that signaled a new level of scrutiny and political conflict in the confirmation process.
From there, we move through a series of increasingly high-stakes battles:
• The nominations of Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell
• The explosive and precedent-setting fight over Robert Bork
• And the deeply divisive confirmation of Clarence Thomas
Central to this story — and featured throughout the episode — is Strom Thurmond, a dominant figure on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a key player in shaping the outcomes and tone of these battles.
Together, these confirmation fights transformed the Senate’s constitutional role of “advice and consent,” turning what had often been a more restrained process into one of the most visible and politically charged responsibilities of the chamber.
In this episode, we explore:
• How and why confirmation battles became more contentious
• The growing role of ideology, media, and public pressure
• The strategies used by both supporters and opponents of nominees
• The long-term impact on judicial confirmations at every level
This is the story of how Supreme Court nominations became political battlegrounds —
and how the Senate was changed in the process.
From Fortas to Thomas…
a transformation of power, process, and precedent.
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Episode 441 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 22)
The Senate (E): Stories from the Senate
In Episode 441 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we step away from structure and strategy — and into the stories.
Featuring the same remarkable group of senators heard throughout this series — including Bob Packwood, Chuck Grassley, Thad Cochran, Trent Lott, Tom Daschle, Daniel Inouye, Alan Simpson, and Bob Dole himself — this episode offers a more personal and entertaining look at life inside the United States Senate.
These are the moments that don’t always make the history books.
The behind-the-scenes exchanges.
The unexpected humor.
The human side of an institution often seen only through formal debate and high-stakes decisions.
In this episode, the senators share stories from their time in office — anecdotes that reveal not just how the Senate worked, but what it felt like to be there. Through these recollections, we see a chamber shaped as much by personality and camaraderie as by rules and procedure.
It’s a reminder that even in one of the most powerful institutions in the world, relationships mattered — and sometimes, it was the lighter moments that built the trust needed to govern.
For listeners who want to go even deeper, a full transcript of this episode is available on the Buzzsprout page.
Part 22 brings the Senate to life in a different way —
not through policy…
but through story.
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Episode 440 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 21)
The Senate (D): How the Senate Has Changed
In Episode 440 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we turn from how the United States Senate worked… to how it has changed.
Building on the voices featured in the previous episodes, this installment brings together firsthand reflections from senators who lived through a transformative era in the institution — including Bob Packwood, Chuck Grassley, Thad Cochran, Trent Lott, Tom Daschle, Daniel Inouye, Alan Simpson, and Bob Dole himself.
Through their perspectives, we explore a central question: What happened to the Senate?
These senators describe a chamber that once relied heavily on personal relationships, bipartisan negotiation, and institutional loyalty — and contrast it with a body that, over time, has grown more polarized, more procedural, and in many ways, more constrained.
In this episode, they reflect on:
• The erosion of collegiality and cross-party relationships
• Changes in leadership style and party dynamics
• The evolving role of media and public pressure
• How Senate rules and norms have shifted over time
• What has been lost — and what, if anything, has been gained
This is not just history — it is perspective.
A look back from those who knew the Senate at its most functional, offering insight into how and why it feels different today.
From institution…
to transformation…
to reflection.
Episode 440 captures the Senate in transition — through the eyes of those who helped shape it.
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Episode 439 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 20)
The Senate (C): How the Senate Works
In Episode 439 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we take a deeper look inside one of America’s most complex institutions — the United States Senate — and explore how it actually works.
This episode moves beyond personalities alone and into the structure, rules, and tools that define the Senate — particularly during a period marked by extraordinary leadership and institutional knowledge.
Drawing on firsthand reflections from many of the same voices featured in our previous episode — including Bob Packwood, Chuck Grassley, Thad Cochran, Trent Lott, Tom Daschle, Daniel Inouye, Alan Simpson, and Bob Dole himself — we hear directly from those who understood the institution from the inside.
Together, they explain:
• How Senate rules shape outcomes
• The role of committees and seniority
• The tools leaders use to move legislation forward — or stop it
• The importance of relationships, trust, and negotiation
• How personalities influence the pace and direction of the chamber
This is a portrait of the Senate as a living institution — one that runs not just on procedure, but on people.
At a time when leadership required patience, strategy, and an ability to navigate competing interests, these voices offer rare insight into how the Senate functioned at a high level — and how it managed to govern in an era of both conflict and cooperation.
If Episode 438 introduced the leaders…
Episode 439 shows you how they led.
A behind-the-scenes look at the rules, the rhythm, and the reality of the United States Senate.
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Episode 438 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 19)
The Senate (B): The Senate Leaders
In Episode 438 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we move deeper into the inner workings of the United States Senate — focusing on the men who have led it, and the methods they used to make it function.
This episode explores the often unseen world of Senate leadership — where influence is built not just through speeches, but through relationships, negotiation, and a deep understanding of the institution itself.
We examine the leadership styles and legacies of key figures, including Lyndon B. Johnson, whose mastery of the Senate remains legendary; Mike Mansfield, known for his quiet, steady approach; Hugh Scott; Howard Baker; and Bob Dole himself, whose leadership would come to define an era.
But this episode is not just about history — it’s about hearing directly from those who lived it.
Featuring voices from across the Senate, including Bob Packwood, Chuck Grassley, Thad Cochran, Trent Lott, Tom Daschle, Daniel Inouye, and Alan Simpson, we gain firsthand insight into how Senate leaders actually get things done.
From committee assignments and legislative strategy to coalition-building and floor management, these conversations reveal the tools of leadership inside one of the world’s most complex governing bodies.
This is the Senate behind the scenes —
where power is exercised quietly,
and leadership is measured not just by words, but by results.
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Episode 437 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There
The Senate (A): A Mosaic of the Senate
In Episode 437 of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we shift our focus from the campaign trail to the institution that would define much of his public life — the United States Senate.
This episode explores the Senate of the 1970s as Dole began his rise within its ranks — a chamber shaped by powerful personalities, unwritten rules, and a very different pace of politics than what we see today.
In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, the Senate was undergoing change, yet it remained a place where relationships, negotiation, and institutional knowledge carried enormous weight. Seniority mattered. Committee work mattered. And above all, the ability to navigate the personalities within the chamber mattered.
We examine what made this era of the Senate unique:
• How the Senate functioned day-to-day in the 1970s
• The culture of collegiality and conflict within the chamber
• The leadership structure and how influence was built
• The environment that allowed Bob Dole to emerge as a key Republican voice
This is a portrait — a mosaic — of a Senate that no longer quite exists, but whose traditions and dynamics shaped generations of American leadership.
Before Bob Dole became a national figure, he became a Senate figure.
And to understand his rise, you have to understand the Senate he entered.
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Welcome to this special edition of the program.
Today, we mark the end of an era in American broadcasting — the closing chapter of CBS News Radio, which has announced it will cease operations after nearly a century on the air, this coming May 22.
For 99 years, CBS News Radio has been more than a network. It has been a voice — steady, trusted, and present at some of the most important moments in modern history.
From the crackling urgency of World War II broadcasts, to the calm authority of reporters bringing the world into American homes, CBS helped define what radio journalism could be. It set the standard — for accuracy, for immediacy, and for storytelling that made listeners feel not just informed, but connected.
In this special episode, we look back at that legacy.
You’ll hear archival moments that capture the power of radio at its peak — including wartime reporting that brought distant battlefields into living rooms, and behind-the-scenes reflections on how CBS News Radio operated, adapted, and helped build the very foundation of modern broadcast journalism.
Because what we do today — in this medium, in podcasting — did not emerge in a vacuum.
It was built on the work of those who came before. The pacing, the storytelling, the intimacy of voice — all of it traces back to institutions like CBS News Radio.
This is, in many ways, the grandfather of what we do today.
And that’s why this moment carries a certain weight.
It is not just the end of a network. It is the closing of a chapter that began when radio itself was still new — when the idea of hearing the world, as it happened, was nothing short of revolutionary.
Today, we honor that contribution.
We remember the voices, the moments, and the legacy.
And we say goodbye.
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The Vice Presidential Campaign of 1976 (D): The Final Stretch
In Part 17, we bring the 1976 campaign to its conclusion.
As Election Day approaches, Bob Dole and President Gerald Ford push through the final stretch of a hard-fought race against Jimmy Carter.
The campaign had tightened significantly in its closing days, with momentum shifting and the outcome uncertain until the very end.
This episode covers:
• The final campaign strategy and messaging
• The closing arguments to the American people
• Election night and the razor-thin result
• The narrow defeat that ended Ford’s presidency
Though the ticket fell just short, the campaign marked a defining chapter in Bob Dole’s career — establishing him as a national figure and setting the stage for the political battles still to come.
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The Vice Presidential Campaign of 1976 (C): The Debate
Part 16 presents one of the defining moments of the 1976 campaign — the vice presidential debate between Bob Dole and Walter Mondale.
In this episode, we bring you the full debate, allowing you to hear the exchange as it happened — unfiltered and in its entirety.
The debate became one of the most talked-about events of the campaign, remembered for its sharp contrasts, pointed arguments, and a controversial line from Dole that drew national attention.
As you listen, consider:
• The tone and strategy of both candidates
• How foreign policy and recent history shaped the discussion
• The role debates played in presidential politics during this era
This is a rare opportunity to experience a pivotal political moment exactly as voters did in 1976.
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Welcome to this special edition of the program.
Today, we step into one of the most consequential moments in American political history — and into the life of a man who, almost reluctantly, changed the course of that history.
Alexander Butterfield was not a household name when the Watergate scandal began to unfold. He was a quiet figure inside the Nixon White House — disciplined, precise, and largely out of public view. But in a single moment of testimony, Butterfield revealed the existence of the secret White House taping system — a disclosure that would transform the investigation and ultimately the presidency of Richard Nixon.
In this episode, we take a deeper look — not just at what Butterfield did, but who he was.
We explore his life and career, his role inside the Nixon administration, and the weight of the moment that made him a central figure in history. We also examine the complexity of his legacy — our mixed feelings about a man who became, in many ways, the most credible internal critic of Nixon, even as he remained a loyal insider for much of his service.
We’ll discuss the now-infamous recording system itself — how it worked, why it existed, and how its discovery reshaped the balance between power and accountability in the American presidency.
We also address the controversies and lingering questions — including claims made by E. Howard Hunt suggesting Butterfield may have had connections beyond what was publicly known, and what to make of those assertions in the broader historical record.
And we step back to examine the larger strategic picture of the Nixon era — a presidency navigating the Cold War by attempting to play the world’s two communist superpowers against each other, a dimension of policy that is often overshadowed in the telling of Watergate, and one that critics like Bob Woodward have been accused by some of underemphasizing.
This is not a simple story of heroes and villains.
It is a story about power, loyalty, truth — and the moment when one man’s words helped expose the inner workings of a presidency.
And before we begin, we dedicate this episode to three figures who, in very different arenas, left their own lasting marks.
To professional wrestling’s Loverboy Dennis Condrey and his partner Beautiful Bobby Eaton, of the legendary The Midnight Express — masters of their craft, whose performances defined an era.
And to Chuck Norris — an enduring symbol of strength, discipline, and cultural impact.
Three legacies. Three different stages. All remembered.
Thank you for joining us.
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The Vice Presidential Campaign of 1976 (B): Dole on the Trail
In Part 15, we follow Bob Dole as he steps fully into his role as the Republican nominee for Vice President in 1976.
Now campaigning alongside President Gerald Ford, Dole becomes one of the administration’s most visible and aggressive advocates — traveling the country, sharpening the campaign’s message, and taking on the opposition ticket of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.
This episode explores:
• Dole’s campaign style and messaging
• His role as an attack surrogate for the ticket
• Key moments from the campaign trail
• The political challenges facing Republicans in a post-Watergate America
As the campaign unfolds, Dole’s national profile grows — and so does the intensity of the race.
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Episode 433 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 14)
The Vice Presidential Campaign of 1976 (A): The Convention and the Choice
In Part 14 of our continuing series on Bob Dole, we enter the dramatic political year of 1976 — a moment that would elevate Dole to the national stage.
This episode begins with one of the most intense intra-party battles in modern political history: the showdown between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention.
With the party deeply divided and the nomination uncertain until the final moments, the stakes could not have been higher. Out of that chaos came a critical decision — President Ford’s selection of Bob Dole as his running mate.
We explore:
• The Ford vs. Reagan convention battle
• The political calculations behind Dole’s selection
• What Dole brought to the national ticket
• How the Republican Party attempted to unify after a bruising primary fight
It was a turning point — not just for Bob Dole, but for the future direction of the Republican Party.
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Episode 432 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 13)
Roy vs. Dole for U.S. Senate, 1974: One Tenth of One Percent (C)
In this thirteenth installment of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we reach the dramatic conclusion of one of the closest and most consequential elections in Kansas history — the 1974 race for the United States Senate.
As the campaign between Senator Dole and Democratic Congressman William R. Roy entered its final days, the political climate remained extraordinarily difficult for Republicans nationwide. The aftermath of the Watergate scandal had reshaped the national mood, and many believed the Kansas seat was poised to change hands.
But what followed was a finish so close it would become legendary.
When the votes were finally counted, Bob Dole held his Senate seat by one tenth of one percent — a razor-thin victory that preserved his political career and helped shape the next two decades of American politics.
In this episode we walk through the closing days of the campaign, the final strategies, the election night tension, and the stunningly narrow result that decided the race.
We also hear reflections from Dr. Roy himself, drawn from his oral history interviews, as he spoke later in life about the campaign, the outcome, and the path his life took afterward. Dr. Roy passed away in May 2014, leaving behind a legacy not only as a physician and public servant but as one of the central figures in one of Kansas’s most memorable political contests.
The program also features moments from a lecture at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, where participants revisited the race decades later — including Dr. Roy’s son and Bob Dole’s campaign manager, former Kansas Lieutenant Governor Dave Owen.
Together their reflections provide a rare behind-the-scenes look at a campaign decided by the narrowest of margins — and the respect that endured between opponents long after the ballots were counted.
A race decided by one tenth of one percent…
and remembered for generations.
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Episode 431 — Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 12)
Roy vs. Dole for U.S. Senate, 1974: The Landscape of 1974 (B)
In this twelfth installment of our long-running series on the life and career of Bob Dole, we turn to one of the most difficult political moments of his career — the 1974 United States Senate race in Kansas.
The political landscape of 1974 was unlike anything modern candidates experience today. The aftershocks of the Watergate scandal had devastated Republican fortunes across the country, and incumbents from the party faced an electorate angry with Washington.
In Kansas, Senator Dole faced a particularly formidable challenger: Democratic Congressman William R. Roy. Roy was well known, highly respected, and enjoying strong popularity as he launched his campaign for the Senate.
Meanwhile, Dole entered the race with declining approval numbers and the weight of a difficult national environment pressing down on his campaign. The contest quickly became one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.
This episode also examines a major social and political issue shaping the debate in 1974 — the aftermath of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. With abortion newly legalized nationwide, the issue had suddenly entered American politics in a profound way, influencing voters, campaigns, and the evolving positions of political leaders.
In this episode we explore:
• The political environment of Kansas in 1974
• Why Congressman William Roy was such a strong challenger
• The struggles Senator Dole faced in public opinion
• How the national political climate shaped the race
• The emerging role of the abortion debate in American politics
It was a campaign fought in the shadow of national crisis — and one that would prove pivotal in shaping the future career of Bob Dole.
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In 1974, Bob Dole was up for re-election. He could not have picked a worse moment to be on the ballot as a Republican. Watergate had just unraveled the Presidency of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford had just pardoned Nixon, and Bob Dole had the added problem of having just gotten a divorce. To make matters worse a popular an effective United States Congressman announced he was going to challenge Dole for his Senate seat.
That man was Congressman Bill Roy, a Topeka physician. He was a very effective Congressman. He was also an Obstetrician and that meant that at various times he had performed a limited number of legal abortions. This was just on the heels of the Roe vs Wade Decision that legalized abortion. This election would turn out to be the first such election where abortion would take center stage. It would lead to a brass knuckles type brawl to win the Kansas Senate seat, a race still talked about to this day in Kansas. Bob Dole would barely hold off the challenge. This is the first installment of that story. In this episode, we set the stage and we introduce you to the challenger, Dr. Bill Roy.
If this election had gone the other way, Bob Dole would most likely have faded into time and his historic career, that put him on two national tickets, and led to so many accomplishments in the halls of Congress would never have happened. Such is history, swinging, as we will learn, on one tenth of one percent of the vote in the 1974 United States Senate race in Kansas.
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Welcome to the fourth installment of our special tribute series honoring the life and legacy of the Reverend Jesse Jackson — a minister, civil rights leader, presidential candidate, and one of the most recognizable voices in American public life for more than half a century.
Over the course of this series, we’ve revisited the moments that defined Reverend Jackson’s remarkable journey — his speeches, his activism, and the powerful moral language he brought to the national conversation about justice, opportunity, and human dignity.
Today’s episode brings you a montage drawn from two memorial gatherings held in his honor — one in Columbia, South Carolina, and another in Chicago, Illinois, the city where Reverend Jackson built much of his life’s work and where his influence on American politics and civil rights was deeply felt.
From these ceremonies, you will hear remarks from Congressman James Clyburn, longtime leader in the U.S. House of Representatives and a close friend of Reverend Jackson. You’ll also hear from Greenville, South Carolina Mayor Knox White, reflecting on Jackson’s roots in South Carolina and the lasting imprint he left on the state and the nation. And we include words from former President Bill Clinton, who spoke about Jackson’s role in shaping a generation of political leaders and expanding the boundaries of democratic participation.
We do regret that we are unable to include the remarks delivered by Ambassador Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and former United Nations Ambassador. His words in Columbia were deeply meaningful, but unfortunately they were delivered without a microphone and could not be captured clearly enough for broadcast.
We also want to note that Reverend Jackson’s family asked that these memorial ceremonies remain moments of remembrance rather than political rallies. Out of respect for that request, we made an editorial decision in producing this program. Several speakers — including some very prominent figures — turned their remarks into overtly political speeches. Even when those speakers included former Presidents or a former Vice President, we chose not to include those portions of the program. Our goal here is to honor the spirit of the occasion and the wishes of the family.
What you will hear instead is a carefully assembled tribute — voices remembering Jesse Jackson’s life, his faith, and his commitment to lifting others.
And woven throughout the program, you’ll also hear Jesse Jackson in his own words — excerpts from speeches across the decades, reminding us of the conviction, rhythm, and hope that defined his voice.
From Columbia and Chicago, this is our fourth tribute episode honoring Reverend Jesse Jackson.
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Welcome to this special tribute edition of the podcast.
Four years after his groundbreaking 1984 campaign, Reverend Jesse Jackson returned to the Democratic National Convention — this time in Atlanta, in 1988 — having achieved something extraordinary.
His second presidential run was stronger, broader, and even more disruptive to conventional politics. Jackson won primaries and caucuses across the country, built a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, and demonstrated that progressive populism could compete nationally.
But it was his convention speech that became the enduring moment.
Measured, gracious, and deeply unifying, Jackson spoke not as a rival, but as a statesman. He urged Democrats to reject fear, to embrace compassion, and to recognize the interconnected fate of all Americans. His words carried themes that resonate decades later: dignity, opportunity, fairness, and the belief that the country is strongest when no one is left behind.
The address is remembered not only for its eloquence, but for its tone — reconciliation without retreat, idealism grounded in realism.
In this episode, we honor that legacy by revisiting the full speech.
From the 1988 Democratic National Convention:
Reverend Jesse Jackson.
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I had the honor of appearing on the show "Tripp and Graham have Issues" this past week. It is a new podcast in Myrtle Beach. I was thrilled to do it and we talked pretty extensively on the history of our show and the entire Wallace Podcast Network (WPN). We hope you enjoy this special edition. Here is the write up from their podcast and we encourage you tune into their show too.
Here is their link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2590218/episodes/18782174
Tripp and Graham uncover the issues of Randall Wallace: author, podcaster, local political figure. We discuss presidents like Nixon and Dole, American and Myrtle Beach History and other topics.
RandallWallace.com
The Nixon Conspiracy: Watergate and the Plot to Remove the President by Geoff Shepard
The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the Plot That Brought Nixon Down by Geoff ShepardPodcast: The Richard Nixon Experience by Randall Wallace
BOB DOLE: The Life That Brought Him There by Randall Wallace
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Today’s episode is a special rebroadcast and tribute — a return to one of the defining voices of modern American political history.
In 1984, at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Reverend Jesse Jackson stepped onto the national stage not simply as a candidate, but as a movement leader. His campaign had galvanized millions — expanding the electorate, registering new voters, and bringing together what he called the Rainbow Coalition: Black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, young, old, urban, rural — Americans whose voices too often went unheard.
Jackson’s speech that night was more than rhetoric. It was a moral argument about inclusion, economic justice, peace, and the unfinished promise of democracy. He spoke of common ground rather than division, of hope rather than cynicism.
For many listeners then — and many historians now — it marked a turning point. It broadened the language of coalition politics and challenged the party, and the country, to imagine a larger “we.”
In this tribute episode, we revisit that historic address — not as a relic, but as a living document of aspiration and courage.
Here now, from the 1984 Democratic National Convention:
Reverend Jesse Jackson.
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Welcome to a special edition of the program.
Today we focus on what may prove to be one of the most consequential military operations of the 21st century — Operation Epic Fury — the coordinated action undertaken by the United States and Israel against the Iranian regime.
President Donald J. Trump has described this operation as decisive and necessary — aimed at dismantling what he and his administration have long called the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and ending Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capability. Standing alongside him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has framed the action as essential to Israel’s survival and to the broader security of the Middle East.
Supporters of the operation see this as a historic turning point — the possible end of a regime they believe has destabilized the region for decades through proxy warfare, threats against Israel, suppression of its own people, and hostility toward the West.
This episode includes editorial commentary from me, Randal Wallace. I want to be clear with our audience at the outset: I strongly support this operation and the leadership shown in carrying it out. Throughout this program, I will offer my analysis and perspective on why I believe this action was justified, necessary, and long overdue.
At the same time, we will examine the strategic implications, the global reaction, and what the potential end of the Iranian regime could mean for the people of Iran, for Israel, for the United States, and for the future balance of power in the Middle East.
This is a serious moment in history. The stakes are enormous. The consequences — geopolitical, economic, and humanitarian — will unfold in real time.
Thank you for joining us for this important conversation.
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Episode 429 – Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 10)
Watergate
Part 10 takes listeners inside one of the most seismic political crises in American history — and does so through the eyes and voice of Bob Dole.
As the Watergate complex break-in spiraled into a constitutional confrontation, Washington changed overnight. This episode weaves together archival news coverage and oral history reflections to recreate how the scandal unfolded in real time — the investigations, the hearings, the shifting political ground, and the growing pressure on President Richard Nixon.
At the center of it all is Dole’s perspective: what he believed as events developed, how he interpreted the mounting revelations, and how he navigated the political and personal stakes during a moment when party loyalty, institutional responsibility, and public trust were all colliding.
Listeners will hear not only the immediacy of the crisis as it broke, but also Dole’s later reflections — shaped by decades of hindsight — on what Watergate meant for the presidency, for Congress, and for the country. His retrospective insights add depth and nuance, revealing how time can reshape understanding of even the most explosive events.
Part 10 is both a historical reconstruction and a personal reckoning — a look at Watergate not just as a scandal, but as a defining test of leadership, loyalty, and constitutional order, told through the experience of a man who lived it from inside the Senate chamber.
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Episode 428 – Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 9)
Out as RNC Chairman
Power in Washington can rise quickly — and shift just as fast. Part 9 explores the dramatic turning point when Bob Dole’s tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee comes to an abrupt end and George H. W. Bush is brought in to take the helm.
Through a series of revealing phone conversations, listeners are taken inside the political maneuvering at the highest levels of the Nixon White House. We hear the tone, strategy, and personal dynamics in calls between President Richard Nixon and Bush, as well as between Nixon and Dole, offering a rare window into how leadership decisions were made during one of the most volatile periods in modern political history.
This episode examines not just the mechanics of Dole’s removal, but the broader political context surrounding it — a moment when the administration was increasingly consumed by the unfolding Watergate complex scandal. Ironically, stepping away from the RNC chairmanship may have distanced Dole from the day-to-day political machinery that would soon be engulfed in controversy.
Part 9 captures the tension, loyalty, and hard political realities behind a pivotal transition — showing how a setback in the moment may have altered Dole’s long-term political trajectory and spared him deeper entanglement in one of the defining crises of the twentieth century.
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Welcome to a very special edition of the program.
Today, we dedicate this episode to a man whose voice, vision, and moral urgency helped shape the American political and social landscape for more than half a century — Reverend Jesse Jackson.
From the civil rights movement to the national political stage, Jackson’s journey is inseparable from the story of modern America. He stood at the crossroads of protest and policy, faith and activism, idealism and pragmatism. He spoke not only of justice, but of possibility — insisting that the circle of opportunity must always widen.
In this tribute episode, we reflect on that remarkable life and legacy.
You’ll hear a retrospective drawn from CNN and Chicago’s ABC News — revisiting the moments that defined a movement leader, presidential candidate, diplomat, and advocate for economic and racial justice.
We’ll listen to a conversation with former Atlanta Mayor and Ambassador Andrew Young, offering personal insight into Jackson’s courage, convictions, and enduring influence.
We’ll also revisit a powerful interview recorded the morning after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States — capturing Jackson’s emotion at a moment many saw as the realization of struggles decades in the making.
From the 1980s, we bring you archival coverage of Jackson speaking at Duke University — where his words challenged audiences to think bigger about equality, responsibility, and shared destiny.
And in a lighter but unforgettable cultural moment, we remember his beloved reading of Green Eggs and Ham — a reminder that leadership can inspire not only through speeches, but through humanity and joy.
Finally, we’ll share a five-minute excerpt from his historic 1988 Democratic National Convention address — a speech that remains one of the most eloquent calls for unity and compassion in American political history.
And we’re honored to announce that, on March 2nd and March 3rd, we will rebroadcast Reverend Jackson’s full 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Convention speeches.
This episode is also dedicated to two individuals whose lives touched our worlds in different, meaningful ways.
To Robert Duvall, an artist whose performances brought depth, dignity, and unforgettable humanity to the screen.
And to Myrtle Beach author, activist, and amateur radio operator E. Gordon Mooneyhan, whom we lost this past year. Gordon was a man of boundless curiosity and creativity — a lover of writing, photography, trains, and ham radio. He authored the Railroad Dining Car Cookbooks, chronicled the lives of friends through his books, held a degree in business administration from Coastal Carolina University, and served his community with quiet dedication — as a member of Seaside Masonic Lodge #419, the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club, and a volunteer at the Emergency Operations Center during times of crisis.
Today’s program is offered in the spirit that connects all three of these lives — purpose, passion, and the belief that one person’s voice can make a difference.
Thank you for joining us.
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Episode 427 – Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 8)
With Nixon’s Help (B)
Part 8 follows Bob Dole deeper into the inner orbit of presidential politics as the Nixon years reshape both America’s place in the world and the future of the Republican Party.
The episode begins with the historic opening to China, as President Richard Nixon makes his groundbreaking trip to Beijing — a geopolitical gamble that stunned the world and redefined Cold War diplomacy. We explore how moments like this elevated the stakes for Republicans in Washington and strengthened Dole’s role as a trusted political ally during a presidency operating on the global stage.
At home, the administration’s controversial wage and price controls reveal the economic pressures of the era and the political balancing act required to defend them. Listeners hear how Dole, now an increasingly visible national figure, navigated these debates while helping maintain party unity.
The episode also examines the landslide election of 1972 and Dole’s pivotal role as chairman of the Republican National Committee. As the party’s chief political strategist, Dole was at the center of messaging, organization, and turnout efforts that helped deliver one of the most decisive victories in presidential history.
A highlight of the episode is an insider look at the political mood of the moment through a revealing conversation between Nixon and his advisor Harry Dent. Their exchange provides a candid assessment of the election results, party dynamics, and the direction of American politics at a moment of overwhelming Republican strength.
“With Nixon’s Help (B)” captures Bob Dole at the intersection of global diplomacy, domestic economic turmoil, and high-stakes party leadership — a period when his influence expanded far beyond the Senate chamber and onto the national political stage.
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Episode 426 – Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 7)
With Nixon’s Help (A)
Part 7 explores a pivotal chapter in Bob Dole’s rise on the national stage — his growing alliance with Richard Nixon during one of the most turbulent periods in modern American history.
As the Nixon administration grappled with the war in Vietnam, Dole emerged as a reliable and disciplined voice defending administration policy on Capitol Hill. This episode examines how Nixon’s stewardship of the conflict shaped Washington’s political climate and how Dole’s loyalty strengthened his standing within the party and at the White House.
We also dive into the political firestorm surrounding the Pentagon Papers — the leak that intensified public distrust and sharpened partisan battles in Congress. Listeners will hear how Dole responded in real time to the crisis and what it revealed about his instincts as a political combatant and party loyalist.
The episode further explores Dole’s connections to key Nixon figures, including Attorney General John Mitchell and senior advisor John Ehrlichman, offering insight into the broader political network surrounding the administration. Through these relationships, we see how Dole’s influence grew not just as a senator, but as a trusted ally during moments of national controversy.
“With Nixon’s Help (A)” captures the intersection of war, scandal, loyalty, and ambition — and shows how Bob Dole’s alignment with a powerful president helped accelerate his path toward national leadership.
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Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There (Part 6)
Welcome to the United States Senate
What was the Senate really like when Bob Dole walked into it in 1968? Part 6 answers that question through the voices of the people who lived it.
This episode moves beyond biography and into lived institutional memory, as a remarkable lineup of Senate insiders describe the culture, pace, and power structure of the United States Senate at the height of a turbulent political era. Listeners get a ground-level view of what it meant to be a freshman senator — where seniority ruled, relationships mattered, and influence had to be earned one conversation at a time.
We hear from Dole’s longtime chief of staff Sheila Burke, along with former senators Bob Packwood, Thad Cochran, Howard Baker, and Daniel Inouye — a bipartisan group offering candid reflections on Dole’s early reputation, working style, and rapid rise.
A central theme of the episode is Dole’s emergence as what colleagues came to call the “Sheriff of the Senate” — a sharp, disciplined defender of Richard Nixon who was never shy about taking on critics of the administration. Through these firsthand accounts, listeners hear how Dole blended loyalty, combativeness, and strategic instincts to carve out a distinct role in one of the world’s most powerful legislative bodies.
Part 6 is an insider’s tour of a bygone Senate era — its personalities, its unwritten rules, and the political battleground where Bob Dole began transforming from a new arrival into a force within the chamber.
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Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There – Part 5
Getting Into Politics (B): The Senate Campaign
In Part 5, the journey continues as Bob Dole takes his biggest political leap yet — a run for the United States Senate. This episode explores the ambition, strategy, and sheer determination behind a campaign that would elevate him from the House to one of the most powerful chambers in American government.
We begin with the political terrain of Kansas — a state where retail politics, personal reputation, and regional loyalties mattered just as much as party labels. Dole’s campaign had to balance conservative grassroots energy with the broader appeal needed to win statewide, and listeners will hear how he built that coalition county by county.
From there, we follow his transition from candidate to senator: assembling a staff, opening his first Senate office, and stepping into the traditions, hierarchy, and slower pace of the United States Senate. After the fast-moving world of the House, the Senate demanded patience, relationship-building, and a long view of power.
This episode also captures a pivotal moment in Dole’s rise on the national stage — his introduction to Richard Nixon. Their first encounters offered a glimpse into the Republican Party’s emerging leadership and gave Dole an early look at presidential-level politics from the inside.
Part 5 is about arrival and adjustment — the shift from ambitious congressman to freshman senator, learning a new institution, building influence, and stepping closer to the center of national power. The apprenticeship continues, but the stage just got much bigger.
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Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There – Part 4
Going Into Politics (A)
Before he was a national figure, he was a young Kansan with grit, ambition, and a deep belief in public service. In Part 4 of our series, we follow Bob Dole’s path from student life and small-town law practice to the rough-and-tumble world of national politics.
This episode traces Dole’s formative years — how college sharpened his discipline, how the courtroom shaped his instincts, and how retail politics in western Kansas taught him the art of personal connection. His service in the Kansas House of Representatives and as county attorney in Russell, Kansas gave him a front-row seat to the everyday concerns of working Americans, grounding the pragmatic style that would define his career.
From there, we follow his uphill race for Congress and his arrival as a freshman in the U.S. House of Representatives — a place where power had to be earned, alliances mattered, and survival required learning fast. You’ll hear how Dole navigated the hierarchy, built relationships, and found his footing in Washington.
We also explore two defining moments of his early congressional years:
- His vote in favor of Civil Rights legislation, a decision with both moral weight and political risk
- His role in backing Gerald Ford over Charles Halleck in the battle for House Republican leadership — a move that aligned him with the party’s future
Most of all, this episode captures what it felt like to be Bob Dole at the beginning: a newcomer in Washington, studying the system, building credibility, and laying the foundation for a career that would eventually shape American politics for decades.
This is the story of apprenticeship, ambition, and the quiet, crucial years where a young congressman learned how power really works.
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February 2026 on the Wallace Podcast Network — One Month. Three Podcasts. A Shared Journey Through History.
This February, all three shows across the Wallace Podcast Network come together for a powerful month of storytelling that connects world history with hometown legacy.
On Grand Strand Politics, we revisit our acclaimed January 2024 special series, “Robert Hirsch: Our Mayor.” This special rebroadcast honors Mayor Robert Hirsch — a World War II pilot who flew soldiers over enemy lines before returning home to help guide Myrtle Beach through a defining era of growth and change. It’s a story of courage in war and leadership in peace, right here on the Grand Strand.
And there’s even more exciting news tied to this story — a brand-new book about Mayor Hirsch’s remarkable life, The Blonde Bombshell by Colonel Daniel Hunter Wilson, is available now on Amazon. The book dives deeper into the wartime heroism and civic leadership that made Hirsch such an unforgettable figure in local history.
Meanwhile, Randal Wallace Presents: “Bob Dole – The Life That Brought Him There” and The Richard Nixon Experience will simulcast episodes exploring two of the most consequential political relationships of the 20th century:
the partnership between Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon… and later, the bond between Nixon and Bob Dole.
Across these episodes, listeners will travel from the battlefields of World War II to the shifting political landscape of the late 1960s and early 1970s — discovering how shared wartime experiences shaped a generation of American leadership, both on the national stage and in communities like Myrtle Beach.
It’s a month of intertwined stories — of service, sacrifice, ambition, and legacy — told across three distinct shows with one shared historical thread.
We invite you to tune in all February long to all three podcasts across the Wallace Podcast Network for a unique, connected listening experience that brings history to life from the global stage to the local shoreline.
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In this remarkable episode, we step out of narration and into history itself.
Episode 422 is built entirely around a rare, deeply personal interview conducted by the Eisenhower Presidential Library with Senator Bob Dole when he was 95 years old. What unfolds is not just a recollection of events — it is a living voice from a man who stood at the crossroads of America’s greatest generation and its modern political era.
Dole takes us back to the moment he arrived in Washington as a newly elected congressman and met President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the first time. He reflects on Eisenhower not simply as a president, but as a commanding presence — a leader whose character, steadiness, and wartime gravity left a lasting imprint on a young lawmaker just beginning his national career.
He also recounts his own war story in Italy — the wounds that nearly took his life, the long months of recovery, and the emotional and physical toll of returning home changed forever. In Dole’s own voice, we hear how that experience shaped his admiration for Eisenhower and for a generation of leaders forged in global conflict.
Because this interview was recorded late in Bob Dole’s life, it carries the authenticity — and the imperfections — of a 95-year-old man revisiting memories that are both vivid and distant. There are pauses. There are moments of searching. And there is something profoundly moving about that. What you hear is not a polished political performance, but a lifetime being remembered in real time.
This episode is not about editing or interpretation — it is about listening.
And what Bob Dole gives us here is a final, honest, and deeply human reflection on war, leadership, and the man who inspired him to serve.
Episode 422 invites you to sit with history — and to hear it speak.
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Dwight Eisenhower: The Inspiration (A)
What kind of leader shapes a young soldier’s idea of courage, duty, and sacrifice—and then stays with him for a lifetime?
In this powerful second chapter of our Bob Dole series, we turn to the man who became Dole’s lifelong hero: Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Long before Bob Dole entered politics, he was a wounded young officer watching the world being remade by war. And at the center of that war stood Eisenhower—the Supreme Allied Commander who carried the weight of history on his shoulders as he ordered the D-Day invasion that would determine the fate of Europe and the free world.
In this episode, we explore why Eisenhower became Dole’s model of leadership and character, beginning with a sweeping look at D-Day, the Allied victory, and the burden Eisenhower carried in sending thousands of young men into battle. We trace Eisenhower’s rise from soldier to president, his extraordinary list of accomplishments, and his complex partnership with Richard Nixon, a relationship that would shape American politics for decades.
We also examine Bob Dole’s deeply personal connection to Eisenhower’s legacy, including his leadership in the long effort to build the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C.—now a permanent tribute to the man who inspired him.
And as Eisenhower led the greatest military operation in history, Bob Dole was fighting his own war. We follow Dole into Operation Grapeshot, his arrival in Italy, and the brutal reality that would soon change his life forever.
The episode closes with Eisenhower’s own haunting reflections on the true price of war—words that echo through Bob Dole’s story and the lives of all who served.
This is the first of two episodes exploring Dwight Eisenhower’s towering career and the enduring influence he had on Bob Dole—soldier, senator, and statesman.
A story of leadership under fire.
A story of heroism, humility, and history.
And the story of the man who inspired Bob Dole to believe that service was worth the cost.
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BOB DOLE LECTURE: One Soldier’s Story
Special Edition
In this extraordinary special edition, Bob Dole returns home to Kansas—and to the school that bears his name—to tell the story that shaped everything that came after.
Standing before a new generation, Dole recounts the moment on a battlefield in Italy when his life was shattered by war, and the long, uncertain months that followed in a military hospital. With humility, clarity, and quiet courage, he describes learning to live again from a hospital bed, facing pain, disability, and doubt—while refusing to surrender the future.
But this is not just a story of survival.
It is the story of how a wounded soldier became a national leader.
From Percy Jones Army Hospital to the halls of Congress, from small-town Kansas to the pinnacle of American political life, Dole traces the improbable road that carried him from despair to purpose, and from service in uniform to service in government.
Recorded before students at the Bob Dole–named school, this lecture is both deeply personal and profoundly American—a testament to resilience, duty, and the idea that adversity does not define us, but can instead forge us.
One Soldier’s Story is Bob Dole, in his own words, offering a legacy lesson about courage, perseverance, and what it truly means to serve.
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Season 17 Premiere
Before Bob Dole became a Senate leader, a presidential nominee, or a national symbol of resilience, he was a 21-year-old second lieutenant fighting for his life on a hillside in Italy.
This season-opening episode begins at the moment everything changed.
Through Bob Dole’s own words and historic audio, we return to the brutal final months of World War II and the Allied push through Italy during Operation Grapeshot, the last great offensive in Europe. We hear Dole describe the battlefield where he was struck down, the comrades he was trying to save, and the wounds that would leave him permanently disabled—but never defeated.
The story widens through the voices of two other giants of American history who were fighting just miles away.
Senator Ted Stevens recounts the shock of Pearl Harbor and America’s sudden plunge into global war.
Senator Daniel Inouye, wounded only a few hills from where Dole fell, shares his harrowing combat experience and the loss that forever marked him.
Their paths would converge at Percy Jones Army Hospital in Michigan, where Dole, Inouye, and future Senator Frank Hart lay in hospital beds, learning how to live again. In this episode, we explore what life was like inside that ward of shattered young men—and what Bob Dole was like when the world he knew had just ended.
We also hear from Michael Glassner, Dole’s longtime aide and traveling companion, who describes the daily realities of caring for Dole’s war-caused injuries, and from Senate Leader Trent Lott, who reflects on Dole’s character and on the enormous debt America owes to the Greatest Generation.
This is more than a war story.
It is the origin story of a statesman.
Episode 420 launches Season 17 of our landmark Bob Dole series, beginning the final great chapter of the World War II generation—told through the life of the last of its national leaders.
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In this special tribute episode, we honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell — Olympic athlete, decorated Marine, master silversmith, and one of the most consequential Native American leaders in the history of the United States Senate.
Campbell’s journey was uniquely American: from a childhood marked by hardship, to representing the United States in the Olympics, to becoming a powerful voice for Native nations and Western communities in Washington. As a U.S. Senator from Colorado, he reshaped the national conversation on tribal sovereignty, cultural preservation, and the dignity of Indigenous peoples, while also embodying a rugged independence that defied political labels.
This episode is also dedicated to Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, a fellow Western original whose music, like Campbell’s life, celebrated freedom, wandering, and the search for something deeper than fame or power. Both men came to represent a uniquely American kind of spirit — restless, generous, and rooted in tradition while never afraid to push beyond it.
Through stories, reflections, and historical context, we remember Ben Nighthorse Campbell not just as a senator, but as a craftsman, a warrior, and a bridge between worlds — a man who carried the past forward while carving out space for a more honorable future.
This is a tribute to a life lived with courage, authenticity, and enduring impact — and to the kindred spirit of Bob Weir, whose music has long been the soundtrack for America’s long and winding road.
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Bob Dole returns January 20, 2026
Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There — Season Preview
How does a small-town Kansas boy, gravely wounded on an Italian battlefield, rise to become one of the most powerful and respected figures in American politics?
This season of Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There traces the extraordinary journey of Bob Dole from the moment his life was forever changed in World War II through his ascent to the highest levels of American government. Beginning with his devastating combat injury and long recovery, the series follows Dole through his early political career in Kansas, his elections to Congress and the U.S. Senate, his tenure as Republican National Committee Chairman, and his emergence as a central figure in Washington during some of the most turbulent decades in modern history.
Listeners will travel with Dole through the Nixon years and Watergate, the razor-thin 1974 Senate race against Dr. Bill Roy, and his rise onto the national stage as Gerald Ford’s 1976 vice-presidential running mate. The season continues through his 1980 and 1988 presidential campaigns, his pivotal role as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and his leadership in landmark moments such as saving Social Security in 1983 and launching the historic McGovern–Dole effort to feed hungry children around the world.
As both Senate Minority Leader and Majority Leader, Bob Dole became one of the great legislative strategists of his era, and this series reveals how power was actually wielded in Congress from the 1970s through the 1990s—how deals were made, how coalitions were built, and how policy became law.
Featuring voices of friends and foes alike—fellow senators, staffers, journalists, and contemporaries—along with rare archival audio from news coverage and C-SPAN, this season offers an intimate, inside-the-room portrait of a man who helped shape a generation of American politics.
More than a biography, Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There is a master class in leadership, resilience, and the inner workings of the United States Senate at a time when history was being written day by day.
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Here is a little bit about our coming book projects:
16 Leadership Lessons From the Cold War
By Randal Wallace
What does it really take to lead in moments when history is on the line?
Drawing on five years of research from The Randal Wallace Presents Podcast, 16 Leadership Lessons From the Cold War distills timeless leadership principles from the men and women who shaped the American Century. From President Herbert Hoover through leaders like Robert Dole—and countless senators, diplomats, and public servants in between—this book explores how character, restraint, courage, and strategic thinking carried the United States through its most dangerous era.
Rather than abstract theory, Wallace brings readers behind the scenes of real decisions made under extraordinary pressure. These lessons apply not only to politics and government, but to business leadership, community service, and family life.
This is a practical guide for anyone who believes leadership is about responsibility, not celebrity—and that history still has something vital to teach us.
A Riddle in the Sand
A Novel by Randal Wallace
Roger Walker is midway through his second term as President of the United States when the world begins to unravel.
As war erupts across the Middle East, Israel is drawn into a deadly two-front conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah. At the same time, a shadowy Iranian-backed terrorist organization launches global “lone wolf” attacks designed to fracture the Western alliance. When prominent American businessmen are taken hostage, Walker must navigate a crisis that threatens not only global stability—but everything he believes in.
At the center of the storm is the one thing the lifelong bachelor president never expected to face again: the woman he once loved, now entwined in events that could cost them both everything.
In the spirit of Casablanca, A Riddle in the Sand is a modern political thriller infused with romance, sacrifice, and the eternal tension between personal desire and duty to nation.
An Ocean of Time
A Novel by Randal Wallace
When scandal destroys his political future, former Myrtle Beach mayor Cary Lockwood retreats to the last place he ever expected to start over—Key West.
Fresh off a devastating gubernatorial loss, Lockwood buys a crumbling historic guesthouse and bar on the corner of Olivia and Duval Streets—once owned by his late uncle, now his final gamble at redemption. As he rebuilds both the property and his life, Lockwood collides with a corrupt local mayor, a city full of eccentric characters, and a dangerous undercurrent beneath the island’s laid-back charm.
Then he meets a young woman with a past she’s desperate to escape—and a secret powerful enough to put both their lives at risk.
Set against the sun-soaked beauty of the Florida Keys, An Ocean of Time is a story of second chances, political intrigue, and the high price of love when the past refuses to stay buried.
These are the three projects we have on tap over the next year and a half. We hope you will want to join us.
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In this landmark season finale, The Great American Authors brings its sweeping literary and political journey to a powerful close by spotlighting a remarkable group of leaders who turned to fiction to tell their stories — Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Quayle, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, and James Patterson — and by sharing major news from our own host, Randal Wallace.
We begin with President Jimmy Carter’s The Hornet’s Nest, a deeply researched historical novel that reflects Carter’s lifelong devotion to moral complexity, faith, and the human cost of conflict. It is not simply a former president writing fiction — it is a statesman continuing to wrestle with America’s past through story.
We then turn to one of the most overlooked voices in presidential-era fiction: Marilyn Quayle. With limited public material but unexpectedly strong reader reception, her novels — especially The Campaign — received the highest reviews of any of the books featured in this episode, a striking contrast to how rarely her writing is discussed today. It is one of the quiet surprises of the series.
Next, we explore Newt Gingrich, whose prolific post-political career includes best-selling political thrillers and alternate-history novels, along with the children’s books co-written by his wife Callista Gingrich. Together, they created one of the most expansive literary universes ever produced by a political family.
From there, we dive into one of the most successful collaborations in modern publishing: Bill Clinton and James Patterson. Their three blockbuster novels — The President Is Missing, The President’s Daughter, and The First Gentleman — are examined not just as thrillers, but as a masterclass in how insider political knowledge and elite commercial storytelling can fuse into global bestsellers. We also share James Patterson’s own writing principles, offering practical insights for aspiring authors.
The episode concludes with an announcement from host Randal Wallace, who unveils three major upcoming works:
• 16 Leadership Lessons from the Cold War, the companion book to this podcast
• A Riddle in the Sand, a contemporary political romantic thriller
• An Ocean of Time, a novel of political scandal turned redemption set in the tropical paradise of Key West, Florida.
Finally, we close the curtain on The Great American Authors itself — a series that examined how power, politics, and storytelling collide across generations of American history. This season, and this entire series, are dedicated to the memory of Gloria Wallace Bulmer, the beloved mother of our host, a former English teacher at Myrtle Beach High School, and a lifelong lover of American and British literature whose passion for books helped inspire everything this series became.
This is not just a finale.
It is a tribute — to stories, to history, and to the people who teach us to love them.
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In this episode of Great American Authors, we take an unforgettable look at two astonishing works born from the tumultuous aftermath of Nixon-era Washington — The Canfield Decision by Spiro T. Agnew and The Company by John Ehrlichman.
Today, The Canfield Decision enjoys a surprisingly warm reception online, with roughly 87% of readers awarding it three to five stars on Goodreads and similar platforms. But that wasn’t always the case. Upon its release, critics and much of the media savaged the book, dismissing it as thinly veiled political wish-fulfillment from a disgraced Vice President. We unpack the striking discrepancy between that early panning and the thoughtful, often affectionate audience it’s gained in recent years — readers who find nuance, ambition, or just plain fun in a novel penned by a man few expected to ever write fiction.
We place the book in the context of Agnew’s political fall from grace. Once the second-in-command in the nation, Agnew’s public resignation and subsequent legal troubles left him a pariah. Remarkably, The Canfield Decision became his first major step back onto the national stage — a work that speaks volumes about ambition, image, and reinvention. What did Agnew hope to say with this book? And why do modern readers connect with it in ways early reviewers didn’t anticipate?
From there, we pivot to another Nixon-era insider turned novelist: John Ehrlichman, author of The Company. A former aide to Richard Nixon and one of the central figures of Watergate, Ehrlichman wrote a sprawling fictional chronicle of power, corruption, and betrayal in America’s secretive intelligence community. Unlike Agnew’s quietly redemptive tone, Ehrlichman’s The Company bristles with bitterness toward the very system he once served — especially toward Nixon himself.
We explore the reviews then and now for The Company, and how Ehrlichman’s own disillusionment shaped a narrative that many readers and critics call prophetic, sprawling, and ethically complex. As we compare and contrast these two presidential novels, we also ask: what happens when real political trauma is transmuted into fiction? What does each author reveal about themselves — and about American power — in the act of storytelling?
Join us for a deep, insightful, and sometimes surprising conversation about politics, prose, reputation, and the curious afterlives of The Canfield Decision and The Company — two books that defy expectations and challenge how we think about presidential literature.
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This episode is a tribute to a great actor, Gene Hackman, who decided to retire from the silver screen and write novels. He wrote five of them and all got some level of acclaim. They were :
- “Wake of the Perdido Star” with Daniel Lenihan (1999)
- “Justice for None” with Daniel Lenihan (2004)
- “Escape from Andersonville” with Daniel Lenihan (2008)
- “Payback at Morning Peak” (2011)
- “Pursuit” (2013)
While this episode is a focused examination at his second career it is also a retrospective of his amazing life. Hackman passed away on most likely February 18, 2025, he was 95 years old. Hackman was one of our host, Randal Wallace's favorite actors and he plans to read a couple of his novels this coming year in 2026.
Gene Hackman's writing tips emphasize the importance of discipline, rigorous editing, and emotional connection to the material.
- Write with discipline: Hackman writes in the morning, stopping by early afternoon, to maintain a routine.
- Edit heavily: He stresses the importance of the editing process, advising writers not to fall in love with their first draft and to be open to criticism. He would go over his work many times.
- Write what you care about: To be fulfilled as a writer, he suggests focusing on subjects close to your heart.
- Keep dialogue minimal: Drawing from his acting experience, he often cut his own lines, saying, "I can act that," highlighting the power of non-verbal communication in storytelling.
- Use research: He incorporated extensive research into his historical fiction and thrillers, including scouting locations and consulting experts.
- Stay in the moment: He advises against over-analyzing and to "let the characters tell the damn story," focusing on action and immediate events rather than excessive introspection or backstory.
- Seek feedback: Hackman worked closely with his co-author and relied on his wife for critique and typing up his longhand manuscripts.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!!!
Last year ws a year of extremes but overall we saw our show expand to include a new local broadcast and we completed several projects we hope to bring you in this coming year of 2026. Please join us here for another exciting year at "Randal Wallace Presents" , "The Richard Nixon Experience" and " Grand Strand Politics"
Here is what is on tap for next years:
BOB DOLE — A Three-Season Audio Documentary SeriesTwo Upcoming Installments
Season Two
Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There
Before the campaign. Before the slogans. Before the headlines — the life.
Season Two traces the extraordinary, often overlooked journey that forged Bob Dole long before he became a presidential nominee. From a Kansas boy who left for World War II and returned with devastating injuries, to a patient rebuilding himself at Percy Jones Army Hospital alongside other wounded veterans, this season tells the story of how grit, discipline, and moral clarity shaped one of America’s most consequential political figures.
This season follows Dole’s ascent from Russell County Attorney to Congress, and then to the United States Senate, charting his rise through the Republican Party during some of the most volatile decades in American history. We examine his tenure as RNC Chairman, his role during Watergate, and his legendary razor-thin 1974 Senate reelection victory over Dr. Bill Roy — a race that changed the trajectory of his career.
Listeners will also hear the inside story of Dole’s vice-presidential campaign, his years as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and his time as both Majority and Minority Leader.
Built from original interviews with U.S. Senators, senior Dole staffers, and journalists, alongside rare archival audio and historic news coverage, The Life That Brought Him There is not just biography — it is the story of how leadership is forged.
This is the season that explains who Bob Dole was before America decided what to make of him.
Season Three
Bob Dole Campaign 1996: The Campaign of a Lifetime
A front-row seat to one of the most dramatic presidential races of the modern era.
Season Three is an immersive, deeply reported account of Bob Dole’s 1996 run for the presidency — a campaign built on legacy, urgency, and the belief that a lifetime of service still had one final chapter to write.
This season takes listeners inside the primaries, strategy fights, and pressure-packed moments that defined Dole’s quest to defeat a sitting president. Through exclusive oral histories from Dole insiders, U.S. Senators, campaign veterans, and journalists, we reveal how the campaign was really run — and how close it came to changing American history.
Adding a rare dimension, host Randal Wallace brings listeners along through his own experience as a volunteer in the pivotal South Carolina primary, where the campaign was nearly derailed — and later across the long, grinding road to the Republican nomination and the general election.
Using archival news coverage, historic speeches, behind-the-scenes stories, and firsthand testimony, The Campaign of a Lifetime reconstructs the race as it actually happened — not as it was simplified afterward.
Plus we look at the the three books our host has written and that will be available throughout 2026.
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This episode of our podcast is a tribute for a giant figure in the history of North Carolina. Governor Jim Hunt served for 16 years and he led the way in education reform in our region of the country. The modern North Carolina owes much to his leadership in the state.
It also is a tribute to one of the great reporter of our time, journalist Peter Arnett. He had a distinctive voice that you recognized from the moment he spoke his first words in any report. He was on the front lines of war zones, revolutions, and manhunts all over the world from war torn regions of the Middle East, to Africa, South America, and Europe. He won two Pulitzer prizes. He passed away at age 90.
This episode is also dedicated to three friends: Dr. Fred Paul Norman, who helped me lose 100lbs and is the founder of the Myrtle Beach Diet Center in the community where we record these shows, Gerry McDaniel who was an activist in our community for years and former Vice President Dick Cheney who we forgot to mention in our 2025 wrap up episode despite having done two shows when he passed away earlier this year.
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Happy New Year 2026!!
In this episode we say farewell to many iconic figures on the national scene, and here locally where we record this show.
Sadly, we had so many passings in 2025 we are having to divide the New Year show in half this year. This episode we look back at the many people we lost this year.
This episode is especially dedicated to a good friend from my college days at Lander University, who was also my first party Chairman in the College Republicans, Brian McCarty, he was one of those few figures both in life, and especially in politics, that you never heard a hard word said about nor did he have one to say about anyone else. He will be missed by all who knew him.
In our episode tomorrow night we will look forward at the many projects in store for next year.
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Ernest Hemingway's life was a testament to his belief in living authentically and drawing from rich, personal experience for his writing. His three primary homes in
Key West, Havana, and Ketchum were more than just residences; they were essential backdrops and sources of inspiration for his work, each intrinsically linked to his lifestyle and creativity. Unifying these locales, and a symbol of his deep connection to the sea, was his beloved fishing boat, the Pilar.
In Key West, Florida (his home during the 1930s), Hemingway found a laid-back, "bohemian" atmosphere that fostered a disciplined writing routine in the mornings and deep-sea fishing adventures in the afternoons with local friends, later dubbed the "Key West Mob". The house on Whitehead Street, a National Historic Landmark, provided a stable base where he wrote works like To Have and Have Not and numerous short stories.
His time in Key West served as a gateway to Havana, Cuba, where he eventually moved and lived for over two decades, longer than anywhere else. His home there, Finca Vigía (Lookout Farm), offered the quiet and space where he wrote some of his most celebrated work, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Old Man and the Sea. It was from the nearby village of Cojimar that he and his captain, Gregorio Fuentes, would set out on the Pilar.
The 38-foot custom Wheeler yacht, the Pilar, was a constant companion for 27 years, serving as an escape from the pressures of fame and the setting for big-game fishing exploits that earned him a reputation as a founder of sportfishing. The boat was a personal and literary anchor, its name a nickname for his second wife Pauline and a character in For Whom the Bell Tolls. It became a literal and figurative vessel that carried him to the experiences he translated into raw, real stories.
Finally, Ketchum, Idaho, became his autumn retreat and final home in the late 1950s, after planning to leave Cuba amidst political tensions. In the rugged landscape of Idaho, he hunted and fished the rivers and plains, finding a different kind of solace. It was here, struggling with deteriorating health and depression, that he ultimately ended his life in 1961, leaving behind a legacy deeply tied to the physical locations that shaped his life and literature.
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In this epsode we examine the mythology around the life of Ernest Hemingway. How it has shaped his place in american Literature. We follow him from war to Key west, to Havana, Cuba.
Then we travel out west as the Castro Government takes control of Cuba and the ongoing bad blood between the American Government and Castro make it impossible for Hemingway to return to his beloved home in Cuba. We see Hemingway sink into the depression that will eventually lead to his suicide in Idaho.
This is that part of the story.
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This episode is the first of three episodes that centers on the biggest star in all of American Literature, the great Ernest Hemingway.
Ernest Hemingway's writing tips center on a minimalist style, a disciplined work ethic, and his famous "Iceberg Theory" (or theory of omission), which suggests that the deeper meaning of a story should be implied rather than explicitly stated.
Here are his core writing tips and advice:
Style and Technique
- Be brief and use simple language: Employ short sentences and paragraphs to create a direct, clear, and impactful prose style. Avoid flowery or ornamental language, adverbs, and adjectives wherever possible.
- Write one true sentence: When experiencing writer's block or starting a new piece, focus on writing one simple, honest, and factual sentence you know to be true. This can provide the anchor to build the rest of the story.
- Show, don't tell: Instead of describing emotions or themes directly, present the specific actions, dialogue, and details that allow the reader to infer the underlying meaning and emotion for themselves.
- Master the "Iceberg Theory": The visible part of your story (the words on the page) should only be a fraction of the whole. The majority of the meaning, informed by the writer's deep knowledge of the subject and character motivations, should reside as subtext beneath the surface.
- Use vigorous English and strong verbs: Employ active voice and precise, powerful verbs to drive the narrative and avoid passive constructions or weak language.
Process and Discipline
- Establish a consistent routine: Hemingway was highly disciplined, waking early (often between 5:30 and 6 a.m.) to write in a quiet, distraction-free environment for several hours each morning.
- Stop while you're still "going good": To avoid writer's block, always stop writing for the day when you still know what will happen next. This leaves something in the "well" for the next morning, making it easier to start again.
- Edit ruthlessly: Expect the first draft to be poor and embrace the revision process. Hemingway famously rewrote the ending of A Farewell to Arms 47 times, believing that all good writing requires meticulous editing and rewriting.
- Read widely and compete with the "dead greats": A writer should read everything to understand what has been done and set a high standard for their own work by competing with established masters.
- Live first, write later: Draw heavily on personal experience, observation, and research. The authenticity in his writing came from truly knowing his subjects (hunting, fishing, war, love) and filtering them through an intimate viewpoint.
By adhering to these principles, Hemingway aimed to create prose that was honest, authentic, and emotionally resonant, allowing the reader to experience the story as if it happened to them personally.
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Two Great authors and one inspirational city are the focus of this episode.
Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis's writing advice, often delivered directly to his students or in letters, focused on the practicalities of a writing life and the raw discipline required. Some of his most memorable guidance includes the reminder that "real writers" are unstoppable and the emphasis that writing is simply hard work.
Focus and discipline
- Don't fool yourself. Lewis advised writers, "You can fool the critics but never yourself".
- Embrace the hard work.
- Ignore discouraging words.
- Turn off distractions.
Writing craft
- Write with your ear. Lewis insisted that writers and readers should use their ears, not just their eyes.
- Write what truly interests you. He advised, "Write about what really interests you... and nothing else".
- Be painstakingly clear.
- Save your drafts. He suggested that if you give up on a piece of writing, you should put it in a drawer instead of throwing it away. He found that much of his best work came from revising or rewriting things he had abandoned years earlier.
- Know your words.
- Consider not using a typewriter.
Advice to his students
When Lewis taught at the University of Minnesota, he had some pointed words for his class. :
- Compete with the best.
- Possess a "divine egotism". Lewis encouraged a form of confidence and ambition in his students.
- Live righteously.
Tennessee Williams
Based on his journals and interviews, Tennessee Williams' writing advice centers on honest, emotionally-driven storytelling and consistent practice. He encouraged writers to focus on the human heart, avoid distractions, and embrace the fragile, conflicted parts of themselves and their characters.
Write honestly and from within
- Focus on inner tension.
- Be autobiographical.
- Identify with vulnerable characters. Williams found it easier to write about people who were fragile, lonely, or on the verge of hysteria,
- Embrace the full messiness of your characters. He encouraged writers to let their characters "fight," "claw their way toward something," and be "messy and holy and tired" instead of being quiet and acceptable.
Overcome your inner critic
- Believe in your first draft.
- Believe in yourself.
- Recognize the dual nature of your work. After the first draft, Williams noted that a play is never as good or as bad as you think it is. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, and a writer must push past these self-assessments.
Cultivate a strong work ethic
- Work every day.
- Revise relentlessly.
- Be a "wasteful writer." Williams admitted to generating a lot of material that he didn't use, going through multiple drafts before finalizing a work. For him, a lot of writing was necessary to arrive at what was good.
Capture and express emotional truth
- Don't bore the audience.
- Tell the truth, even if it's shocking.
- Find inspiration in small observations.
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This episode gathers some great advice from the best authors of our current time. It is a fun episode.
The collective writing advice from these authors emphasizes core principles of discipline, clarity, honesty, and reader engagement, while acknowledging that individual processes can vary (e.g., plotters vs. "pantsers").
Common and Diverse Themes
- Discipline and Consistency: King, Mosley, and Oates all stress the importance of a regular, consistent writing schedule, often daily, to build momentum and allow ideas to "bubble up" from the subconscious.
- Clarity and Simplicity: Vonnegut, King, and Mosley advocate for clear, simple language, avoiding jargon or overly "fancy" words to ensure the reader is engaged and can easily understand the story.
- Reader Empathy: A central tenet for Vonnegut and King is to respect the reader's time and attention, making sure every sentence moves the story forward or reveals character, and that the reader feels their time was not wasted.
- Honesty and Personal Voice: The authors encourage finding your own natural voice and writing about subjects you genuinely care about, believing this authenticity is what truly connects with readers.
- The Primacy of Story/Character over Plot: King and Mosley are notably skeptical of rigid plotting, preferring to place interesting characters in a situation and discover the story as they write. Conversely, Vonnegut suggests starting as close to the end as possible, implying a clear destination is necessary.
- Rigorous Editing: There is universal agreement on the necessity of editing. King suggests cutting 10% of a first draft and letting it "marinate" before revisiting, while Vonnegut talks about having the "guts to cut" anything that doesn't advance the narrative.
Individual Author Highlights
- Kurt Vonnegut: Famous for his "8 Rules," including the instruction to make awful things happen to characters "so that the reader may see what they are made of" and to use the time of a stranger wisely.
- Walter Mosley: Emphasizes that writing is a form of self-discovery and encourages writers to "write without restraint" in the first draft, exploring the darker sides of characters to make them believable.
- Stephen King: Strongly advocates for reading a lot and writing a lot, viewing writing as a form of "telepathy" where the writer transmits thoughts to the reader. He advises avoiding passive voice and adverbs.
- Lee Child: Stresses that "character is king" and that the writer's main qualification is being a reader. He also has specific advice on pacing, suggesting writing "fast stuff slow, the slow stuff fast".
- John Grisham: (Specific tips were not available in the provided snippets, but his work is a prime example of effective, fast-paced plotting that aligns with many of the above principles, particularly the idea of starting close to the action and keeping the reader engaged).
- Joyce Carol Oates: Focuses on using physical details and setting to reveal characters' interior psychological conditions, with details carrying implicit meaning within the story.
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Pat Conroy’s writing tips focus on using personal experience to craft honest, passionate prose. His advice emphasizes deep exploration of one's inner world, dedicated hard work, and the importance of reading widely.
On finding your subject
- Write to understand your own life. Conroy wrote to make sense of his own story and invited readers to join him in the journey. He believed a writer's "central agony cowers in the limestone cave, licking its wounds, awaiting my discovery of it".
- Draw from your memories. Conroy frequently mined his difficult childhood, particularly his father's violence, as the central truth of his work. He wrote for the "people who can't speak" and explored where his life and relationships had gone off course.
- Use your life as fuel, not as a script. As a "creative non-fiction" writer, Conroy used his experiences to inform his fictional stories and craft complex characters, rather than simply presenting estranged family members with their names changed.
- Gather stories. Conroy was an avid collector of stories, treating them like "rare stamps" or a library of music. He was known to claim a good story for his own writing if he heard it.
On the writing process
- Write the first draft by hand. Conroy famously wrote the first drafts of his books on long yellow legal pads with a pen, preferring to lose himself in the narrative flowing from his hand.
- Dedicate yourself to hard, fanatical work. Conroy described writing as "hard labor and one of the most pleasant forms that fanaticism can take." He believed nothing lazy should ever enter his books.
- Practice with an "ironclad" schedule. Writing requires discipline and a consistent schedule. Conroy committed to a routine no matter where he was, knowing that the process "does not permit much familiarity with chaos".
- Go deeper, then go deeper again. He instructed writers to dive past the surface of their narratives. Your job, he said, is to discover the angels or demons—the enigmas—buried within you.
- Write for yourself. While Conroy loved his readers and answered every letter he could, he believed that ultimately, you write for yourself. Your art is "desperately trying to make its own voice heard to you"—you just need to listen.
On language and craft
- Listen to the sound of your sentences. He insisted words had to "come out right".
- Pursue amplitude and exactness. Early in his career, Conroy was drawn to extravagance, but over time, he learned that "exactness is a virtue in even the most word-possessed writer". His writing balances lyrical, lush prose with simple and well-stated truths.
- Capture the spirit of a place. Conroy was a master of place, especially the South Carolina Lowcountry. He advised writers to make locations concrete, exact, and so vivid that they are indispensable to the story.
- Trust the power of story. The most powerful words, according to Conroy, are, "Tell me a story."
On reading and learning
- Read everything, especially your contemporaries.
- Read 200 pages a day.
- Embrace the long apprenticeship. Conroy believed that his first, "naive" book, The Boo, taught him that he had a long way to go and would have to work as hard as any writer alive to master his craft.
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James Bond meets Harry Potter in this episode of our series. Two favorites of mine from across the pond in this special edition.
Ian Fleming's writing tips emphasize speed, research, clarity, and sensory detail to keep the reader engaged and "turn over the page". He wrote primarily for "pleasure and money," aiming to create compelling thrillers rather than "Literature with a capital L".
Here are his key writing tips and habits:
The Writing Process
- Write Fast and Never Look Back
- Edit Later
- Establish a Routine
Style and Content
- Blend Fact with Fantasy: Use real-world facts, locations, and brand names to ground the more fantastical plot elements in reality. This gives the story authenticity and stimulates the reader's senses, a technique known as the "Fleming effect".
- Prioritize Clarity and Concision
- Focus on Sensory Details: Describe food, drink, clothes, and locations to provide a vivid, vicarious experience.
- Create Strong Villains
- Hook the Reader: The most important rule: "You have to get the reader to turn over the page". He used plot hooks (often involving sex or violence) at the end of chapters to compel the reader to continue.
- Vary Sentence Length
- Listen to Your Audience: Fleming was sensitive to feedback from his readers and adjusted his approach based on their expectations, such as ensuring Bond traveled to exotic locations after a UK-only novel ( Moonraker).
Mindset
- Write for Pleasure and Money: He was unashamed about his motivations, believing a writer's life was a good one, offering a decent living if film deals and other rights were secured.
- Be Aware of the World
- View Writing as a Craft: He considered himself a "writer" rather than an "author" or "artist," viewing writing as a craft where one constantly learns by studying peers.
J.K. Rowling emphasizes discipline, extensive planning, and resilience as core to her writing process. Her tips focus on the craft and the emotional connection to the story.
Key writing tips from J.K. Rowling include:
- Read Extensively Rowling consistently advises aspiring writers to read as much as possible. This helps you analyze what works and what doesn't, discover your preferences, and eventually find your own distinctive voice.
- Plan Meticulously Rowling is a thorough planner who mapped out the entire seven-book Harry Potter series before completing the first novel, using detailed, color-coded spreadsheets and outlines. Knowing the overall arc and destination provides structure, allowing for creative freedom along the way.
- Be Disciplined
- Rewrite and Edit
- Develop Complex Characters Give characters flaws and contradictions, making them morally complex and realistic. This allows readers to relate to them on a deeper, more human level.
- Write What You Know (Emotionally) While not a literal tip to only write from personal experiences, Rowling suggests drawing from your own emotions, truths, and instincts. She used her personal struggles with depression as the raw material for the Dementors, for example.
- Minimize Adverbs
- Be Resilient and Have Courage
- Protect Your Writing Time
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In this episode we look back at the man who can lay claim to having written the longest sentence in American Literature. He also wrote the story, "A Rose For Emily" which is a play that our host, Randal Wallace, once played the part of Homer Barron, the unfortunate beau of Ms. Emily, who they would later find dead in her bed years after he disappeared.
William Faulkner offered extensive advice on writing during his time as a writer-in-residence at the University of Virginia and in various interviews. His tips emphasize passion, discipline, and a ruthless dedication to craft over commercial success or style.
Core Philosophy
- Be writing, not "a writer": The act of writing is about movement and activity; adopting the static label of "a writer" can lead to stagnation.
- Write for pleasure, not money: Relying on writing for income or external approval can compromise artistic integrity. Keep your writing amateur in spirit and get another job to pay the bills.
- Embrace failure as growth: You will never achieve absolute perfection, and that is a healthy condition. The goal is a "splendid failure" that drives you to improve with each new work, always striving to be better than your past self.
- Be ruthless for your art: The writer's only responsibility is to their art. Everything else—honor, pride, security—goes by the board to get the book written.
Craft and Technique
- Focus on core human conflicts: Faulkner believed that enduring stories focus on "the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself," such as love, honor, pity, and sacrifice.
- Prioritize character: According to Faulkner, if you understand your characters, they will drive the narrative, and the writer's job is to record their actions and words.
- Don't overthink style: Style should serve the story and is not a goal in itself. There are no mechanical rules for writing.
- Use dialect sparingly: A few touches of recognizable dialect are better than extensive use, which can confuse readers.
Process and Habits
- Read extensively: Faulkner advised reading all kinds of literature, good and bad, to learn from other writers.
- Stop while you're inspired: To maintain momentum, stop writing for the day when you're in a good flow and know what you'll write next.
- Make time for writing: Faulkner contended that anyone claiming they lack time to write is mistaken; even ten minutes can be used, and ideas should be written down immediately.
- Combine experience, observation, and imagination: These elements are crucial for a writer, and they can compensate for each other's absence.
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In this episode we examine the life and work of two authors who actually knew each other and corresponded as they wrote their literary masterpieces.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
From a modern perspective, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing tips emphasize the importance of deep psychological exploration, moral complexity, and meticulous craft. His advice challenges writers to move beyond simple storytelling and engage with the more difficult truths of the human condition.
Embrace the difficulty of good writing
Hawthorne’s most famous writing maxim is: "Easy reading is damn hard writing".
- Editing is key
- The illusion of ease
Focus on psychological and moral depth
As a key figure in Dark Romanticism, Hawthorne's work delves into the complexity of the human mind and its dark side.
- Explore complex inner struggles
- Examine sin and guilt
- Uncover hypocrisy
Use symbolism and allegory
Hawthorne masterfully used symbolic imagery and allegorical narratives to create layered, meaningful stories.
- Go beneath the surface
- Employ symbols
- Craft evocative narratives
Develop a strong writing ritual
Hawthorne was known for his very structured, solitary, and monotonous daily routine, which created the ideal conditions for deep and sustained thought.
- Embrace solitude
- Make it a habit
Recognize the power of words
Hawthorne viewed words as an instrument of immense power that a writer must learn to wield skillfully.
- Combine words carefully
Let the narrative unfold naturally
His storytelling technique was focused on telling a story as a process, allowing it to reveal itself naturally.
- Character-driven choices
Create richly detailed narratives
Hawthorne’s elaborate, ornate prose style was intentional, designed to force readers to examine every word.
- Craft intricate sentences: His notoriously long, winding sentences were used to add layers of meaning and complexity to his ideas.
- Encourage reader interpretation
Herman Melville
From his letters, essays, and fictional works, Herman Melville's writing tips emphasize originality, ambition, and the pursuit of truth beneath surface appearances. He encouraged a deep, unyielding commitment to art, even if it meant commercial failure.
Pursue originality over imitation
Melville deeply valued originality and considered it a measure of a writer's potential for greatness.
- "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation".
Choose a "mighty theme"
For Melville, a book's substance was directly related to the ambition of its topic. He advised writers to grapple with "great and enduring" subjects
-
"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme".
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Uncover the truth beneath the surface
Truth is often elusive
Challenge assumptions
Embrace creative struggle and even failure
Use your own experiences
Be prepared for your work to be misunderstood
Writing from the heart, Melville was famously undervalued in his lifetime, and in a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, he resigned himself to this fact.
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These three writers all wrote just one novel of renown but they were gargantuan titles. We celebrate their impact on American Literature in this episode.
Harper Lee offered several writing tips centered on persistence, humility, and the importance of craft over reward. She emphasized a love for language and a dedication to writing for oneself.
Key Writing Tips from Harper Lee
- Develop a thick hide
- Write for yourself A writer worth their salt writes to please an audience of one: themselves. Writing is a self-exploratory process, an exorcism of "divine discontent," not a pursuit for external validation or monetary gain.
- Be a steady, slow worker
- Embrace the revision process
- Master the English sentence
- Write what you know and use vivid imagery
- Nurture the creative spirit
Fundamentally, Lee's advice was to focus on the integrity of the work and the process itself, hoping for the best but expecting nothing in return.
J.D. Salinger's writing approach prioritized authenticity, a distinctive narrative voice, and emotional depth achieved through minimalist prose and realistic dialogue. His tips for writers can be distilled into the following principles:
- Write for yourself, first and foremost
- Prioritize a strong, authentic voice
- Embrace minimalism and precision
- Know your characters inside and out
- Use naturalistic dialogue
- Work with focus and discipline
- Read extensively
Margaret Mitchell's writing tips and style emphasize thorough research, relentless rewriting, and a simple, direct prose. She prioritized her creative work and was known for working methodically on a single project at a time.
Key Writing Tips
- Prioritize writing above all else
- Embrace rewriting: She famously said, "I do not write with ease, nor am I ever pleased with anything I write. And so I rewrite". She emphasized that "Pulitzer-type writing... comes in the rewriting".
- Research thoroughly
- Write with simplicity and clarity
- Focus on the story and what matters
- Plan meticulously but be flexible
- Work with discipline and endurance
- Avoid digressions
- Work on one project at a time
Personal Habits and Style
- "Show, Don't Tell" (selectively)
- Character and dialogue-driven
- Gumption is key
- Answer fan mail
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This episode looks at two literary giants and includes their writing tips. It also features the only writer in our entire series our host, Randal Wallace, actually met, Maya Angelou. Mrs. Morrison was at the time of her passing, America's only living Nobel Laureate for writing. This is an inspiring episode for any aspiring authors and for everyone else too.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison advised writers to embrace the revision process, to write without considering an audience, and to trust the stories that demand to be told. Her writing method was deeply personal, relying on a pre-dawn ritual and an intimate focus on her characters.
Begin with self-authorship
- Write the book you want to read.
- Ignore the "white gaze."
- for honesty and truth rather than for applause.
- Write for the characters, not an audience.
Trust the creative process
- Find your ideal creative space.
- Start with an image.
- Be open to what your writing tells you.
Embrace revision and growth
- Revision is where the real work begins.
- Know the difference between revision and "fretting."
- Recognize missed opportunities.
- Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou emphasized discipline, emotional truth, and mastery of language as essential for writers. Her own writing process was a dedicated ritual that supported her creative work.
Embrace a disciplined routine
Angelou held great respect for the craft of writing and maintained a consistent, structured process.
- Create a separate workspace
Write consistently
- Edit and revise
Write from the heart
For Angelou, the goal of writing was to reach the reader's heart and help them feel connected to the shared human experience.
- Tell the truth, not just the facts
- Share your story to help others : She said, "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song".
- Move beyond bitterness.
Master the craft of language
Angelou believed that creative inspiration was nothing without the discipline to master one's tools.
- Use words to create emotion
- Take familiar words and make them new:
- Engage the senses
Believe in your creative capacity
Angelou taught that creativity is an endless resource that only grows through use.
- Creativity is a muscle: She famously stated, "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have".
- Dare to be creative:
- Make writing a necessity:
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This episode looks at three giants of American Literature who all wrote about the struggles of forgotten America. One of them, Mark Twain, is considered the Father of American Literature.
John Steinbeck is known for sharing six practical writing tips in a letter to a friend in 1962. These rules prioritize flow, discipline, and authenticity over immediate perfection:
- Focus on the daily work: Write one page each day instead of thinking about the entire length.
- Write the first draft rapidly and freely: Avoid correcting or rewriting until the entire draft is complete to maintain flow and rhythm.
- Imagine a single, specific reader: Address your writing to one person you know or imagine, rather than a general audience.
- Bypass difficult scenes: Skip troublesome sections and return to them later; they may not fit the overall work.
- Be willing to cut favorites: Be cautious of scenes you are overly fond of, as they may be "out of drawing" or not fit the overall piece.
- Read dialogue aloud: Speak dialogue out as you write it to make it sound like natural speech.
Steinbeck also highlighted the importance of discipline and persistence. He viewed writing as a "clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness".
Thomas Wolfe, the novelist (1900–1938), is primarily known for his voluminous, autobiographical fiction. His editor, Maxwell Perkins, heavily shaped his sprawling manuscripts into publishable novels like Look Homeward, Angel. The "writing tips" associated with Thomas Wolfe often relate to his personal habits and the nature of his expansive, autobiographical style.
Here are the key takeaways regarding Thomas Wolfe's approach to writing:
- Write everything, use everything.
- Embrace the "flood" of language.
- Trust your instincts over convention.
- Establish a consistent routine
- Writing is life.
Wolfe's legacy is one of a "splendid failure" in terms of self-editing and structure, but a master of language, description, and the power of memory in autobiographical fiction.
Mark Twain, the Father of American Literature:
Mark Twain's writing tips emphasize clarity, simplicity, and revision, encouraging writers to prioritize the reader's experience above all else. His advice often uses humor and sharp wit to make memorable points about avoiding common writing pitfalls.
Here are key writing tips attributed to Mark Twain: .
Use plain, simple language
- "Kill" adjectives (most of them)
- "Use the right word, not its second cousin"
- Show, don't tell
- Rewrite and revise: Writing is an iterative process.
- Start writing after you finish
- Ensure dialogue sounds human
- Make all episodes and characters necessary.
- Avoid clichés and "stage directions" in dialogue:
- Write without pay (initially): He advised aspiring writers to "write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for".
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Is there a more terrifying writer in the world than Edgar Allan Poe, nor a more fun one to read with a child with than Theodore Geisel, "Dr. Seuss" ? I don't think so.
In this episode we chronicle two of the most extremely different authors of our entire series.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote some of the strangest and most horrifying stories ever written. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Mask of the Red Death" The Fall of the House of Usher", "Tell Tale Heart", The Pit and the Pendulum" the list goes on and on. But for all of that he is actually considered the father of the modern detective novel which is what he actually made his living doing. Though he struggled financially his entire life.
His poetry is equally famous and perhaps no other poem stands out at all like "The Raven" which we will feature in this episode. The actor most closely associated with Poe is Vincent Price who made some of the best movies ever made in the 1950s and 1960s.
Poe's life was as interesting as his writing and his death just as mysterious, we will tell you the story and feature his writing tips too, through the episode.
Dr. Seuss, was a part of every child's life under the age of 8 in every home I have ever visited, you at least see one of his books. "The Cat in the Hat", "The Lorax", "Green Eggs and Ham," "Oh the Places we will Go" , "The Sneeches" , "One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", "Horton Hears a Who?" , my personal favorite "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", and even a book found two decades after he passed away, hidden in a box at his house, titled "What Pet Should I get"
What an extraordinary legacy to have had such an impact on the lives of children everywhere, with characters that never existed until he dreamed them up, mixed with timeless themes, that match perfectly with his rhymes. In this episode we introduce you to the man, his books, and his writing advice.
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In this episode our host honors two of his family members who passed away in recent times.
Aunt Margie Wallace - My Aunt was a substitute teacher in Darlington County for two decades after finishing a 30 year career at the sewing plant there. She was known to all the students there as "Grandma" and they turned out to her funeral in mass. She was a delightful, thoughtful lady and it is an honor for our show to remember her with this broadcast.
Uncle Kenneth Huggins - My Uncle worked at the Sonoco Products Company for decades, was an avid Atlanta Braves baseball fan, and active duck hunter. He was a camper and outdoorsman. He was also a lot of fun. Some of my happiest memories of childhood are visits to his house when I was small. We tell a few of those stories in this episode which features the eulogy we gave at his funeral.
This episode also captures three women who were near and dear to our hearts throughout our lifetime, My Grand mother Hattie King, my mother Gloria Bulmer (who will be heavily featured in our coming series on the Great American Authors) and my Aunt Willie Mae Huggins who passed away nearly 26 years ago but who was married to my Uncle Kenneth and who was also the life of any party she attended.
This is an episode about my family, one I was very lucky to have been born a part of and we hope you will enjoy the memories we share with you in this episode.
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Welcome to the first episode of our special Holiday Season, "The Great American Authors", Bob Dole's series will return in January 2026.
In this episode we welcome you to our series, an introduce you to our host, Randal Wallace's, English teacher Mother, Gloria Bulmer. She was also a writer and as part of a writing class, had some of her writing published in only one book by Coastal Carolina University, as part of a writing class in 1983, also one of her short stories won an award. Our host has that award hanging at his home. This series is dedicated to his mothers memory.
Her influence led to the selection of the very first author to be profiled in our series, F. Scott Fitzgerald, my mother's favorite author.
Fitzgerald wrote essays, short stories, and several novels:
"This Side of Paradise", "The Beautiful and Damned,"" The Diamond as Big as The Ritz" ," Tender is the Night', "The Last Tycoon", and his biggest one of all "The Great Gatsby" which ironically flopped when it first came out in 1925. The Great Gatsby was one of many books given to soldiers during Word War 2, to help keep them occupied, that led to a resurgence of Fitzgerald's writings. All that success coming, long after he had died.
Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul , Minnesota, and we will take you there to hear about his early life story, then we will meet Zelda Sayre, whom he met while serving in his Army days in Alabama. They had one of those renown love affairs and it was her denial of his marriage proposal that spurred his first literary success. He had a surge of success before his writing stopped being popular, the money dried up, and he headed to Hollywood to be a screenwriter. His wife became ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he battled alcoholism. It was a tough life but a glamorous one.
We will cover it all and listen in on the descriptions of the Jazz Age which formed the foundation of much of his writings, especially "The Great Gatsby."
Throughout the series we will also give you lists of writing tips for each of the authors covered, so if you have any aspiring authors in your family, this series, which will have 16 episodes, may be something you want to let them know to tune in for over the holidays.
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In this our second episode honoring the life of Former Vice President Dick Cheney we listen to the various eulogies from his funeral in Washington D.C. at the Washington National Cathedral. They range form his cardiologist, former Press Secretary, a Former President of the United States, his grand children and daughter, a former Congresswoman in her own right. This is a moving selection of addresses.
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On Sunday, November 15, 2025, I woke up to the news that legendary Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling Host Bob Caudle had died , peacefully, in his sleep at the age of 95. I can’t explain it but this one was like losing a lifelong friend because in a way it was.
Bob Caudle’s voice is as familiar to me as any on Earth, he has been a fixture in our home for my entire lifetime, each Saturday for my entire childhood straight through to early adulthood I heard him say "Welcome Fans to another exciting hour of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling." He has stayed a fixture through my DVD collection and on "YouTube" whenever I have wanted to travel back in time to “the good old days” of Professional Wrestling. I am pretty sure I am not alone.
Bob Caudle was like that great old recliner, comfortable and steady, that you don’t pay that much attention to until it’s gone. Bob Caudle was never the star, never tried to out shine the wrestlers, never made himself the story, but was always there presiding over all the chaos every Saturday when we fans tuned in. He always asked the questions we wanted to ask and said exactly what all of us wanted to say as all the insanity erupted. Bob Caudle was there steady as a rock.
In the end, this very normal “old white guy in brown shoes” was , in fact, as big a star with all of us fans as the stars he covered, and in the eyes of us wrestling fans of Jim Crockett Promotions, there was no one more beloved, than this often befuddled host of the greatest territorial wrestling show in the history of wrestling. It has been like a part of all our collective childhoods vanished Sunday. But what a wild, fun ride it was, and I hope I speak for all of us fans of the Wrestling Network, Bob Caudle, you will be missed, and we will cherish your memory forever, for Bob Caudle provided the soundtrack of our childhood. So, to Mr. Caudle , here is our tribute to you, rest in peace, and “until next time so long for now.”
(No copyright claimed nor intended for the clips used in this tribute to Bob Caudle. This is for historical use only. )
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Join us starting November 25, 2025 for a Christmas Holidays Special 16th Season as we venture into new territory. Over the end of November and through out December we will spend 16 episodes looking at the Great American Authors, From F. Scott Fitzgerald to Stephen King and all points in between. We hope you will join us as we take a little break from American Political History and take a deep dive into American Literature, its history, and learn some writing tips from some of the greatest authors our country has ever produced.
This sixteen episode season will feature F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, Dr. Suess, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, J. D. Salinger, Margaret Mitchell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Ian Fleming, J. K Rowling, Pat Conroy, Gene Hackman, Kurt Vonnegut, Walter Mosley, Lee Child, Stephen King, John Grisham, Joyce Carol Oats, Sinclair Lewis, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Quayle, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, James Patterson, and the announcement about our hosts own three books, a history companion book to this podcast, and two novels by Randal Wallace.
We hope you will join us starting November 25 for The Great American Authors Special Season and Bob Dole will return in "Bob Dole The Life That Brought Him There" in January, 2026.
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In this episode we look back at three people it is almost hard to imagine not being around.
Hulk Hogan, if you are kid in my age range, middle 50s, was as big a star as ever roamed the Earth. He was the catalyst for Professional Wrestling's leap into mainstream society taking it from a cable television novelty, to starring in, what is still today, the largest indoor sporting event in all of history with an attendance of 93,173 to see Hulk Hogan wrestle 7ft 4 inch, Andre the Giant. Huge is an understatement at what an event that was for anyone who was watching it.
We honor Hulk Hogan here though, for one of the last things he did in his long and storied career. He spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2024 on behalf of President Donald Trump. At the time, many of the political analyst were saying he was the first Pro wrestler to be involved as an endorser in Presidential Politics. That was far from the truth. Ric Flair had been a big supporter of George H. W. Bush and in 1992 he traveled North and South Carolina with him. We have an episode dedicated to that in our back catalogue from our 1992 Changing of the Guard Series. We look back at Hulk Hogan with a great deal of fondness, he was a huge part of my childhood. Hulk Hogan was 71 years old.
Jim Lovell, helped guide the Apollo 13 Moon mission back to Earth after disaster struck it and an oxygen tank exploded mid mission. The fabulous movie "Apollo 13" starring Tom Hanks and Directed by Ron Howard tells the story, as does an episode in our back catalogue of material. Jim Lovell always came across as a super nice man, known as "smiling Jim" by his fellow astronauts in the 1960s. I was honored to tell his Apollo 13 story during our initial Richard Nixon series. Jim Lovell was also on the first trip to circumnavigate the moon, and was a a part of the crew that took the famous "Earthrise" photo. We have an episode in our series on Lyndon Johnson that covers that mission. Jim Lovell was 97 years old.
This year also saw the passing of my Mother, Gloria Bulmer's favorite movie star, Robert Redford. He was "The Great Gatsby." I have seen the movie several times, it was my mother's favorite. Redford was famous for many other huge blockbuster movies too from "All the President's Men" to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", to another of my mother's favorite movies, "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Shaw. He was the quintessential movie star.
He also has an episode in our back catalogue, when we profiled one of my all time favorite movies, "Casablanca", and along with it another of my favorites, that was one of the few of his movies that flopped, "Havana". I loved the movie and never understood why it did so poorly at the box office. Redford also founded the Sundance Movie Festival, which has helped show some of independent films best work. For that we owe him a great deal of gratitude. Robert Redford was 89 years old.
We invite you to comb through our back catalogue for all four of these episodes.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/9047347 Episode 42 Earthrise the story of 1968's Apollo 8
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/9474650 Episode 58 Richard Nixon the Man that Saved the Union : Apollo 13 Our Finest Hour
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/16716829 Episode 349 George
H. W. Bush - 1992 the Changing of the Guard: On the Trail with Ric Flair and George Bush (and later Mike Huckabee)
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/16567204 "Casablanc
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In this episode , we look back at three men who worked tirelessly for their religious beliefs and trying to make this world a better place in their own way, Pope Francis, Pope Leo 14th, and Political Activist Charlie Kirk, plus a rock star from the 1950s and 60s, Connie Francis.
Pope Francis became the first Jesuit Priest to rise to the Papacy. The first from Latin America, and the first in centuries not to be born in Europe. He had a daunting task as the Catholic Church was facing a growing scandal of Priests abusing underage kids in their parishes. It would fall to Pope Francis to rebuild the Church's image.
He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires in Argentina. His Papacy had controversy, but he was also known for his humility, concern for the poor, the refugee, and his belief in God's mercy to man. He continued to work through various health issues right up until his own death this year.
Which leads us to a moment I certainly never thought I would see in my lifetime, if ever. The installation of an American Pope in Pope Leo 14th, Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago. It is an event that even moved me, and I am not a Catholic, that finally we have an American at the helm of the largest Christian Church in the World. We let you learn a little bit about him also in this episode.
Then we look back at the all to short life, and career, of political activist Charlie Kirk. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has been the saddest story and most heinous crime I have seen in my 46 years involvement in politics. Kirk while talking to a college at an outdoor event in Utah, was gun downed by a transgender activist. What was almost as shocking was how far our society has fallen that we saw widespread celebration on the left at the news of Kirk's death. It should give everyone pause. In this episode we look back at his life and his group Turning Point USA, and while I recognize his career was one that had some level of controversy to it, he said nothing that warranted, a father of two small children, being gun down in pubic. It was a shameful day for America.
Finally, we will also look back at the singer Connie Francis, known for her hits "Pretty Little Baby", and "Who's Sorry Now", she had a remarkable career which included a campaign song for one of the people we have profiled during the run of our show. We will let you hear that at the end of this broadcast.
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For decades the one thing that never seemed to change in Washington D.C. was constant presence of David Gergen. He was an aid to Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He was a political analyst for PBS and CNN. David Gergen seemed as permanent a fixture as the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.
He wrote to extraordinary books Eyewitness to Power, and Hearts Tinged by Fire, which came out when he was 80 years old. I became a fan during the 1990s when he was a commentator alongside Mark Shields at PBS. they were an extraordinary pairing because they were reasonable despite being from opposite political backgrounds, and having decidedly partisan resumes' with the exception Gergen's time with Bill Clinton.
David Gergen passed away earlier in 2025, and it marked the end of an era in politics. This episode we try to capture some of his moments, from debating Ari Fleischer, to promoting his books, or talking about the Presidents for whom he served over his long career. We will also take you back to 1992, just after Governor Bill Clinton finished his Democratic Nomination acceptance speech, as we tune in to some giants in political commentary summing up their thoughts on that monumental evening, Jim Lehrer, Robert McNeil, Mark Shields and David Gergen on PBS.
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Last week, former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away, he was 84 years old. There has been no more powerful a figure in the history of politics in the modern era. He transformed the Vice Presidency into a power center all its own.
In this episode, we will look back at his life, his love of the outdoors, his life after the White House and his life long battle with coronary heart disease. Dick Cheney is also a heart transplant recipient. The family of our host, Randal Wallace, is a donor family, as his brother Keith Wallace was an organ donor, who passed away in 2012 of a brain aneurism. Organ donation is a cause near and dear to our hearts here at this podcast.
This is a tribute to a great man and a giant political figure in our time. This is also the first of four episodes, as we begin our 16th Season, honoring several people we have lost in 2025.
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In this brief update we want to fill you in on our special non-political season to carry our show through the holidays, and some tribute episodes we have planned to look back at some of those we lost this year but have not had a chance to look back at as the season progressed.
We look forward to 2026 for the return of Bob Dole in our final two seasons looking back at his life and career.
Thanks for tuning in and please join us for an exciting special season over November and December of 2025.
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In our season finale we zoom in on the fight over a Balanced budget Amendment on the 1995 Congressional agenda.
You will hear Senators go round and round , from Pete Domenici, to Bob Dole, to Paul Simon, to even South Carolina’s own Senator Ernest Hollings.
All this debate rages as Bob Dole inches closer and closer to filing for President of the United States. We will take you right there, after an emotional moment between Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton over the love both men had for their mothers, to the announcement stage as Bob Dole starts out into the 1996 campaign. Then we travel back in time to the battle torn Italian country side in April 1945 and an event that changed the trajectory of the life of second Lieutenant Robert J. Dole of Kansas forever.
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In this episode we start to move you through the big moments of 1995 as we get closer to the kick off of the 1996 Presidential Election. Bob Dole has not totally made his mind up yet and its clear to his wife and staf he needs to make the definitive move.
We will relive these moments as Bob Dole makes up his mind to run for a third time for President and we watch several of the more important accomplishments of the Republican Congress make its way through the system.
This is the first of our two part Season Fifteen Finale, Bob Dole 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing.
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In this episode we set the stage for 1995 as Newt Gingrich becomes the biggest star in politics as he becomes the first Republican Speaker in 40 years. We will look back at his rise and watch him consolidate his position.
Plus this also marks the move by Bob Dole to seriously look at his own run for the Presidency.
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As we open this episode , we will see Bob Dole truly become the last man standing from an era of political figures who had dominated the scene for over two decades. There would be two Senate leadership races as George Mitchell retired as the Democratic Leader and Alan Simpson faced a challenge in his position as Bob Dole's number two man in Republican leadership. Both races would be decided by one vote.
We will hear Senator Tom Daschle describe the situation that unfolded on the democratic side after his opponent, Senator Jim Sasser of Tennessee, was defeated in his election. That left Tom Daschle facing a last minute challenge from the much more Senior Senator from Connecticut, Chris Dodd. Daschle will tell the story in his oral history of how he won the election to replace George Mitchell as Democratic Leader.
Then we will hear from both candidates in the race for Republican Majority Whip as Dole's longtime Whip faced a challenge from a rising political star in the Senate and former House Whip in Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. It would come down to one vote, and Simpson would lose.
That race would leave Bob Dole the only leader left from a generation of leaders who had been at the helm of government for decades. Representative Bob Michel had retired in the most recent election cycle, Speaker Tom Foley was defeated, Alan Simpson lost his Whip post, George Mitchell retired, and in 1992 George H. W. Bush had been defeated for President. The only member of leadership in either party that was still there was Bob Dole, and it would again come to him to keep everyone on track as we head into 1995.
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All eyes were trained on one man as the lame duck session began. It was the soon to be new Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. In this episode we introduce you to him and watch those first moves from the new star of politics in 1994.
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The power switch was swift as all eyes fell on the Republican leadership in the hours after the Republicans swept to to power in both houses of Congress. There was a push for moving the Contract with America's agenda to the forefront, talk of downsizing the staffs in Washington, and both leaders were busy ironing out what exactly their agendas were going to be.
Then came an even bigger piece of news. That Senator Richard Shelby arguably the last Southern Conservative Democrat was ready to finally come over. Senator Phil Gramm had been trying to convince him for years but Shelby had remained loyal to the Democratic Party, but as you will hear, he just did not feel it was home any longer, and he was going with the ever rising tide in Alabama before he found himself politically homeless. Richard Shelby became a Republican, and he would remain one for the rest of his career which lasted until 2022 when he retired from the Senate.
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When the sun rose on November 9, 1994, Washington D.C. had had a seismic shift in the politics it had known for nearly a half century. Even the House Speaker Tom Foley, of Washington State, had lost his seat in Congress. There is hardly words that can describe how brutal the night before had been for the Democratic Party and its President Bill Clinton.
The Contract for America had nationalized the election and every congressional candidate had run on the platform in the Republican Party and they had all , to a man , won. The Democrats had had a few bright spots, Senator Ted Kennedy had survived his brush with political death from the challenge of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and LBJ's Son in Law Chuck Robb had beaten back Iran Contra Scandal figure Oliver North. But the bright spots had been few and far between. The Democrats had seen some of their brightest stars extinguished from Governor Mario Cuomo of New York , to Governor Ann Richards of Texas, Former Budget Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski was defeated, the Speaker had lost, Representative Jack Brooks lost, and a new Republican star named Lindsey Graham had quietly won a seat in South Carolina.
Bob Dole would be returning to his position as the Senate Majority Leader as opposed to being just the Minority Leader, and with all this change captivating the attention of the nation, and its capitol city, Washington D.C., it left President Bill Clinton standing at a podium proclaiming to whomever would listen that "the President is still relevant here."
It was a case of total victory, and the Capitol was now "Under new Management."
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It is election day 1994 at last, and this is the coverage of that historic night. For the first time in 40 years the Republicans will take control of Congress. It is a clean sweep too, the Republicans would win in every category and level of government. They would win the control of the House, the Senate, the Governors Mansions, and the State Legislatures, it was a total and complete victory.
Bill Clinton was clearly on the ropes and the spotlight would move down Pennsylvania Avenue to a new star that was about to dominate the conversation for the next year, the new Speaker of the United States house of Representatives from Georgia, Newt Gingrich.
But that will come after this night. On this night, it is a night like no other, without question, at least in my lifetime, this was the biggest night for the Republican Party ever. While Newt Gingrich would get the majority of the spotlight, and people would be looking for the reaction that would be coming out of the White House, one man, in my opinion, could truly kick back and say, he had been the one continuous leader that had brought his party back from the brink after the disaster of 1992.
Of everyone involved, this was truly Bob Dole's night.
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As we close in on election day in 1994, both President Bill Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, hit the campaign trail as the de-facto heads of each party to try and pull their candidates through all across the country.
We will look at them both as they have rallies across the country from Seattle, to Denver, to two national radio addresses. The stakes are sky high as both of them fight hard for their two teams as the balance of power in both houses of congress teeters on the verge of victory or defeat for both sides of the aisle.
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In 1994, our host Randal Wallace, was active in the leadership of the Lander University College Republicans. That year the long term Congressman from the Third Congressional District of South Carolina , Butler Derrick, decided to retire from Congress. That made the race for Congress a wide open one to fill the seat.
It was then that he got involved in the Congressional campaign of a one term State House member named Lindsey Graham. It was a political friendship that would continue on until this day. Graham would win in 1994 and again in 1996, 1998, 2000, and then he would move on to the United States Senate in 2002, 2008, 2014, 2020, and he will be up for re-election again in 2026.
He would become a national political figure as one of the leading people in the Congress of the United States. He emerged as a House manager in the Impeachment Trial of Bill Clinton, he filled the seat of Strom Thurmond, and lead the Republican Party efforts to answer any number of major issues plaguing the country both domestically and internationally. His greatest accomplishment is most likely his efforts to end the stalemate over Judicial appointments that led to control of the Supreme Court eventually ending up in the hands of a conservative majority.
In this episode, we look back at the man many have called the Senator of the 21st Century, Lindsey Graham. We start at his race for Congress in 1994, and we gather up a lot of the biographical materials the press put together during Graham's short campaign for President in 2016, Sadly, we could find nothing on the 1994 race on audio, but we do have an unusual source, the memoir of our Host, Randal Wallace, written from his materials in 2007 in his unpublished Memoir "The Eye of The Storm."
We also follow Lindsey Graham's life at various times over the next 31 years.
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In this episode, we will give you a taste of the dramatic races from all across the nation. Two Bush brothers were on the ballot, we had a barn burner for Governor in South Carolina, and the House and Senate had close races too. It was a dramatic campaign in an historic year at the polls.
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In this episode we kick of the 1994 Midterm elections. As we look at Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and Senate Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, begin their march to the majority in the United States Senate.
We will listen in as Bob Dole deftly answers questions about the year's most controversial Senate race in Virginia between Chuck Robb, the son in law of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Oliver North the former aide to Ronald Reagan.
We will introduce the Midterm elections to you here, as we get ready to kick off a multiple episode look at these monumental elections from 1994.
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In this episode, we look back with a great deal of respect to a very formidable adversary for most Republicans like me, in Senator George Mitchell of Maine. He was the Senate Majority Leader for most of the Bush Administration and the first two years of the Clinton Administration. He was most likely the single biggest factor in making George H. W. Bush eat his no new taxes pledge during the budget negotiations of 1990.
He decided to retire in 1994.
This dinner was held in his honor and to raise money for a scholarship fund that he set up with the remainder of his reelection campaign fund to help more people get an education. Mitchell was the son of an Irish immigrant janitor, and a textile worker in Maine. He knew the value of a good education and how hard his parents had worked for him to have the opportunities this nation provided. This dinner was his way of setting up a fund to help those coming up behind him.
It was here that we also got a chance to see both Bob Dole and President Clinton give good hearted speeches in tribute to the outgoing Majority Leader. It is a chance to size them up as they go head to head, but this time, it is all in good natured fun and in honor of a highly respected colleague, all on the eve of the 1994 midterm elections.
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The Contract with America would change everything in Washington D.C. For four decades the United States House of Representatives had been controlled by one party. The Republicans had settled into a life of being a permanent minority. That total control of the Federal Government had led to decades of entrenchment for democrats everywhere you looked in the running of the government. They were in all the bureaucracy, the courts, and in control of everything within the congress.
It was a dominance that had brought down a President in 1974, and thwarted the agenda of three more Republican Presidents. It was time for a change and the unpopularity of the Clinton agenda would finally bring about an opportunity for that change. What Republicans needed was a field general. It got one in House Minority Assistant Leader, Newt Gingrich.
He would develop the Contract with America, help sell it to the country, and to his fellow Congressman, he would help educate not only a class of Congressional candidates but also a generation of campaign operatives that they brought in, and took to school educating them on how to run a campaign. They polled the issues, they polled the voters, and they laid the groundwork for a foundation to nationalize the election. It gave every candidate a set agenda to run on.
I would argue, and do in this episode, that it was a one-two punch that led to the success of the Republican Party in the elections of 1994. First off, you had Bill Clinton lurch to the left, which was unpopular with the vast majority of the electorate, but you also had Bob Dole there to stand the ground at a moment when every other Republican in the Federal Government was demoralized after the loss in 1992. It was Dole that held the ground against Clinton's left wing leap. Dole stopped the Gays in the Military, didn't have a single defection on the budget, and defeated the Healthcare boondoggle. It was a mighty impressive performance for a man leading the minority party in Congress.
It was Bob Dole's leadership during those two years that laid the foundation for the campaign that, without question, Newt Gingrich, was able to lead to victory in 1994. A one-two punch that nearly knocked out the Clinton Administration. It was the high tide of the Republican comeback from the debacle of 1992.
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In 1994 wildfires swept across California and the Emergency Management people steeped in to help fight them. Bill Clinton was briefed on the issues and in this episode we hear his call in to check on what was happening and to show his support for the efforts.
It is a rare window in on the inner workings of the Presidency during a crisis. You will hear the President as he talks with his staff and you will hear from two United States Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, as they also help monitor the efforts, and show moral support to those devastated by the wildfires in the the state.
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South Carolina has always been enormously proud of its military Collegiate institution, the Citadel, in Charleston S.C. Senator Ernest Hollings was a proud graduate of the University as was so many very prominent people throughout the state. Graduates include Governor Justin Hagood, Pat Conroy, Charles Tew, Greg Davis, State Senator Stephen Goldfinch, U.S. Representatives Nancy Mace, Gresham Barrett, and State Representative Thad Viers are all among the list.
In this episode we listen in as Senator Strom Thurmond, himself a graduate of Clemson University back in the era when it was a military college, introduces Senator Bob Dole and welcomes him to the Citadel.
In this episode, we will also see the University bestow on Bob Dole an honorary Doctorate of Laws, as they welcome a genuine American hero to the podium to address the class of 1994.
We are not sure but we think , given the date of this event May 14, 1994, that the Senators left The Citadel and then headed to another event that honored Vietnam Veterans in Columbia S.C. It was there that our host, Randal Wallace, got a chance to meet Bob Dole and snap the only photograph he had with the Senator, back in the era before cell phone cameras made pictures an easy thing to get, and that photo is now the cover art for this Podcast series.
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In this episode we look back at one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in the entire history of the country, the 1994 Crime Bill. It has been the source of many misconceptions and misinformation, even some of which has been spread by me.
I had actually forgotten that this piece of legislation actually wasn't a bipartisan piece of legislation. That it was not sponsored by Republicans and that even Stom Thurmond, so often maligned, as a man willing to incarcerate people on a big scale actually opposed this bill.
This bill was the product of Democratic majorities, led by Senator Joe Biden, and pushed by President Bill Clinton. It was a big jobs bill and advocated for the expansion of the Federal Prison system. It put people in jail for long and in some cases lifetime sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.
Here you will listen in on President Clinton as he signs the bill, listen as his democratic collogues brag on the bill, and we will hear the press conference given by Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Alan Simpson, and Strom Thurmond among other Republicans in opposition to the 1994 Crime Bill.
Plus, in fairness, we will give you a review of what the bill did right, and how it actually did cut the crime rate that was seen by everyone as out of control in 1994.
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I may not agree with his every conclusion about the history of the Special Prosecutor and Special Counsel office and the people who have held it. But I can say that I could find no fault with how this one man handled the job. The Special Counsel and Special Prosecutors Office, begun in 1974, as a way to investigate the sitting President and his staff for alleged wrongdoing, has a history so awful, with so much wrongdoing itself, that it is literally almost impossible to defend as an institution.
I don't think the abuse of power has any equal in our governmental history. The shameful conduct of Archibald Cox, Leon Jaworski, Richard Ben-Veniste, Henry Ruth, Lawrence Walsh, Ken Starr, and even the behaviour of our modern day investigators in the Trump-Biden-Trump era is enough to make even the worst tyrants blush. In my opinion, there are possibly two exceptions to this appalling record of power hungry maleficence, Robert Hurr, who investigated the records found in Joe Biden's garage, and Robert Fiske, the original Whitewater Scandal Special Prosecutor.
Both men laid out what they saw in detail, and then either walked away, or were in the process of doing so when they were replaced. You cannot ask for anything more than that.
In this episode, we get a real treat, as Robert Fiske traveled to Vermont to speak on the history of the Special Prosecutor and Special Counsel Offices and put the Robert Mueller Investigation into historical context. That investigation was ongoing when this lecture occured. The lecture was hosted by the Vermont Law and Graduate School and it runs nearly an hour. I may not agree with all of his opinions on the office, but I certainly can say, I always agreed with his decisions when he held the power to destroy people, and didn't, always looking at the facts and not trying to further his own career at the expense of others.
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The Whitewater investigation takes a giant leap as Attorney General Janet Reno appoints a Special Prosecutor to look into the case coming out of Arkansas. Former Watergate House Judiciary Committee staffer Bernard Nussbaum is now the assistant legal counsel to the President and his advice is not "No but Hell No!1 Mr. President, don't do that!" But it fell on deaf ears as Democratic Senators put pressure on the White House to take the step and allow a Special Prosecutor to be appointed.
At first Clinton got lucky.
Janet Reno appointed Robert Fiske to oversee the job. He may actually be the one and only Special Prosecutor in the history of its existence who was willing to look at a case and render a nonpartisan fair judgement, which he did, that nothing had happened in Arkansas involving President and Mrs. Clinton, and that Vince Foster had, in fact, committed suicide. He got fired for saying it. Not in so many words, but the Special Counsel statue had run out and Republicans worked to get it renewed. When it was renewed Janet Reno recommended that Fiske remain the Special Prosecutor and be allowed to finish his report. They removed him, and replaced him with Kenneth Starr instead. The rest is history.
This is that story.
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It has been described as the hardest assignment in Washington D.C. It is the response to the sitting President after the State of the Union Address by a member of the opposition party. The President, speaking to a Joint Session of Congress, has a packed House chamber to talk with and a national audience tuning in. The person given the task to respond to it is usually alone in a room with a camera. It is by no means a fair matchup.
In 1994, you also had the added stress of having to match T.V. Personas with President Bill Clinton arguably the greatest television Presidential orator of all time. Only Ronald Reagan could give the guy a run for his money. This daunting task would fall to Bob Dole, not once but twice in three years, as he was selected to give the Republican response to the State of the Union in 1994 and 1996. He volunteered, so you can't feel too sorry for him, but it was a tough assignment all the same.
The speech Dole gave in 1996, is far better remembered, because he came across like an undertaker. However, in 1994, he was received in the homes of millions of Americans much better. The speech was singularly focused on the Healthcare debate, a debate the Republicans were winning. Dole had a very well put together chart from Senator Arlen Specter's office on just how big and expansive a bill the Clinton Healthcare plan actually was, and Dole did a masterful job of delivering the message. It was one of his better performances. Here it is in its entirety, plus a little bit from President Clinton's speech as well.
When we finish those two addresses to the nation we will fast forward you to an interview with Bob Dole as he lays out the Republican agenda, and his thoughts on an array of subjects, for the rest of 1994. It is an interesting interview, and one of the first times Dole drops the hint that he was indeed going to be a candidate in 1996 for President of the United States.
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The Republicans did offer up an alternative to the Clinton Healthcare proposal. It was the Dole/Packwood Republican Alternative plan.
In this press conference you will hear Bob Dole discuss the proposal and have Senator Bob Packwood lay the plan out for the press corp.
Here are two Republican leaders trying to get their ideas on the table in order to address the growing healthcare crisis. In a lot of ways the plans were not far off but the political divide and the history of big majorities for democrats in congress would lead some decision makers on the Clinton side to try and push their proposal forward and sideline republicans. It would prove a disastrous decision and lead both plans to fail.
It would be yet another two decades before Healthcare would be addressed again.
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In this episode we take a look back at Hillary Clinton when she first burst onto the national scene in the early days of the Clinton Administration. She was a lady busy redefining the role of the First Lady.
She was an active serious advisor to her husband. An accomplished career woman in her own right she had been the single person Bill Clinton had always relied on for his policy and often political advice. She was aggressively pushing an agenda all her own and the President was supporting it even as the press began to start focusing on her place in the Clinton Administration.
All of this was happening on a wide variety of areas when President Clinton zeroed in on addressing the growing healthcare crisis in the country. Clinton decided he had more faith in his wife’s ability to get it done than on any other political ally or advisor.
This is the story of that effort. What she did, how hard she worked at it, and how it failed largely due to her approach. The bill was to big and to expansive, and it had been written giving only lip service to Republican concerns and advice. In the Washington D. C. of that era it would prove to be a mistake not to include your opposition especially to push aside its leader, Bob Dole.
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In this episode we look back at the other man who alongside, Bob Dole and Pete Wilson, spoke at both funerals for Pat and Richard Nixon. The Reverend Billy Graham was a giant figure in the second half of the 20th Century. His influence on the spiritual lives of people around the globe is rivaled only by the various Pope's who served during his lifetime.
He was a major figure in the American Civil Rights movement, and he was an advisor to every President from Harry Truman to Barak Obama. He played an enormous role in 1968 in the election of Richard Nixon to the Presidency. This was learned in a recent blockbuster book by Dr. Luke Nichter who became the first author and historian to gain access to the VIP Notebooks that Billy Graham kept for over 70 years as his ministry grew and he became more and more involved in advising the major public figures of the era.
In this episode we will hear from him, as we also say goodby to President and Mrs. Nixon, listening in on both eulogies, and we will examine the role Billy Graham played, through the Billy Graham Evangelical Association videos, in the the civil rights movement and with the various Presidents. Plus we will hear a segment of an interview with Historian Luke Nichter about the role Graham played in politics especially during the crucial year of 1968.
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In this episode we cover the deaths of both Former First Lady Pat Nixon and former President Richard Nixon who both passed away within 10 months of one another in 1993 and 1994.
As anyone who has been listening to our podcast on a long term basis knows, the life and career of Richard Nixon is a central focus of our show. We even have a sister podcast titled "The Richard Nixon Experience" that is a second avenue to listening to the many episodes we have produced on the President and his life.
This episode adds some additional materials we have not used before mixed in with some of the material from our Nixon series that ran a couple of years ago. We have the newly released video of President Clinton meeting President Nixon for the first time in 1992. We also feature for the first time the eulogy given for Mrs. Nixon by Bob Dole, and several portions of oral histories about President and Mrs. Nixon from the Bob Dole oral history project, with Dole, George McGovern, and Sheila Burke, Bob Dole's Senate Chief of Staff.
We think this is an excellent addition to materials we have already produced on Nixon. It should add to the already growing materials that have been brought to the forefront of Nixon scholarship in recent years. It seems a growing appreciation has been happening for the Presidency of Richard Nixon, and we here at this podcast are proud to have played a small, and very early role, in that new appreciation for the 37th President and his many accomplishments.
As we have said and written repeatedly we believe he deserves to be ranked among the 4 Greatest American Presidents, and it appears our podcast tag line is truly now at hand. The Renaissance of Richard Nixon is finally happening at last.
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Jim Brady was a popular member of the Reagan campaign , and briefly the Reagan Administration. He was gunned down in 1981 in the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. He lived, but suffered permanent brain damage, leaving him paralyzed and slow to speak for the rest of his life.
His wife, Sarah Brady, would go on to lead a lifelong crusade to bring some form of gun control to America. This is the story of the passage of the bill named in her husbands honor.
Bob Dole opposed the legislation. This episode we will hear the floor debate between Dole and Senate Leader George Mitchell. We will learn how Dole treated everyone fairly, and we will get to see a real test between the President and the Minority Leader. In this early battle between the two leaders of their party, Clinton would win.
The Brady Bill passed the House of Representatives 238 - 189 , and it passed in the United States Senate 63 - 36 with an amendment. The Bill introduced one of the things that Bob Dole had been pushing for years, a National instant background check.
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The North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, opened up the largest free trading block in the world. It was supported by every living former President in 1993, and Bill Clinton worked very hard to make it happen. He got support from an unlikely source.
Bob Dole.
In fact, he had bipartisan support and opposition. Our own two Senators here in South Carolina, Strom Thurmond and Ernest Hollings, one a Republican and the other a Democrat, both opposed NAFTA's passing.
This is the story of how it passed through Congress. You will hear from three living former Presidents: George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford, in the Bush speech you will also hear about an opinion piece written by Ronald Reagan in favor of NAFTA as well. It was a controversial piece of legislation, and while it delivered on many of the high hopes when it passed, it also did not stop some of the very concerns those who were opposed to its passage brought up in their arguments.
In this episode we will hear some of the oral history that Bob Dole gave and you will hear for yourself some of , what sounds like , regret he voices, ever so briefly, in his interview about supporting the passage of the bill.
Here is the story of NAFTA, how it passed, and what people thought about it as the historic debate raged in Washington.
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As this series has unfolded I am sure that most people have listened in and thought it was more about President Bill Clinton than Senator Bob Dole. That will begin to change with this episode. This is where we will begin to use an absolute treasure of a find from the Dole Archives collection at the Robert J. Dole School for Politics in Kansas.
In this episode we will be introducing you to these oral histories compiled by Richard Norton Smith of various major figures who served in the same era as Senator Bob Dole. I think you will get extraordinary insight not just to Bob Dole the man, and the era in which he served , but also valuable insights on how your United States Senate actually functions.
We are very excited to be diving into this collection to help tell the story of one of the greatest leaders our nation has ever produced in Senator Bob Dole. We want to thank all of those who contributed to this collection, the Dole Institute and historian Richard Norton Smith. These oral histories are an absolute treasure.
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In this our second episode of our tour through Georgia, we head out into rural south west Georgia to visit the community of Warm Springs. It was there in a small little resort town that Franklin Roosevelt discovered a treatment for his polio. It never cured him but it certainly revitalized him. The warm 88 degree water full of minerals allowed Roosevelt to move in the water like he was back on his feet again. it buoyed more than just his body, it lifted his spirit too.
Roosevelt spent two thirds of his personal fortune, building a hospital to help those afflicted with polio, and that hospital still exists today helping with other disabilities and diseases. Roosevelt, who was born wealthy, met all types of people here in Georgia. He learned their struggles, their economic hardships, and the sky high cost of electrification. He vowed to help them, and he did. A great deal of the policies that made up the New Deal were from learning the problems of average Americans that he saw first hand in his adoptive home of Warm Springs.
It was also here that he returned after his 14,000 mile trip to Yalta near the end of World War 2. He was tired, and it showed. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, his blood pressure periodically spiking, and it was clear his health was not good. He came here to Warm Springs to recuperate, and gather strength for the final push of the European War, and his dream of building a United Nations for peace. He did not live to see either of them.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, here at the Little White House in Georgia. We will tell that story in this episode too.
Then we will head back out on the road and go an hour and a half deeper into Georgia to a tiny little town of around 524 people. It is so small, its downtown actually looks like a movie set. You would probably ride right past it if not for its very famous residents, former President and former First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter called Plains, Georgia home, for 100 years. We will visit their gravesites, their remarkable, and yet very modest home, and visit the high school museum both attended.
It was their in that museum that we learned about his famous school teacher Ms. Julia Coleman, their work at the Carter Center, and finally stumbled on the only work of fiction, out of the 27 books he wrote during his long post Presidency. We bought a copy of the "The Hornet's Nest" the first novel ever written by a former President.
We will take you through it all, and even walk you through downtown Plains, Georgia, in this episode wrapping up our tour through Georgia.
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In this special, two part travelogue, we take you along with our host through Atlanta and south west Georgia as we visit several of the most historic spots in the nation.
In this first episode we head into Atlanta and visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. We will look back on some of the major accomplishments of the Carter years and some of his post Presidency work helping with elections, eradicating diseases, and continuing to teach Sunday School in his local Church. We will in this visit show you around the museum and relive a few of these special moments.
Then we will drive about five minutes down the street to visit the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site run by the National Park Service. It encapsulates an entire Atlanta neighborhood and features the historic Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King served as an assistant Pastor alongside his father. It also includes his boyhood home and an extraordinary museum about his life where you can see his Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, Atlanta boasts one of the few places where you can see two Nobel Peace Prizes on display with in five minutes of each other between Dr. King and President Carter.
You can tour the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the King Center, and walk down by the reflecting pool and Eternal Flame where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King are entombed. It is an extraordinary Historic Site and we hope you will tune in and learn about the Civil Right Era that was born here in this Atlanta neighborhood.
Then in our next episode, we will head out into rural Georgia to visit the historic Little White House where Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed off and on for 21 years as he fought to recover from his debilitating Polio illness, and we will also visit the small southern , rural , Georgia town that Rosalyn & Jimmy Carter called home, Plains.
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In the second episode on the Black Hawk Down incident we will listen in on the Senate as it debates two seperate amendments concerning the operations in Somalia. The McCain Amendment that would have cut off all funding to the operation immediately and the Byrd Amendment that gave the President a six month time table to bring the operation to a conclusion.
This would be a mix of Republicans and Democrats on both sides of this debate. Bob Dole and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell would be on the same side, siding with the President, and Senator Robert Byrd , in favor of giving the President six months to bring the operation to a close. It was a fascinating debate.
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This is the first of two episodes looking back on the situation in Somalia. In this episode we will hear from both President Bill Clinton and Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole , and we will directly from the pilot, Michael Durant, himself as he relives his experience in Mogadishu in several interviews. This is the story of Black Hawk Down and the Battle of Mogadishu.
Here is the Wikipedia write up on the military operation:
The Battle of Mogadishu (Somali: Maalintii Rangers, lit.'Day of the Rangers'), also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against Somali National Alliance (SNA) fighters and other insurgents in south Mogadishu.
On 3 October 1993, U.S. forces planned to seize two of Aidid's top lieutenants during a meeting deep in the city. The raid was only intended to last an hour but morphed into an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of the next day. As the operation was ongoing, Somali insurgents shot down three American Black Hawk helicopters using RPG-7s, with two crashing deep in hostile territory, resulting in the capture of an American pilot.[17] A desperate defense of the two downed helicopters began and fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes.
No battle since the Vietnam War had killed so many U.S. troops.[19] Casualties included 18 dead American soldiers and 73 wounded,[20] with Malaysian forces suffering one death and seven wounded, and Pakistani forces two injuries.[21] Somali casualties, a mixture of insurgents and civilians, were far higher; most estimates are between 133 and 700 dead.[18][10]
After the battle, dead US troops were dragged through the streets by enraged Somalis, an act that was broadcast on American television to public outcry.
The operation was ended the next year.
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I went on line and looked up the Oslo Accords signed by President Bill Clinton, PLO Leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. It was an important moment that has faded now in its importance as the Israeli conflict with Hamas has taken centerstage.
I thought it interesting to read what Artificial Intelligence wrote about the accords, that this episode will also allow you to relive as they happened.
"The Oslo Accords were a pair of agreements signed in 1993 and 1995 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that aimed to establish a framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first accord, signed in 1993, involved mutual recognition and established the Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza. The second, signed in 1995, further defined the interim period and outlined areas of Palestinian self-rule. Ultimately, the accords aimed for a final peace agreement, including the establishment of a Palestinian state, but this goal has not yet been achieved.
Key aspects of the Oslo Accords:
Mutual Recognition:
The Oslo I Accord marked the first time Israel and the PLO formally recognized each other.
Palestinian Authority (PA):
The agreements led to the establishment of the PA, which was intended to be an interim self-governing body for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Interim Period and Final Status Talks:
The accords outlined an interim period, during which the PA would assume some governing responsibilities, with the expectation that final status negotiations would address issues such as borders, refugees, Jerusalem, and settlements.
Israeli Withdrawal:
The accords included provisions for Israeli troop redeployment from parts of the West Bank and Gaza.
Two-State Solution:
While not explicitly stated in the initial agreement, the accords were intended to pave the way for a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel. "
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We travel up to New Hampshire in this special edition episode to hear Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole , in his first foray into the state this cycle, as he helps fundraise for Congressman Bill Zepher.
At the time Dole had not yet fully committed to running in 1996 himself but he was clearly the Republican Leader in America.
This is Bob Dole at his best in front of a small audience answering there questions in a thoughtful, detailed way , often with plenty of that Kansas wit and humor on full display. If you ever wondered how he would end up the nominee of his party since he often seemed fairly stiff and colorless on television, this is where you will hear how it happened.
Never has there been a bigger contrast between the charisma of a candidate in person as opposed to how they appeared on television than was the case with Bob Dole.
Here he is at his best in New Hampshire at the Christmas Inn on September 6, 1993.
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In this episode, we look at what is arguably an impressive achievement by both President Bill Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole. The 1993 Budget Bill accomplished several goals of the new Clinton Administration including a tax increase on the middle class. That money funded up several programs Clinton had wanted to see implemented. IT could be argued that it played a role in the economic boom to come and then again there is an argument against it too.
By ending the Cold War under the Bush Administration much of the economic boom and deficit reduction came as that expense had gone away. Which is why Bob Dole's role is also an achievement worth bragging about. Dole and the Republicans opposed the middle class tax increase. This led to a huge debate in 1993 and in the end Bob Dole was able to prevent every Republican in congress from voting for the Budget Bill. A victory for him, and in doing so in 1993, he was able to set the stage for the 1994 mid term elections that would be historic for the Republican Party.
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This is one of , if not, the saddest stories of all my time in politics. It is the story of Vince Foster, the longtime friend, and aid to President Bill Clinton. He had once shared back lawns with Bill Clinton in childhood. He had worked alongside Hillary Clinton at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, and he had moved with them to the White House.
Vince Foster found himself in the tumult, rough, and tumble world of politics in Washington D.C. on the national level. His first forays into it had not gone well, he was one of the people who was supposed to have vetted Zoe Baird for Attorney General, and he was involved to some extent in the situation that blew up in the White House Travel Office. In both cases, he was never found to have done anything wrong even by Republican Special Prosecutors who would later investigate the situations.
But Foster took all of these situations to close to his heart. Though he would also be one of the people who found Janet Reno, who would serve successfully throughout the Clinton Administration, Foster never seemed to adjust to the wily ways of Washington D.C. Perhaps, he had other issues too. On July 20, 1993, Vince Foster rode out to Fort Marcy Park in Fairfax County Virginia, and shot himself in the head. He was found later that night while his lifelong friend, Bill Clinton, was on a live extended interview with CNN host Larry King.
It was a sad story for which no words could capture.
As a lifelong Republican, I will also say this, it was our party and conservative America's most shameful, or even worse most shameless hour. To this day the suicide death of this man has been exploited in attempts to go after Bill and Hillary Clinton. It has been done with no concern for the widow and small children this man left behind. There is nothing in this story nor in the rumors it spawned in which my party can be proud. It was a senseless tragedy.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, don't take it lightly, and we here at this podcast cannot urge you enough to reach out to someone and or reach out to the national Suicide hotline at 988, that is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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The bombs fell again on downtown Baghdad.
This time in retaliation for the Iraqi Intelligence Agency's attempt to kill former President George H. W. Bush. Bush had gone to Kuwait to celebrate the anniversary of the victory by the United States of liberating the tiny Arab Nation. The Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein thought it was the perfect time to get even with his former nemesis. It would prove to be an enormous mistake on his part.
The assassination attempt failed and after discovering that it was indeed sponsored by the government of Iraq, President Bill Clinton was swift in retribution. He ordered airstrikes on Iraq to send a clear message that this type of behaviour would not be tolerated.
We would retaliate in a measured and deliberate way, bombing the Intelligence headquarters located in downtown Baghdad. An act that would be witnessed by Iraqis' everywhere. We bombed the portion of the building in charge of this type of intelligence gathering and it served notice to Saddam that we could "reach out and touch someone" if we had to do so.
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This is part two of the dueling press conferences on April 23, 1993 to celebrate the first 100 days of the Clinton Administration.
This time its Bob Dole's turn to speak to the public and talk about all that had occured in the early Clinton days. It was the first of many sparring matches that would occur from 1993 to 1996.
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This is the first of a special two part podcast story. This is the end of the first 100 days of the administration of Bill Clinton. He topped it off with a press conference touting the many different things he felt that had been accomplished during those first 100 days. It is Bill Clinton at his finest, singing his own praises, and grabbing the spotlight.
He won't have the stage all by himself on his big day as there will be another press conference right after this one across town and that will be the subject of our second part of this story.
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Janet Reno would serve as Attorney General for the entire term of Bill Clinton's Presidency. It proved the third time was the charm. In this episode, we look back at Janet Reno the person and we will examine some of her tougher decisions that happened throughout her nearly 8 years as the Attorney General. Even though I am a Republican I would actually give her tenure high marks.
The toughest situation she ever faced occured right off the bat, as she inherited an ongoing standoff in Waco, Texas with a religious cult leader who was hold up inside a compound there with his followers. There were many stories coming out that he was abusing children that were inside the compound. She decided to act and it had disastrous consequences, that would later lead to a much bigger homegrown terrorist attack a year and a half later in Oklahoma City.
We will let you listen in on the news coverage of the day and hear the Attorney General herself testify before Congress as to what factors weighed on her mind as she made the decision to move forward. Wrong or right, she accepted full responsibility for the decision, and for what happened, and you have to admire that.
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In this episode, we look at the former First Lady and her impact on the Clinton Administration. I don't think there is any debate on the powerful role Hillary Rodham Clinton had on the administration of her husband, for good and for bad. She was his tip advisor and a full partner throughout his entire political career. She would lead the efforts on Healthcare and while proving ultimately unsuccessful, she proved she was a powerful intellect and formidable person.
She also was instrumental in what, I believe, was actually the worst scandal of the Clinton years. Unlike, an Arkansas land deal, or an affair with a White House Intern, the White House Travel Office, actually involved career civil servants who had come to work everyday just to do their jobs. They were not millionaire donors, or active political people, but just ordinary Federal Employees, totally ill equipped to be dragged into a legal morass that threatened to bankrupt them and destroy their lives. In the end, they were all found not guilty, and vindicated, but not before being humiliated and fired.
It would be Bob Dole who would put in legislation to reimburse these folk's for the massive legal bills they wracked up defending themselves from the Clinton machine. It was the low bar moment in the years of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
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Bill Clinton will have a town hall in Chillicothe , Ohio, to answer questions and roll out his economic plan to the nation. We are presenting it to you here in its entirety.
You will get the chance to see Bill Clinton do what he does best, connect with people. He puts on his full salesman pitch to try and sell this plan to the American People.
He does well in person, as you can tell with this crowd, but he has a rival across Pennsylvania Avenue, in Bob Dole who knows how to sell people too. As we will learn in our episodes to come.
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In this episode, we will listen to the efforts by Bill Moyers to aid his President to build both a Great Society here at home all while protecting the civil rights of its citizens at the same time.
You will hear Lyndon Johnson talk about what he expects in his anti poverty programs, his education programs, and how he intends to deal with industry. You will hear Johnson as he struggles with his own demons, and the effects some of them have had on his relationship with Bobby Kennedy, his immediate predecessors brother.
You will also hear Moyers update Johnson on the events in Selma, Alabama on the eve of the march there. A march that led LBJ to place before Congress a Voter Rights Bill that would guarantee the right to vote for all Americans regardless of race.
Then in a poignant call in February of 1967 , we will hear Bill Moyers say his farewells to President Johnson as he leaves his role at the White House to become a Jouranlist at a national publication. This was the move that would lead Bill Moyers to the career most of us remember him having, as an award winning journalist that told the story of our nation as few have ever been able to do.
We will end the broadcast with one of his stories about a little church vandalized by racists, but in the wake of its rebuilding and reinvigoration, brought the small Lexington County , South Carolina town of Dixie Anna together. It is in that piece for CBS Sunday Morning , that we say our final farewell to Bill Moyers.
Bill Moyers was 91 years old.
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In this episode, we concentrate mostly on the Vietnam War and watch the decisions unfold that led us into a full scale land war in Asia. Bill Moyers was there and honestly offers both his opinions in real time to the President and gives historians an ear full of why he thinks things happened the way they did.
This is an extraordinary look inside the inner workings of a White House at a historic moment and one we will most likely never have the opportunity to have again.
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This is our first of three special edition episodes looking back at the life and career of Bill Moyers. He was a legendary journalist who worked for PBS for many years. As a young man one of the earliest documentaries I owned was one he did on Hitler and Roosevelt comparing their life stories. He did amazing work.
He is no stranger to our broadcast either, having appeared in several of our episodes when we were chronicling the years of Lyndon B. Johnson. He served as an aide to the former President during most of his years as President.
In this episode we will look back at his journalism career mostly and hear him talk about many of the issues gripping the nation. Then in our next two episodes we will hear him on the phone with President Johnson. He was one of Johnson's few aides that he completely trusted. Bill Moyers was like family to the President. As you will see he seemed to be everywhere from the Great Society, to Civil Rights, to the War in Vietnam.
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In this episode we look back at the roll out for the Clinton Economic Plan. It is to this day a source of some level of controversy as to how much credit it deserves for the extraordinary boom that happened after it passed. The question is how much did help spur the economy, or was it the budget deal that Bush signed that raised some tax rates and cut some spending, or was it the simple fact that the Cold War was over and the enormous amount of money we had been spending in defense had simply gotten a lot smaller.
Or could it have simply been the combination of all three. That is the scenario that I think is most likely. But in this opening battle we see both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue as they prepare to debate the questions, and address the problems of getting the nation back on the right fiscal track.
It will be the first of many battles where we get to see President Bill Clinton do battle with Bob Dole. In the end , the economic plan will pass with no support from any Republicans and the plan will lay the foundation for the Republican Revolution that would overwhelm Bill Clinton in 1994.
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COMING THIS WEEK a three part tribute and retrospective to Journalism Giant Bill Moyers who began his career as an aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson. First we look back at his life and career and then in two more episodes wie listen in on his calls with President Johnson as they figure out how to build a Great Society, usher in an era of Civil Rights, and fight the War in Vietnam.
Relive it here this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
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This special edition honors three figures we lost in May of 2025. Two political figures who loomed large on the national scene, Charlie Rangel and Gerry Connelly, and one of the stars of our hosts second favorite show of all time "CHEERS" , George Wendt aka "Norm!!"
Charlie Rangel served in Congress for 40 years out of Harlem in New York. He was a major player in Watergate on the House Judiciary Committee, and later served as the Chairman of Ways and Means. He was a lot of things through out his tenure on the National stage but boring was not one of them. We will look back on this great character of politics , his impact, and some of his ethical troubles too. But one thing was for sure he was a tough partisan with guts and we will show his famous moment on the House floor when he told his investigators to put up or shut up in their long winding investigation.
Gerry Connelly, was as quiet and reserved as Charlie Rangel was not but still Connelly had an impact on a variety of issues our nation faced through out his many years in Congress. His Obituary wrote : "He spent a decade working as a staffer for then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he developed his deeply-honed knowledge of foreign policy before entering the private sector. His elected life of service spanned 13 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including 5 as Chairman, and 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. While serving in Congress, he was elected as the Ranking Member of the Oversight Government Reform Committee, and President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly twice."
He also held a special friendship with his Republican Counterpart on his Committee , Representative James Comer, and here we will hear Comer honor his friend.
Finally, we will shift gears and leave the world of politics to honor a comedic actor, and huge part of our childhood, as we also lost "Norm Petersen" in May. The lovable barfly accountant, that helped make the TV Show "CHEERS" a hit for 11 years on NBC. Actor George Wendt passed away in his sleep in May but he left an enormous body of work that will keep us smiling for decades to come. We wanted to honor him here on this podcast too.
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In this episode we tune in as Terrorism makes its first big appearance on our shores as Islamic extremist bomb the World Trade Center. In this episode we relive that terrible day. It would foreshadow the dominant issue of the next decade.
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In this special edition episode we hear Bob Dole address the National Association of Counties. It is the organization that works for the nations county governments and it shares similar issues with cities which is where I spent my time as an elected official.
In this speech you will come away getting a full dose of Bob Dole's legendary sense of humor and his amazing grasp of the issues facing local government in that era. It is funny how those issues stay fairly consistent through time. This is a chance to see Bob Dole at work and I think you will admire what you hear.
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The most controversial issue that President Clinton tackled right off the back was changing the policy in the United States military banning homosexuals from serving. It would be met with opposition by Bob Dole, Strom Thurmond, Phil Gramm and the Joint Chiefs' of Staff. In fact, even the Democratic Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sam Nunn, was opposed to the change.
But Bill Clinton insisted that the issue would be addressed. After months of debate and study the policy that would be agreed to for years was "Don't Ask don't Tell" it would stand until President Barak Obama dropped the policy and the ban for good during his Presidency.
What made this issue interesting , at least for me, and I hope you will pick up in this episode, is that the opposition did not jump on this issue in an attempt to politicize the problem. It was there, and the issue hurt the President in those years, but the Republicans tried to present their opposition in ways that did not inflame the public any more than it already was upset. It was a very different way of acting than what we have seen in modern times.
Especially, with an issue as easy to politicize as this one was. It is an interesting episode in which we hear from all the major players, from Bob Dole, and Bill Clinton, to the Joint Chiefs, Strom Thurmond, Phil Gramm, Don Rickles, and countless others all trying to find a proper solution to the issue.
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As we start down the road of the Clinton years we shall see that both men, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole , struggle just a bit to get their sea legs in their new positions. We start out with inside footage of Bill Clinton as he starts his first meeting with his cabinet and later his first meeting with the Congressional Leadership.
We will also see him as he meets the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan for the first time. We will then listen as Greenspan talks to 60 Minutes about his time in the chairman's role and his assessment of Bill Clinton. The two men worked closely together and often Clinton listened to him as they set financial policy together.
Then we follow Bob Dole as he goes and speaks to the Nations' Governors as the Senate Minority Leader, but everyone in the room recognizes his unspoken position as the leader of the Republican Party in America. That is a new role for Bob Dole who has often been the Senate Leader but usually under a Republican President, either Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush, but in 1993 he is the unquestioned leader of his party. Here you will hear him speak and answer questions with unusual humor and candor, as both men begin a new era in Washington D.C.
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1993 to 1994 will really be a clash between two political titans, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and President Bill Clinton. As we begin in what will be essentially a two part biographical series of both men, we thought we would take a look at both of them from interviews made during the early days of 1993, before we had any idea exactly what the future would hold for either of them.
We will listen to several interviews of then President-Elect Clinton aired on the day he took office looking back at the journey that brought him to the White House. Then we will listen to a 60 Minutes interview conducted by Steve Kroft with Bob Dole and hear his life story and about how he was dealing with the new Clinton Administration. In it you see how his life was reborn thanks to his new status as the leading Republican in America.
This episode we hope will give you some real insights into the personalities of both men, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, and how it would affect the history of the nation over these next four years.
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When we finished our 14th Season it was Inauguration Day for Bill Clinton. In this episode, we pick up where we left off on Inauguration afternoon and evening. We will witness the celebrations of the victors and the agony of the defeated as Bill Clinton and the democrats enjoy their victory until late into the evening.
It was for them a fun night, and first few days at the helm of power. But when they wake up from the honeymoon it will be Bob Dole who will be ready to get down to the business of running the country.
Here is day one of the Clinton Administration.
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While we were on hiatus from producing episodes we had a number of passings that we want to comment on , both nationally, and locally here in the Myrtle Beach area of note.
Over the next few days we will have two special editions mixed in with our regular series in order to honor these folks.
In this episode we will look back at two people who were very close to me over the past two decades. Former Myrtle Beach City Clerk, Joan Grove , and former Surfside Beach Mayor Bob Childs. Two people who left an indelible mark on our small corner of the world here in South Carolina, where we produce these shows.
Joan Grove was the City Clerk for two decades in Myrtle Beach, working with three different City Managers and four Mayors. She was the voice of the City Council every two weeks for our televised meetings as she read all the ordinances into the public record. More than that, Mrs. Grove was beloved by the city employees, elected officials, and residents alike. She took me under her wing when I first arrived as a 30 year old councilman with no real travel experience to speak of and she made sure I got where I needed to be. We remained friends long after both of our time with the city was over. We will look back at her in this episode.
Bob Childs, served in the United States Capitol long before he moved to Surfside Beach and ran for Council. He had stories to tell about every major figure of the last half of the 20th Century because he had served right beside them as they wandered around the Capitol. He moved to Surfside and became its Mayor, getting its finances in order, and accomplishing great things during his tenure. He was admired by all who knew him and we will be looking back at him in this episode as well.
Finally, we will end this show as one of the most fun trivia questions of the age finally comes to a close. John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States who was born in 1790, and he had fifteen children during his lifetime. He had one of them when he was age 63. That son, Lyon Tyler, had a son born when he was at the age of 75. Harrison Tyler , who passed away in June, was born in 1928, and he lived for 97 years. Which became one of the trivia worlds most fun bar room questions.
Who was the earliest President with a living grandson? The Tyler family life spans over three generations that covers 235 years from 1790 to 2025. We will look back at the Tyler family tree as we bid farewell to a very nice man, Harrison Tyler, who I met one day while touring his home in Charles City County, Virginia.
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In our premier episode of our 15th Season, we start back at the dawn of the Clinton Administration as Bill Clinton has just been elected President of the United States, and his party is left in full control of Congress. It all appears to be a beautiful honeymoon on the horizon for the new Commander in Chief. There is only one problem from basking in the glow of that honeymoon.
Bob Dole is the chaperone.
We will open up with Bob Dole's day after the election press conference in the Senate as he runs down the election results across the country and welcomes the new President Elect to Washington D.C. Dole will be quick to point out that his 43 Senate votes is the equal to Bill Clinton's victory percentage.
It is clear by this press conferences' end that the new President will not have an opposition leader willing to lay down for him. But what is also clear is that Bob Dole does not intend to be an obstructionist on every single issue but hopes to find common ground with the new President. It is the first day of a political duel of two titans who will match wits with one another for the next four years and in the process both the Republican Party and the career of Bob Dole, who just the year before had contemplated retirement, will be re-born.
In this episode, we will also listen to two documentaries that will look back at the life of the Senate Leader as we start our three season look at the career of Bob Dole and his chief rival Bill Clinton.
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In this brief episode we talk about the new series that will begin on June 11, 2025. Plus we also talk about the future of this broadcast.
This look back at Bob Dole will also mark the end of our look at the Greatest Generation of Americans that overcame a depression, fought World War 2 , and came home to build the American Century while winning the Cold War.
Bob Dole's story is their final story on the national political stage. After Bob Dole walks away in 1996, this generation will begin their gradual fading away and into history. We are honored to tell this story about this man who was a true American Hero in every sense of the word.
We are not sure where this podcast will be going from here. So, while we lay out the plan for the next 3 seasons of our show, we are also listening for any ideas about the future or whether we are at the end of our run. We look forward to hearing from you as this story unfolds.
Thank you for tuning in, this is a joy to be telling these stories.
Randal Wallace
Host of "The Randal Wallace Presents" Podcast, formerly known as Bridging the Political Gap
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In this episode we hear from South Carolina's Senior United States Senator Lindsey Graham as he spoke to the Child and Family Resource Foundation in Hartsville, S.C. He will discuss the many things going on in the nations' capitol under the Presidency of Donald Trump.
Lindsey Graham is widely seen as one of the leading foreign policy, and budget policy experts in Washington D.C. He is a legendary public figure who has been a stalwart for conservative policy for over three decades in both the House of Representatives and as the State of South Carolina's United States Senator.
He spoke to the Child and Family Resource Foundation in Hartsville, South Carolina. The Foundation's primary focus is :
From your home to the classroom, as a parent, as a care-giver - through all of life's ups and downs,
Child and Family Resource Foundation is here to be a voice of hope and healing to you, all the while
connecting you to educational and community resources for life success.
Their website is www.childandfamilyresourcefoundation.com
and on social media at @ChildandFamilyResource
Tracy Redfern, the founder of the Foundation, is the first cousin of our host Randal Wallace.
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On June 11, 2025, our podcast will embark on the final story in the original thesis we intended to tell when we started this podcast nearly five years ago. On June 11, 1996, exactly 29 years ago, we saw Bob Dole resign his Senate seat, giving one of the most important speeches we ever heard, to pursue full time his bid for the White House. He would be the last of "The Greatest Generation" to do so.
In 1992, in the midst of a recession, the Republican Party would be swept out of power losing not only the White House, but the House and Senate as well. On the Federal level of Government, one man stood alone, as the leader of his party. That man was also the last of the World War 2 generation to be left on the national stage. He was Senate Minority leader Robert J. Dole of Kansas.
Over the next three seasons we will tell his story and the story of the rise of the modern Republican Party. It will be the final story of National leadership for the generation of people who built the American Century.
For all the attention a new generation of Republican leaders would garner, it was in fact, Bob Dole, so often in the shadow of the giants of his age, from Nixon to Reagan to Bush, and who would largely be forgotten in the coming era of Gingrich , Clinton, the second Bush, McCain, and now Donald Trump, who actually led the Republican Party out of the political wilderness and back to power in both houses of Congress, and he was able to do it even as his own efforts to win the Presidency fell short.
It was a remarkable final chapter for this greatest of generations and the opening chapter in the career of our host Randal Wallace. This series will be that story too, a story straight from the heart of our host over these next three seasons. As he was an eyewitness, to the last campaign of the very man who would become that last living symbol of the bygone era led by the Greatest Generation.
Join us for :
Season 15 - Bob Dole 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing
Season 16 - Bob Dole The Life that Brought Him There &
- The 1995 Resurrection of Bill Clinton
Season 17 - Bob Dole 1996 The Campaign of a Lifetime.
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Keith C. Hinson was the Founder of Waccamaw Land and Timber Company where our Host Randal Wallace has sold Real Estate for the past 22 years. He is a giant figure in the history of Horry County S.C. where this podcast is produced.
No matter where you turn in or around the Myrtle Beach area you will see the mark he has left for the better in our region and its development. His passing last week is an enormous loss for the State of South Carolina, this region of the state, and for his family and friends.
We here at this podcast extend our heartfelt condolences to his friends and family during these days of mourning his passing.
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In this final episode of our 14th Season, we watch one era begin and another end.
We will tune into the beginning of the Inaugural Ceremony, hearing the great Senator Wendell Ford greet the crowd and introduce the players, which will include, the Reverend Billy Graham who will give the invocation.
Then we will listen in as Governor William Jefferson Clinton of Arkansas, the first Baby Boomer President, takes the oath of office and assumes the title 42nd President of the United States. Then we will hear him deliver his Inaugural Address before we fade out and over to the final ceremonies of the tenure of the now former President George H. W. Bush.
We will follow him out to the West side of the Capitol as he is escorted by President and Mrs. Clinton out to the Helicopter which will fly him out to Andrews Air Force Base.
We will hear some final assessments from ABC News reporter Britt Hume, followed by ABC News Anchormen Peter Jennings and David Brinkley, some final thoughts from our host Randal Wallace, and then the brief departure events at Andrews Air Force Base as President Bush and Mrs. Bush fly off for Houston , Texas and their long retirement.
Then we will hear some final thoughts from the President himself as we say farewell to him and his generation of Americans at the end of the era. An era that built the American Century and created the enormously powerful and prosperous country we live in today.
But what we didn't know then, that we do know now, is that the Greatest Generation would have one more story to tell, and that will be the subject of our next three season series.
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In our middle episode on the Inauguration of Bill Clinton, we take you from the President - Elect Bill Clinton's departure from Blair House over to the meeting with President George H. W. Bush.
We will let historians talk about how these rides have gone between Presidents who liked each other and Presidents who didn't.
Plus, we will hear the television network ABC, as they start their coverage, let each of their reporters tell their different perspectives on the day, and interview several of the countless guests who will be attending the swearing in ceremony of the new President.
Then we let you listen in on the coverage of the ride from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue from one end to the other, as the two Presidents ride, enter the Capitol, and then go their separate ways to the holding rooms as we prepare for the ceremony to begin.
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It is finally the last 24 hours of the Bush Administration. It is the end of an era. Those 24 hours will be crammed with activity, with President Bush preparing to leave office, with President -Elect Clinton making the rounds in Washington D.C. as he prepares to take the reigns of power, and with our military conducting air strikes on Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
It is an eventful 24 hours.
We will take you to the news conference by Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater announcing the actions overseas. Then to the different activities around the nation's Capitol City as Bill Clinton visits with his many supporters, the nation's Governors, a Howard University event honoring him, and star studded Gala event that will cap off his last day as a private citizen.
We will also check in on the mostly quiet itinerary of President George H. W. Bush who finds that after another two months of overseas operations both in Somalia and in Iraq, his popularity rating has soared back up into the 60% range. Amazingly, he was one of the most consistently popular Presidents in American history only seeing it drop in 1992 long enough for him to lose the election. Bush, famous for his graciousness, keeps a low profile in these final hours only inviting some of his closest political friends and staff over for a final dinner in the White House.
We will also look at the legendary poet Maya Angelou as she prepares to read a poem at the Clinton Inaugural and at the end of this broadcast we let you hear it , out of order, because it was a powerful moment in the Inauguration of Bill Clinton.
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In this episode we jump around a bit in our timeline in this final episode that looks back at George H. W. Bush’s presidency. We will look at the one request Bush made to his successor of what he hoped would continue after he left office.
Bush wanted the Points of Light initiative to outlive him. It did. President Clinton not only honored that request, he embraced it with the same vigor that Bush had shown. Today, the Points of Light Foundation works with millions of volunteers around the world to assist in promoting volunteerism and tackling countless issues in order to make the world a better place.
We will look at the Foundation as it exists today, learn more about the couple who inspired it, and watch the final event at the Bush White House honoring the individual people who made up those early volunteer efforts.
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As the transition moves forward, George Bush begins to wrap up his administration and honor those who helped him throughout his career.
In this episode, President Bush travels to West Point to speak to the cadets who were about to embark on their military careers. As a veteran, it is clear, George H. W. Bush, is most at home with the troops. We will listen as he inspires these young people at the start of their careers, here at the end of his time as Commander in Chief.
Then he will present the Medal of Freedom to the man who ushered in the era of conservative leadership in America, Ronald Reagan. We will listen in at one of Ronald Reagan’s last speeches on the national stage.
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It is the next morning and the dust is settling. For the first time in 12 years the country has a Democratic President-Elect. It is also the first time since December 7, 1941 that the nation has a leader at the helm who did not serve in some capacity in World War 2.
It was a sea change election.
The country knew it was about to see a real change in how the government works.
In this episode, the White House staff welcomes home the defeated President. The new President Elect Bill Clinton will make it clear we have only one President at a time and for the next two and a half months that President is still George H. W. Bush. However, the transition is about to begin.
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In the second installment of the Election Night from 1992, we see the official changing of the guard. It is at this moment, on election night, that one generation of leadership gives way to another.
The World War 2 Presidents, that had served from two generations, those who ran the war : Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower, followed by the generation of leaders who were troops in the war : John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, were now finally leaving the center stage of American politics, or so it seemed. 10 United States Presidents in all, would now be replaced by the nations' first Baby Boomer President.
Bill Clinton will win on this night. In this episode, we will hear from all the candidates for President and Vice President , but one, and we will watch as the Greatest Generation, symbolized by George Bush, gracefully leaves the stage.
Then we will hear the national address from Little Rock, on the steps of the Arkansas Capitol, as Bill Clinton begins to take the reigns of power, inheriting a country that now stood alone as the leading economic and military super power on Earth. A gift left to him by the 10 Presidents and their fellow leaders of the generation of leaders who made it all possible.
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On April 26, 2025, a shooting occurred in Myrtle Beach S.C. on Ocean Boulevard in the city's downtown area. There were 11 people injured and one person, the alleged gunman, was killed by an officer of the Myrtle Beach Police Department.
This podcast is produced in Myrtle Beach, and it just so happened that our host, Randal Wallace, was only one block away at an area restaurant when the shooting occured. Wallace was also a former city councilman in Myrtle Beach for 16 years, and just a year and a half ago, ran for the city council again. We wanted to take this episode to share, respectfully, some thoughts on the situation that he witnessed first hand as it unfolded on that weekend. We also wanted to provide an outlet for our local listeners to be able to hear the press conference the local authorities had on Thursday to answer questions many of the citizens had about the events last Saturday night.
Mr. Wallace also wanted to thank our local Police Department on the extraordinary response they had to the events, and send out our thoughts and prayers to the 11 people injured in the situation that unfolded. He will also share some thoughts he had on how to help prevent these type of issues in the future.
His thoughts include:
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Heavily Advertise both the no tolerance policy for crime in Myrtle Beach and the fact that the city has thousands of state of the art camera and video systems through out. If you come here and misbehave you will be caught. We ran radio ads all over the States of North and South Carolina after a shooting in the early 2000's and that effort did work during the next couple of years. That should be even easier to implement today given the readily accessible access to the internet available now which was not the case during the time of my service on council.
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Make the Downtown property owners, the businesses, and employees your ally not your adversary in changing the atmosphere in the area. They can be your best friends in combating these issues if you will let them be on your team. Through all the years I have been involved with the city these people have often not felt that way. This has been an ongoing issue.
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Grow an atmosphere with the downtown merchants, property owners, and employees where they feel like they have a say in the future of the area. Any successful redevelopment will have to come organically from them and any attempt to force change on them, as has been proven, will consistently fail. Let them take the lead in what direction the area will take in the future.
We hope these suggestions can help and we also want to keep the victims, officers, and families of these folks involved in this tragic event in our prayers over the days to come.
Sincerely,
The Randal Wallace Presents Podcast.
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In this special edition we remember one of the most influential people in the history of South Carolina politics. He was also one of the most colorful characters too.
He was a leader in changing our State with a strong vocational education system, developing a strong nutrition program for young children in poverty, and during the civil rights movement he moved our state forward with little of the chaos seen in other southern states.
After leaving office he preached against the massive amount of money pouring into our election process. He was right about that.
I worked hard to unseat him in 1992 but as time has moved on I have grown to admire his leadership and his record more and more.
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It is election Night 1992. We will be using the coverage I collected that night , mainly, from ABC News, but it will also feature segments from CNN, NBC, and CBS News.
We saved some interesting interviews with political figures like South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell, and Texas Governor Ann Richards, you will get insights from the leading reporters of the age such as David Brinkley, Peter Jennings, Jeff Greenfield, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Lyn Sherr, Brit Hume, Chris Bury, Bernard Shaw, Judy Woodward, and countless other journalist who made up the best era in the news business.
Finally, we will also see the results come in from the other race, our Host Randal Wallace, was involved with as Ernest Hollings defeats former Congressman Tommy Hartnett to return to Washington in the United States Senate for South Carolina. This is part A in our look at this historic election night and its coverage in 1992.
(In an aside, this episode marks our 356th storyline episode of our podcast, this ties our show with the exact number of original episodes of our childhood favorite show "DALLAS" We are enormously proud of that and to celebrate this milestone we have special hat tip for our favorite all time t.v. Show)
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We have finally arrived to the final day on the trail for George H. W. Bush , Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot. It had been an election for the history books, as hard a fought battle as I had ever witnessed in my then short lifetime. You could not have asked for more formidable candidates to face each other than the three men who had shared the national stage together over the past year. Each with enormous strengths and each with well thought out strategies for victory on that first November tuesday.
In this episode we will visit in on the final two rallies of the 1992 election for Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. We could not find a final rally for Ross Perot as we combed our videos and the internet, so for that we apologize.
What will stand out to our audience we think is the final Bush rally because it will feature for the final time , the old guard of politics and entertainment standing on stage with President Bush in Houston. For many of them this was their final Presidential campaign as the leadership of the nation. The President will be joined by Charlton Heston, Ted Williams, The Gatlin Brothers, Naomi Judd, and the legendary entertainer Bob Hope. The last hoorah for a generation of American leadership in both politics and entertainment.
The next day George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot would face the voters from sea to shining sea.
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Few offices in the history of our government have produced more harm, to more people, more often, and more efficiently that the office created in 1973 to investigate the Watergate Scandal. The Special Prosecutor's statute stayed on the books the rest of the 20th century and was used to wound the reelection campaign of George H. W. Bush, and then cripple the final years of the Presidency of Bill Clinton. It has horribly damaged the historical legacies of four United States Presidents: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Ironically, the very party who dreamed this evil institution up, the Democratic Party, was the same one to end it when the statue expired in 1999, but only after it had been effectively used to demolish a President of their own party, even as the Impeachment attempt failed to remove Bill Clinton from office. Then congress invented its bastardized cousin, the Special Counsel statue. While it does have some modest restraints compared to the absolute total powers of the Special Prosecutor's statute, the record of abuse there may not be fully known until our current era, centered around Donald Trump, is over.
As we look back at the 1992 Presidential Election and its controversial end. We thought this the perfect opportunity to show to our listeners the full impact of the 30 years of dishonesty that has been used to devastatingly wound four American Presidencies. But even worse than the damage done to the institution of the Presidency is the personal destruction it has wrought on the innocent aids to these Presidents. Often young men and women, whose only real crime was earnestly wanting to play role in the history of the nation and seize the opportunity so few people get in life, the chance to work for the President of the United States.
Instead, many faced prison time, and were financially wiped out, while the most dastardly, horrible , unethical people you could have ever dreamed up paraded themselves on television and in books as lawyers who champion justice while playing on the trusting nature of a naive public that still believes that our Justice System is the one uncorrupted branch of government left in the land. Here we lay everything out, the abuses of power, and the intentionally corrupt birth of the most evil office our government has ever created. We hope it will serve as a warning for what we have seen in our more modern times, so that perhaps wise heads will see to it that this institution dies, with a stake through its heart. Like this bloodsucking vampire of an institution of division and destruction truly deserves.
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In this episode I really want to give you the feeling that George H. W. Bush had finally turned the corner because that was what was really happening at the end of the 1992 campaign. After a tough primary challenge from a surprisingly strong Pat Buchanan, an upstart billionaire in Ross Perot jumping in who had a personal ax to grind with Bush going back many years, and then a formidable, charismatic, Southern Governor in Bill Clinton to face at the head of a resurgent Democratic Party, all combined with a struggling economy, George Bush finally had some momentum heading into the final week of the campaign.
The economy had seen some improvement with a 2.8% growth rate in the the third quarter of 1992, and Bush was seeing many of his initiative's bearing fruit out in the electorate. Plus, Bush was seen by everyone as having been a very effective foreign policy President, it seemed that the doubts about the other two leading candidates had finally started to settle in, and people were coming home to the President. The polls by the Wednesday prior to the election had the race in a statistical dead heat. Bush was energized by all the good news and he had one strong card that he was about to play in the final weekend.
That card was former President Ronald Reagan, the most popular public figure in a generation, and he was out on the trail for the final time in order to help his former Vice President. All the news for Bush seemed good, Clinton and his team were worried.
And then, the sinister hand of the most evil office ever created by our country would strike again. The Iran Contra Special Prosecutor would indict former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and several others, and they would document dump a number of records into the debate including notes , that everyone had already known existed, that contradicted Bush's earlier statements about his knowledge of the Iran Contra Affair and the sale of weapons to Iran for the release of hostages.
The results of that October Surprise engineered by the Special Prosecutor was the stopping of all of that momentum, the Clinton Campaign pounced on the news, and the momentum of the entire election swung totally back to the Governor in those final four days. It would lead to hard and bitter feelings amongst Republicans that to this day have never faded away and cemented in the mind of one Republican, our Host Randal Wallace, that their has never been a more evil office than the Special Prosecutor's Office in our system of government, and that the use of lawfare so flagrantly is the root source of much of the bitter divisiveness that has finally ground our system to halt 32 years later.
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In this episode we will tune in to a Ross Perot Rally in Missouri. It will give you a chance to hear the upstart billionaire as he leads his revolutionary campaign through the heartland of America.
"Hi, I'm Ross and you're the Boss" became his tag line and he hit it over and over again, telling the enthusiastic crowds that they finally had a candidate that understood that the candidate had to answer to them. In doing so he hit a nerve with the electorate and led to generation, or more, of political figures, no matter how entrenched, claiming that they too knew that the public was the boss.
His campaign and its themes also draw a striking resemblance to another billionaire who will take up the mantle of maverick campaigner and revolutionary leader. A man named Donald Trump. Trump would grab more than one theme , and from more than one candidate, in this era, and this particular campaign year that he would use in his own campaigns in three runs for the Presidency in 2016, 2020, and again last year n 2024.
Here is the original billionaire turned Presidential candidate and consummate outsider at his very best on the campaign trail in 1992. Here is H. Ross Perot.
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Judy Rodman was a towering figure in the history of the city of Myrtle Beach. Starting as the Horry County Co-Chair for the Bob Dole for President campaign in 1988, then serving three terms, in two different eras, on the Myrtle Beach City Council, and then serving as a member of the City owned Myrtle Beach Sheraton Hotel Board, and throughout her entire tenure the city's representative on the South Carolina Hall of Fame Board, Judy Rodman maintained a dominant presence in the growth and success of the city of Myrtle Beach S.C.
It cannot be overstated the powerful role she has played in turning this once sleepy, seasonal, tourist destination for North and South Carolina residents into an international tourism powerhouse. Through it all, Judy Rodman was there and her influence is literally everywhere you look as you drive down any road in the city she called home. Judy Rodman led initiatives to put utilities underground, protect trees, limit the number of billboards, build a Convention hotel, improve the cities recreation facilities, and look out for the growing senior population that has now grown to be the majority of the residents that have made the Myrtle Beach area their home.
Judy Rodman did it all in her quiet, intelligent, understated way, often overshadowed by the more boisterous personalities of the Mayors and council people she served with in her decades of service to the city of Myrtle Beach in several different capacities. In this special edition of our podcast we try to capture some of the magic that was always present whenever Judy Rodman entered the room, as our community, Myrtle Beach, says farewell to , as Senator Ernest Hollings once said of Senator Strom Thurmond upon his passing, " A Mighty Oak in the world of public service"
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It is time to hit the trail in the final couple of weeks of the 1992 campaign. I figured we would take off with the three Vice Presidential candidates in this episode. They were Vice President Dan Quayle, Senator Al Gore, and Admiral James Stockdale.
We will start out spending the the day with Dan Quayle. You will hear him interacting with the public, giving a campaign speech, and being interviewed by the press. This selection of events really does give you a feel for what it is like on the Presidential campaign trail for these candidates. It us up early in the morning and out late at night.
This campaign really is a high spot for the Vice President Dan Quayle who I feel was often unfairly maligned. He was a much better campaigner than anyone has given him credit and I feel like he performed outstandingly through out the 1992 campaign. In fact, it was his Vice Presidential Debate performance that finally began to close the gap between the President and Governor Bill Clinton.
This episode then turns to a campaign rally given for Senator Al Gore. You will hear him giving one of his stump speeches in the final weeks of the campaign. Al Gore is also a much better campaigner than you may think. I have always felt he was actually better in 1992 and 1996 than his performance at the top of the ticket in 2000. This speech is guaranteed to fire you up and it too will give you a feel of what it was like to be on the campaign trail in 1992.
Finally, we will introduce you to the true American Hero that was on the ticket in 1992, Admiral James Stockdale. Stockdale was a far more formidable man than his performance in the Vice Presidential debates would lead you to believe. He had been the President of the War College and had led troops in Vietnam as a POW, creating a civilization and working to keep the troops spirits alive in captivity for nearly 8 years. It seems a shame to me that he is only remembered today for his Vice Presidential debate performance.
We hope to change that here by letting you hear his video biography from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society because among James Stockdale's many honors he was a member of this most exclusive clubs of men who have attained the highest honor available in the land, the Congressional Medal of Honor. We want to end this episode honoring this extraordinary achievement from this extraordinary man.
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Welcome to the South Carolina United States Senate Debate in 1992. It was a barn burner of a debate between two very formidable figures: Senator Ernest Hollings and Former Congressman Tommy Hartnett.
So sit back, pop up the popcorn, and find the southern native friend you have who may be able to help you understand these two combatants with the thick Charlestonian accents, because this is a debate you will thoroughly enjoy if you like to hear brilliant people, discussing real policy, with tremendous passion.
It was a debate for the ages.
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In 1992, South Carolina featured a heated Senate race that featured two very experienced and respected political figures in incumbent senator Ernest Hollings and his challenger former Congressman Tommy Hartnett. It would be the toughest challenge for Hollings in decades because not only was Hartnett a formidable challenger but the political dynamics in South Carolina were changing fast as the state grew more conservative and more Republican.
But Ernest Hollings was a towering political figure. He had been at the forefront of political crusades to feed the hungry, keep the military strong, protect manufacturing jobs, and stop the massive amounts of money flowing into political races. Holling's fit the bill that had often been how South Carolinian's described liking their politicians, "Ernest Hollings fought hard for what he believed in, even when he was wrong." That always appealed to people in the state even when they disagreed with the Senator.
His opponent in the race was former Representative Tommy Hartnett, the former congressman from the South Carolina First District, which included Charleston S.C. where the Senator was from too. Hartnett was a champion for fiscal responsibility, supported term limits for Congress, and fought to keep the budget under control. He had arrived in Washington D.c. as part of the Reagan Revolution in 1980 and served for six years in Congress before deciding to come home and run for Lieutenant Governor. After nearly, two and half decades in public life, first as South Carolina State House member, he lost the race for Lieutenant Governor and this was his attempt at a comeback.
This was an exciting race between two formidable men. In this episode, we will look at the careers of both men and their thoughts on Government and what they both feel is the problems our nation at the time faced. Many of those issues still plague us now. In the end, we will focus in on the legendary career of the incumbent, a man considered a giant of American Politics both at home and in Washington D.C. He became famous for his southern Charleston drawl, his towering physical frame, and his often blunt, fiery positions, on issues, always on the side of the little man he had been sent to the Senate to represent.
Then in our next episode we will present the South Carolina United States Senate debate and let me warn you, it will be exciting, but unless you are from South Carolina you may need an interpreter to understand them.
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In this special edition episode of our podcast we take a look back at a very special man, former Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming. He passed away in March at age 93. He had been the Senate Republican Whip under Bob Dole for a decade and together they made the institution work.
Alan Simpson had one of the best wits in the Senate, or even all of Congress. He could make you laugh outload uproariously at times. He also never pulled any punches, whether it was holding the President of the opposing party to the fire, or even some of the leadership of his own. Alan Simpson never shied away from a fight or a controversial issue, including calling the AARP on the carpet as a special interest group held together in the quest of discount airline tickets. Alan Simpson was one of a kind.
Alan Simpson will be missed and in this episode we will take a few minutes to enjoy his personality one more time. We will also learn about his very special friendship forged behind the barbed wire fence of a Japanese internment camp during World War 2 with another Boy Scout who would go on to be a United States Congressman and Cabinet member, Norman Moneta. Plus, we will hear him remember his times in Washington with two other of his great friends, who are very important to our podcast, former President George H. W. Bush, who we are chronicling now, and Bob Dole who will be the next man we chronicle.
This show is a lot of fun looking back at a man who could best be described as that, fun.
Also, this show has a long dedication to three other great people admired by our host, his aunt Katherine Wallace, South Carolina former Representative Bubber Snow, and "Big" George Foreman, the former 2 time World Boxing Champion, and the man who stole America's heart with his miraculous comeback win at 45 in boxing, and his amazingly good cooking grille.
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This might be the most fun episode we ever produced. As we look back at George H. W. Bush , Pro wrestling fan. With the help of Charleston Post and Courier articles written by their star reporter Mike Mooneyham, we will examine the Bush connection to the world of Professional wrestling and especially his fondness for wrestling's greatest athlete, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
We will hear about Bush's friendship with promoter Paul Boesch, his lifelong connection to "Chief" Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel, and his later friendship with "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd. We will also hit the trail , in 1992, on the whistlestop tour that took George Bush through the Carolinas, with the biggest sports star of them all, Ric Flair.
It was at a rally in Spartanburg S.C. where our Host, Randal Wallace, was able to maneuver himself up near the front with a little help from Martha Bishop, the sister of our Senator Strom Thurmond, so he would be nearly front row for the rally at the Train Depot, that would feature not only the President, but Governor Carrol Campbell, Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler, Senator Strom Thurmond, Congressional Candidate Bob Inglis, and our host's childhood sports hero, Ric Flair. To this day, as you will hear, it remains Wallace's favorite memory of any in his over 45 years in politics.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find any footage from the Spartanburg rally, but we do have some examples of George Bush out on his 1992 whistle-stop tour, and we do have some later moments from the 2008 Presidential campaign where Ric Flair would return to the trail to campaign for Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
It was at the event for Huckabee in Myrtle Beach that our host again became the focus of attention as he stood with a folder full of wrestling magazines hoping to get them autographed by Ric Flair, at the Huckabee rally, while serving as the Rudy Giuliani Horry County Chairman. It made the news, in two articles in the Sun News political blog Poli-tick-Tock. We will look back at that blog too, and feature the Columbia Mike Huckabee Rally with Chuck Norris and Ric Flair.
As you will hear, Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump were actually not the first Pro wrestler and President to headline a Presidential campaign event!!
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In this special edition of our podcast we will be looking at the highly acclaimed best selling book written by former Ronald Reagan Speech writer Ken Khachigian.
The book offers an insiders view of not one President but two Presidents, both giants in our long long struggle against the forces of Communism in the Cold War. The two Presidents were two of history's giants, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Few people have had as close an insiders look as Ken Khachigian has had with the inner workings of any White House, much less two of them. Plus, he was with Richard Nixon in San Clemente after Nixon was forced from office in the wake of the horribly unfair Watergate Scandal. Khachigian was one of the five staffers Nixon had who would help him prepare his Memoirs and rebuild his life and career.
From there Khachigian would move on to the 1980 campaign of Ronald Reagan becoming his chief Speech writer and the man who would pen some of his most memorable moments, from his 1980 Inaugural Address, to the address at the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany as the President dug himself out of a controversy that had its origins in the war 40 years before.
This book offers intimate portraits of Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan, and mentions several lesser known figures we have talked about throughout our many seasons on the air such as Earl Butz, and most recently Stu Spencer who just passed away at age 97.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by Ken Khachigian is a must read and we are very thankful for the opportunity to showcase it here on our broadcast.
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The day after the Presidential debate, Hillary and Bill Clinton had a rally in Richmond , Virginia. The feeling of momentum shifting in their direction was certainly evident but the race would prove to be far from over.
This is that rally in its entirety as the Clinton campaign kicks off its run toward the finish line.
George Bush would be heading out on a whistlestop tour across the the South and we would see him in South Carolina in Spartanburg, an event our host was lucky to have attended and he will be sharing that with us in the next episode.
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This is the famous Vice Presidential Debate. It would feature a fiery set of exchanges between Vice President Dan Quayle and Senator Al Gore. The two men served in the Senate together and knew each other quite well. The gloves will come off and as that happens the third man on the stage , retired Admiral James Stockdale, was often reduced to being a bystander.
It was a shining moment for Dan Quayle, who in my opinion, won this debate against Al Gore. It was the strongest moment for Quayle in either campaign. Al Gore does well too and if you follow the adage "do no harm," Gore was successful. It is also a campaign debate that shows why a novice can be truly handicapped by their lack of experience in politics. Admiral James Stockdale was a brilliant man, a former educator, and President of a University, a war Hero, a POW, and a formidable man. But you would never have known it based on the performance you will hear in this debate.
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In this first of several episodes where we will be looking at the Presidential Debates, both in this series in 1992, and the coming Dole series in 1996, we will look back on the first Townhall debate held in a Presidential election year.
This was playing to Bill Clinton's strength. It would also play to George Bush's weakness. Bush appears at times to be bored with the format and looks at his watch several times. All the while Bill Clinton runs a masterclass on empathy and connection with the audience. He would walk up to them, repeat the questions, and use the old tried and true sales method of "feel, felt, and found" to pull the audience in.
You can hear it all here in this episode, as we look back on this debate in its entirety.
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He's Back!!!!
After a nearly three month absence in the 1992 Presidential race, Ross Perot decides to jump back in to the race. The truth is he probably never really ever left it. All I can say about whomever's tactical decision it was to have him withdraw in the first place needed to have their head examined. It ranks, in my opinion, as one of the stupidest decisions in the history of campaign politics. The fact is he could have won instead he would prove to be a dramatic spoiler, at least for George Bush.
The debate is still out as to what would have happened had Perot not been in the 1992 race. Some experts say the polling does not back up the assertion that he cost Bush the election, I don;'t know the answer to that, I tend to think it was one of many mountains Bush needed to climb but I still blame the Special Prosecutor for tanking the 1992 Bush campaign. (but that is for a later episode) But still, Perot went from being a potential winner to gargantuan nuisance.
In this episode we look at Perot's dramatic reentry, and we preview the historic three way debates that would so captivate the nation bringing in big ratings over the next couple of weeks. We will let you hear one of them in its entirety too in our next episode.
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As September draws to a close, we listen in on two rallies, and an introduction from a political rising star who will go on to be a big player in the next three decades.
At Governor Bill Clinton's rally in San Francisco we introduce you to the former Mayor and the 1992 candidate for the U. S. Senate, Dianne Feinstein. Then Bill Clinton will address the rally
Then President Bush will campaign in St. Louis, Missouri. We will conclude the month of September with George H. W. Bush firing up the crowd in Missouri. As for the first time he decides to take the gloves off and give Governor Clinton a dose of his own negative campaigning.
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In this episode we tune in to two different rallies as both candidates are barnstorming the nation to make their case to as many people as they can get in front of in 1992.
President Bush is campaigning in the heartland of Missouri while Governor Bill Clinton is on the west coast in Oregon. We will tune in to the local coverage in both states as we hear the reactions of the crowds as the campaign starts to heat up in late September.
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Here is a chance for you to hear Governor Bill Clinton doing what he does best. It is a campaign rally at Montgomery College in Rockville Maryland.
This episode allows you to hear him on the stump as he delivers his campaign speech in its entirety.
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The SS United States once sailed mightily across the Atlantic. She set the transatlantic sailing speed record , which still stands today, only using 2/3 of her power.
She was once majestic, powerful, and one of the most luxurious vessels of its time.
But time has passed. The jet airplane cut transatlantic travel from days to hours. The need for such sea faring vessels disappeared and with in just a few short years the SS United States was mothballed, her furnishings sold, her interior gutted, and she sat at port for a half century as the elements took their toll.
She is now headed for Florida to become an artificial underwater reef. A project that will almost certainly rejuvenate life into this lonely vessel at the bottom of the sea.
As we commemorate the SS United States historic place on the high seas and watch her slow sail from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama to be prepared for sinking. We thought now was a perfect time to reflect on it all as we watch her final sail before she sinks into history and moves on to its new chapter under the sea.
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To start off the fall campaign in early September 1992, Bill Clinton arrives at the Detroit Economic Club to talk about his economic plan and how it will affect Michigan. He will take a few jabs at the incumbent President in the process too.
Here you can hear Bill Clinton doing what he does best, give a detailed policy speech and make it interesting while also campaigning. He was really good at it as you will hear.
This is the Economic speech in its entirety.
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We start in this episode the look at late August and all of September as the two major figures in the race battle it out for the only time all alone.
Starting with this episode we will feature rallies of both President Bush and Governor Bill Clinton. This episode will look back at President Bush as he starts out in Connecticut and then heads to Florida. You will get to hear the President on the stump from a rally recorded and shared on Facebook by a person filming with a camcorder. This is as grass roots as you can get.
Plus you will hear from the local and national news outlets as they report it all live on the campaign trail.
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It is time to kick off the fall campaign. In this first month of campaigning we get the only time the two principles in the race faced each other head to head. Ross Perot would rejoin the fray in October. So, in the next few episodes we let you watch the 1992 campaign unfold between President George H. W. Bush and Governor Bill Clinton, in the only time period in which they had the stage to themselves.
Bill Clinton will start out with a commanding lead over Bush but it is a lead that continues to shrink with every passing day. Having brought James Baker back in to manage the campaign you will see George Bush become more focused and with it the Presidents poll number begin to rise. That will be true all the way through the rest of the campaign until we have a neck and neck race at the end of October of 1992.
In this episode we will listen in on where the race stood at the start and hear two rallies very early on as Bush addresses a crowd in Oxford, Mississippi, and Bill Clinton talks to a meeting of the AFL-CIO.
As we kick off the beginning of the most exciting election in my lifetime.
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In this special edition we honor two very different but very special people, Stuart Spencer and Bob Ueker.
Stuart Spencer was an advisor to Ronald Reagan going back to his earliest days in politics. He helped guide Reagan to the California Governor’s Mansion and then on to the White House. In the time between, he also ended up working with President Gerald Ford to fend off a challenge from Reagan in 1976, and helped Ford almost win reelection only losing by a point to former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Spencer would go on to be a major advisor to Reagan throughout the rest of Reagan’s career and he established political consulting as a viable profession. He passed away in January at age 97.
Bob Ueker, was known far and wide as Mr. Baseball. He was the broadcaster for decades for the Milwaukee Brewers and the star of TV commercials for Miller Lite Beer and the TV show "Mr. Belvedere". Bob Ueker was famous for his ability to make people laugh and was a regular guest on "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson", we try to share some of that with you in this episode . Bob Ueker passed away in January he was 90 years old.
This is an episode honoring two very different people but both of whom were great at what they did.
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The tension is in the air on the final night of the Republican National Convention in 1992. The speech is do or die for President George H.W. Bush. It occurs just a week after he has brought back in his top advisor James Baker. He needs to show focus and the will to win.
He does what he had to do and comes out of the Convention having shrunk the Clinton lead but still behind.
We will head out from here into a tough fall campaign. A campaign that would produce some of the most exciting moments of any election in our nation's history.
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In this episode we take you through the events of three of the days of the Republican National Convention as George Bush prepares to take the stage and address the nation.
He is greeted by hecklers at a Houston event who snuck in as reporters from an AIDS activist group. But the President and the crowd handle it fairly well. Despite all the issues that seemed to have beset the campaign and the convention, the message and the record George Bush had to run on was finally taking hold and the giant lead Bill Clinton had was starting to shrink.
This is also the end of an era of long speeches by former Presidents at least on the Republican side of the aisle. In this episode, we hear the last prime time address given by former President Gerald Ford as he compares the scenario the party faces in 1992 to the last successful Democrat to argue it was time for change, Jimmy Carter, during the election he lost by a whisker in 1976.
Plus, this election actually produced a very unlikely star, the much maligned Vice President of the United States, Dan Quayle. It is often forgotten that starting with this convention speech, Dan Quayle actually did an outstanding job campaigning for re-election through out all of the 1992 campaign. In fact, I have often wondered how it would have gone had he been head to head with Bill Clinton given how well he did do in 1992. That story has often been obscured by the election loss of the Bush/Quayle ticket later in the year. You will get to hear both the Quayle video and his convention speech in this episode.
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This is a speech delivered just barely in Primetime that slipped into the 11pm hour. Arguably the single biggest mistake ever made by schedulers in the history of prime time political conventions.
It is from day 1 of the 1992 Republican National Convention. It was a convention that had a lot of political battles in it between the conservative wing and the establishment wing of the Republican Party. Our nominee was in serious trouble , ands many members of Congress stayed away rather than allow themselves to be pictured in attendence. You could say it was one of those situations where if it could go wrong it did in 1992.
However, this speech was the single best speech I have ever heard. I remember being mesmerized by it and by the man who made it. This was the last prime time address given by former President Ronald Reagan. It is everything you would ever want in a speech by the greatest leader of the era. Optimistic, visionary, and inspiring, it had everything a young person, like me who had just turned 21 the day before, could ever want to be inspired by.
That was the magic of Ronald Reagan, if you are too young to remember it, or if you have forgotten that night, here is your chance to relive it again, as it occured in Houston, Texas. As Peter Jennings said when it was over "It is easy to see how Ronald Reagan held such sway over the American people for so long"
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In this episode we tune in to the first days of the 1992 Republican National Convention. We will go first to the morning session and hear from a list of Republican candidates for Congress as they try to "Bounce the House" after the Democrats get themselves in gulfed in a house banking scandal where several of the members bounced hundreds of the thousands of dollars in checks on the House bank.
We will hear from former Congressman Tommy Hartnett who challenged my State's long time Senator Ernest Hollings in 1992. It was the first race where I was selected to chair the campaign at my little college in Greenwood S.C. While I never met Mr. Hartnett, I had a lot of fun, and enjoyed listening to him and Ernest Hollings battle it out with thick Charleston, South Carolina accents. This is the first of a couple of episodes that will feature this 1992 Senate Race.
Then we will hear from former candidate Pat Buchanan as he electrifies the convention with a tough , conservative speech about the culture wars in America. It was , often, very accurate in substance, but it gave a much meaner look to conservatism than the man who would walk on to the podium just after him and out of prime time. That speech will be what our next episode will cover; the man who put a smiling face on American Conservatism, Ronald Reagan.
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This special Edition of our podcast , is a look back at two of our favorite motion pictures, "Casablanca" , and "Havana", just in time for "Casablanca" to be making its reappearance on the Silver Screen over the next week at theaters all across the nation.
The Flashback Theater Series will be featuring the picture at various theaters around the country (At Stone Theaters at the Market Commons, for those here in the Myrtle Beach S.C. area) on February 9, 12, and Valentine's Day February 14th. We cannot urge you enough to go see it on the big screen if you have never done so, or if you want to see it again. There is nothing like it.
In this episode , we have looked all over to find source material that could tell the unlikely story of this movie, made in utter chaos, with actors who did not believe in the story, and did not want to be making the movie, writer's actually rewriting and creating the story as they went along, day by day, during the production, and creating this movie that did not even have a settled end, when it was finished. But somehow out of that chaos came a cinematic masterpiece that has left only one question to debate....Is it the greatest movie ever made? or is it just one of the greatest movies ever made? No one even dares say its not great.
It is also a movie that has been imitated several times but no one as of yet has ever been able to replicate its magic, though one movie came the closest even if it failed at the box office, and we will take sometime to look at that movie too, "Havana", directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Elena Olin, Robert Redford and Raul Julia.
We share them both with you , just as Casablanca is about to return to the big screen, on this Valentine's Week and also because they , along with Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, served as the inspiration of our own Host's new novel that will be out near the end of 2025 or at the start of 2026.
We hope you enjoy our special edition and if you want to learn about Flashback Cinema check it out at https://www.flashbackcinema.net/ and please also drop by www.RandalWallace.com too to keep up with all the news from us here at the podcast too.
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It is just days before the Republican National Convention and the campaign of George H. W. Bush is losing, badly. It appears unfocused and seems to be reacting to events instead of controlling them or leading them. The worsening economy has the argument for change being made by Bill Clinton stronger with each passing day. Finally, Ross Perot decided to withdraw and did so on the last night of the 1992 Democratic National Convention delivering for Governor Clinton an enormously huge audience to listen to his acceptance speech.
One of the problems is that George Bush is without two of his most trusted political advisors. Lee Atwater, the native South Carolinian, who had helped guide Bush to the Presidency had died of brain cancer, and James Baker, his former campaign manager, had moved on to the job of Secretary of State. Bush needed them badly and he finally went to James Baker and asked him to take over the campaign for that final stretch.
James Baker was, as James Carville once said of him, "the Joe Montana of American Politics" (Montana is a widely heralded Super Bowl MVP Quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers) Baker arrived in Washington D.C. when his friend George Bush had moved from Texas in the early 1970s. He got a job working for President Gerald Ford in 1975. He then moved over and almost pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in political history moving Ford from 33% points down to only losing by one in 1976 to Jimmy Carter. He took Bush from an asterisk in the polls to almost wrestling away the 1980 nomination from Ronald Reagan, he then helped guide the Reagan Presidency in its first term, was Secretary of State to Bush as they soft landed the Cold War, and now Bush was calling him back in to pull off yet another miracle and get him re-elected to the Presidency.
As you will see, it almost worked, if not for the Sinister forces of a Special Prosecutor. Here is the story of James Baker stepping back in to take over the 1992 campaign of George H. W. Bush, on the eve of the 1992 Republican National Convention.
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In our second episode in our final installment in our special series, Farewells and Welcomebacks, we follow Donald Trump during the rest of his historic first day back in office.
We will hear from the Vice President and President as they address supporters in the Capitol Welcome Center. Then we will head over to the Capitol One Center , that I had to watch from the Mission Bar since I couldn’t get in, and we will hear from the president’s envoy to the Middle East, then the President will deliver his third address of the day, sign a historic number of executive orders, and then head out to the White House where he will pardon everyone convicted over roles in the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.
Then we end our special series with a look back at the historic week that watched us bid farewell to Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden and welcome back to our new President Donald J. Trump. Plus we share a few of our own thoughts about it all too.
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This begins our final two episodes in our Farewell and Welcome back special series.
We were invited to come up for the Inauguration of Donald Trump and had planned to do a Facebook Live broadcast and interviews live from Washington D.C. Unfortunately, it got seriously cold.
I am a southerner, I mean seriously cold.
That changed everything and while we did do some recording it was no where near our original goal. We tried to get into the Capitol One Center to broadcast from there, all we did was wait in line only to be turned away.
Still this episode makes the best of the materials we did manage to get and thanks to the ABC News coverage, for which we are enormously appreciative, we do have commentary on the huge news of the day, coverage of the two Presidents as they met, and, in this episode, Joe Biden as he leaves.
In this first part on the Inauguration of Donald Trump, we carry you through the decision to move indoors, the announcements of pardons by Biden, the two Presidents meeting and ride to the Capitol, all from the ABC News broadcast, the swearing in of Donald Trump the 45th President as he became the 47th President of the United States, and we bid farewell to Joe Biden, the 46th President.
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This is the final night of the 1992 Democratic National Convention and there is only one star of this show. We start out with the CNN Documentary "The Road to the White House 1992" as it fills you in on the events of that day and then we listen in on one of the best films ever produced for a Presidential nominee. "The Man from Hope" put together by Linda and Harry Thomason. The Hollywood TV Producers that came up with the hit T.V Series "Designing Women". This intro video was impactful.
I will go ahead and tell you our version came from my ancient VHS Collection and the sound audio is at times a struggle.
After the video we use a better audio, of Bill Clinton as he takes the stage and delivers his 1992 acceptance speech. It was one of the greatest campaign addresses in the history of televised addresses.
All of this on a night when earlier in the afternoon Ross Perot had withdrawn from the race and handed the Democratic nominee the largest viewing audience for any Convention speech in history. Bill Clinton delivered.
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As we take off into a new era of American History , I thought it might be interesting to look back at a few of the highlights from a historic week in Washington and look back at the three Presidents this week centered on.
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Jimmy Carter - We pay tribute to a great man in former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at age 100 at the very end of 2024
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Joe Biden - We listen in on his final speech and his message to America about what he thinks its greatest threats are, his look back at his accomplishments, and his final thoughts at the end of his 52 year career.
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Donald Trump - Like a Category 5 Hurricane Donald Trump has blown into town and turned Washington D.C. on its ear. He issued a record number of Executive Orders and grasped the reigns of power quickly and aggressively in what he hopes will usher in a Golden Era in American History.
We will look back at all three and the week that history was recalled and history was made. We also want to invite you to relive the historic 2nd Inaugural of the 45th and 47th President on February 3 & 4th .
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We ran out of time in our last episode but felt that both of these segments were worthy of being chronicled in our series looking back at the 1992 election.
The first is the full press conference of Ross Perot as he withdrew from the 1992 election. It was a move that to this day makes no sense to me as to why he did it. He had been in first place and while he had slipped in the polls he was still in a stronger position than he would ever see again prior to this early withdrawal from the race. You will listen in at his reasoning at the time in his Press conference announcing his withdrawal.
Then we will return to the convention hall on that final day and during a break in the action on the convention floor we will listen to a panel discussion that will feature every unsuccessful Democratic nominee over the past 22 years up to that point. It is a fascinating discussion featuring reporters and commentators Robert McNeil, Jim Lehrer, Mark Shields, David Gergen and former Democratic Presidential nominees, Senator George McGovern from 1972, Former Vice President Walter Mondale who was on the national ticket as VP in 1976, 1980- and the nominee in 1984, and Massachusetts former Governor and 1988 Nominee Michael Dukakis. It is a must listen to panel discussion from a set of true history makers.
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In this episode we listen in on one of the great public speakers of the Democratic Party, New York Governor Mario Cuomo. He will deliver the nominating speech for Governor Bill Clinton and he will electrify the crowd as only he can do. In fact, what stands out is that most of the delegates in the hall, who are way more liberal than your average Democrat, really would have preferred Cuomo as the nominee.
Cuomo had toyed with the idea of running for President back in 1991 but at that time George H. W. Bush was at 91% favorables in the polls and Cuomo decided to not make the race. That left the field wide open for Bill Clinton. So, on this third night of the 1992 Democratic Convention it would be Mario Cuomo speaking in nomination of Bill Clinton. Clinton having gambled and won by challenging a President who seemed so strong just 12 months before that he had scared out the heavyweights that could have challenged him.
There is a political lesson in that scenario because it cannot be lost on you that Clinton would go on to win and Mario Cuomo would never again have the opportunity to run for President in his own right. Such, is the wheel of fate in politics.
Then a surprise will occur that will change the race and turn it completely upside down, just after Bill Clinton broke with tradition and came down to the hall himself to thank the delegates in person.
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On this final day of the administration of the 46th President of the United States, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr, we will look back at his Life and Career, and his final week as President of the United States.
It began in 1972, when our Host Randal Wallace, was only a year and a half old, and it would continue unabated for the next 52 years. A remarkable run for any political figure in either party.
We start the episode with a phone call from President Richard Nixon on a tragic day in the life of Joe Biden, just after his wife and daughter are killed, and his two other sons, are injured in a horrific automobile accident in December of 1972, and we end the episode with his farewell address on January 15, 2025. In between, our nation saw Vietnam come to an end, Watergate, the Iranian Hostage crisis, the height of the Cold War, the fall of communism, the Gulf War, the dot com boom, the second Gulf War , the War on Terror, a war in Afghanistan, the first African American President, the passage of Universal Healthcare, the rise of Donald Trump, three impeachments and one near impeachment, and Joe Biden's own election as President.
It is a remarkable and long career. Joe Biden was there through an amazingly long consequential period of American History. We try to capture some of that while also chronicling his final week in the White House. Plus near the end of the episode, our Host, Randal Wallace, a lifelong Republican, will share with you his own experiences dealing directly with the President and share his final thoughts on the man, that in the ultimate irony of life, is the only President of the United States our Host has ever worked directly with on one occasion, Joe Biden, a Democrat.
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We have an announcement. We are heading to Washington D.C. to cover the Inauguration of Donald Trump. Tune in to our Facebook Live videos on our "Randal Wallace Presents" podcast Facebook page and then we will have the show ready to go when we get back.
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In our second installment of "Farewells and Welcome Backs" we begin our farewell to Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States.
In this episode we share a few thoughts on the man and his entire career and we listen in on three of his final speeches in his own farewell tour of sorts.
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His Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clinton Foundation given to him by Former President Bill Clinton in New York, thanking him for his lifetime of service to the nation.
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President Biden's final address to the United Nations as he talks about the sweep of History he has been a witness to in his roles as a Senator, Vice President and President. What he thinks the priorities should be for the United Nations in the coming years as he prepares to leave center stage.
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Then we share with you his press announcement of the ceasefire agreement ironed out between his Administration and the two warring factions in the Middle East of Israel and the terrorist organization Hezbollah that operates out of Lebanon but is financed by the Iranian Government.
This is an interesting look at the final moments of the Biden Administration,
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In this episode we look back at a triumphant week for President Donald Trump as he held a pre Inaugural press conference on the transition and his plans for a second Trump term.
In this episode we will listen in on all the various themes and issues he touched on in his hour and 20 minute press conference and then delve into the historic legal proceeding in New York State. In our opinion, that action by the New York State Court was exactly the type of overreach that we hope the President will remember as he takes office on January 20th. Our podcast, has dove in deeply into our examples of how lawfare has created a rift on our national body politic for over a half century and how desperately we believe this evil needs to be stopped.
History, fate, or circumstance, has given Donald Trump an unparalleled opportunity to destroy this evil political ploy that no one in our history has ever been handed. The use of lawfare destroyed the Presidency of Richard Nixon, helped end the career of George H. W. Bush, crippled the remainder of the Presidency of Bill Clinton, and while Senator Ted Stevens would be eventually totally exonerated that all occurred when he wasn't a Senator any more. Donald Trump has been afforded the opportunity to right this wrong after being its victim for the entire time he was out of office between January of 2020 and literally, last week.
This episode is also dedicated to President Donald Trump's biggest fan here in Horry County, a woman instrumental in his success in our State of South Carolina. Gerri McDaniel was a force of nature who exploded onto the local political scene almost 18 years ago as a leader in the Tea Party movement, she would go on to help engineer Newt Gingrich's victory in South Carolina's Primary in 2012, and was the early leader here for President Donald Trump throughout his time in politics. She passed away suddenly this week and we thought it only fitting she share in this moment of triumph for President Trump. This show is dedicated to Gerri McDaniel's memory.
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This is our tribute to the 39th President of the United States. This episode features highlights from the State Funeral last week of the former President , interspersed with segments of his life in his own words, or from the coverage of the day, with music from the State funeral in the background.
This is truly the end of an era for our host Randal Wallace as Jimmy Carter has been a central figure in his political life from the very start. Wallace stood on the side of the road campaigning for two of Jimmy Carter's opponents as a nine year old in 1980.
Wallace became a Republican as result of that election campaign and for much of his early years was not a fan of President Carter. But time changes everything and Wallace grew to admire President Carter's honesty, integrity, and countless good works around the world.
However, it was in the production of this podcast that Our Host, as he explains, came to learn so much more about the President he had written off as a failure so many decades ago. By his own admission, our host looked at those six years from the fall of Saigon to the 1980 election as his great black hole of his history knowledge and it was through putting together these episodes that he learned how much more there was to the role Jimmy Carter has played in American History than he ever got credit for in his time.
Wallace has stated that this segment of episodes put together in out 10th season that he learned the most about a subject matter he had not known about until then. He grew to admire President and Mrs. Carter far more than he had, and hopes if you do get a chance you will take a look at our back catalogue of episodes looking at both Former Congressman John Jenrette and former President Jimmy Carter.
Farewell to President Carter, a true and faithful servant of his Lord, Jesus Christ, certainly he will be rewarded for a job well done.
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This is a second part we added to our tribute to President Jimmy Carter that ran yesterday. The episode we put together to start with was already 1 hour and 47 minutes long after editing it down, so we had to decide what to cut from the program. After making the edits we came to the conclusion that we had another episode that really needed to be shared.
This is that episode and that material. We will begin with some extra things we found including a speech by President Carter introducing his Grandson at the college in Sumter County, Georgia when his grandson, Jason Carter, spoke to the graduates. It is in that speech you will see just how effective and inspiring a speaker the younger Carter actually is, as we had already learned watching the State Funeral last week. We include that eulogy in this episode as well.
We will also let you hear from President Jimmy Carter as he delivers a eulogy for former President Gerald Ford. The two men had become very close friends and both agreed that they would deliver a eulogy for whichever one survived the other. Ford wrote his eulogy for Carter and had it filed away for the possibility that one day he would deliver it. His son, Steven Ford, did so last week, 18 years after President Ford had passed away. We thought you might find it interesting to hear President Carter deliver the eulogy that he gave at President Ford's funeral in Michigan on the heels of hearing President Ford's read so many years later.
Finally, we end where the State Funeral ended, with the eulogy delivered by President Carter's great friend, the former Mayor of Atlanta, the Carter Administration's United Nations Ambassador, and great civil rights leader, Andrew Young, who is now 92 years old and who, in order to deliver his powerful remarks about President Carter, had to do so while sitting down. It was a moment that held everyone spellbound as the Ambassador talked about his nearly 7 decade friendship that would take both of them from the rural southwest Georgia backroads, to the White House and beyond.
Former President Jimmy Carter was 100 years old.
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In our first of several special editions in January, we shall bid farewell to two United States Senators who have spent their times in office reaching across the aisle in order find solutions to issues plaguing our nation. While that is commendable, it does come with a price and can hurt you in the base of your own party. One of the reasons both men stepped down from the Senate is that they had alienated large swaths of their own party faithful.
The two Senators were Mitt Romney, a Republican of Utah and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat. We will hear from them in their farewell addresses to the United States Senate and we will hear from several other Senators, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Cory Booker, Thom Tillis and John Tester, as they look back at Senator Romney in this day of farewell addresses by retiring Senators.
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In this episode we take you to the Democratic National Convention to hear some of the greatest public speakers of the 1990s.
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Jerry Brown, former Governor of California (and future Governor of California and future Mayor of Oakland) he was a 1992 Presidential candidate who near the end emerged to give Bill Clinton a little challenge at the end of the primary. He hit on economic inequities in the system and slammed both parties over campaign finance reform. He is a fiery speaker and knew how to stir up a crowd. the speech however was remembered for what he did not do, which was mention Bill Clinton, at all.
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Zell Miller, Governor of Georgia, delivers the 1992 Convention Keynote address, and he does it with all the fire of Southern stump meeting, attacking Bush on his economic record, and Ross Perot on his positioning as a political outsider. He feeds the crowd plenty of red meat. Later, he would turn his fire on his own party in 2004, and famously challenge Chris Matthews to a duel on national television.
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Reverend Jesse Jackson, civil rights pioneer and political activist, he always speaks to the downtrodden, ran a powerful campaign for President in his own right in 1988, but finds himself in a much diminished role after he made comments that offended Jewish people and found himself at odds with the party nominee, Bill Clinton, over comments Clinton made about rap lyrics.
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Ted Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts, he is the Liberal Lion of the Senate, former Presidential candidate in 1980 that helped rip apart the Democratic support of Jimmy Carter, and he had a long history of undermining both Presidents he disliked of both parties. He was still a formidable speaker and this speech lives up to the billing as he endorses Bill Clinton and attacks the record of the Reagan-Bush years.
This is a great show if you like great speakers even if you don't agree with much of anything they actually say. But, alas, I am a Republican so take that for what it is worth. Still, I love a great speaker and raw meat politics of both sides.
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In this episode we look back at the remarkable life of Jimmy Carter through the eyes of several who knew him.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States died at age 100 on December 29, 2024. As we head into a national week of mourning we have compiled a few stories about his life from old friends like Former Congressman John Jenrette, Advisor Stu Eisenstadt, Reporter Susan Zelensky and former aid Chris Matthews from various news outlets as they looked back, over the past few days, at his life.
We also invite you to look back at our 10th season of this broadcast when we produced a joint biography of former President Jimmy Carter and our former Congressman John Jenrette. Sadly, both men have now passed away, but they left a huge mark on our times and even in our local community.
Then we also look back at another figure who passed away this week former newsman Aaron Brown who hosted one of our favorite news hours nightly on CNN in the 2000s, he won an award for his coverage of the 9-11 attacks, coverage he provided to CNN even before he was contracted to start at the network. He was a dynamic, interesting, and great reporter and we send our condolences out to his family and his former colleagues at both CNN and ABC News.
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This episode will lay out a series of special episodes looking back at the departure of a couple of important Senators, the outgoing President Joe Biden, the incoming President Donald Trump and our episodes honoring the former President who just passed away at age 100, Jimmy Carter. We will also feature a segment in honor of former ABC and CNN reporter and host Aaron Brown.
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The opening night of the Democratic National Convention in 1992 had the misfortune of having to compete with Major League Baseball All Star Game. To counteract that programming they decided to put the ladies of the party our front on this first night, that will feature a keynote address by Representative Barbara Jordan,
Then the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter will take the stage for his first prime time address in 12 years at the convention. It would prove to be an interesting evening, the first of several in a convention that would feature some high drama.
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Happy New Year 2025!!!
What an amazing year 2024 was for us at this podcast. For 18 weeks we were the number 1 American History Podcast on Feedspot, and for just a little while we had our sister podcast "The Richard Nixon Experience" ranked at number 7 at the same time. We had two podcasts in the top 10. I am proud of that!!
It was a year in which we said goodbye to a lot of legendary figures and in this episode we spend sometime looking back at their remarkable contributions to America and the World, in both politics and journalism.
We will also preview two of the coming seasons for 2025, though one of the previews comes from our friends at CNN, as they were reviewing the 1996 election in real time.
Finally, we want to get on your radar for not one, but two books, that our host Randal Wallace wrote in 2024, they will be hitting bookshelves (and Amazon) in the coming year. "The Leadership Lessons from the Cold War" should be out in the spring or early summer of 2025 and our novel, should be out in the fall. We are excited at the prospects for both in the new year.
But, most of all, we want to say a simple thank you to all of you for tuning in to our podcast for another year. We hope you are enjoying the episodes as much as we enjoy bringing them to you.
Thank you so much for tuning in,
Randal Wallace
Host
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In this special edition we look back at the remarkable life of former 5th District of South Carolina Congressman John Spratt. Spratt was in Congress for nearly 3 decades and rose to be chairman of the House Budget Committee.
From that post he would become the master of the Federal Budget working throughout the 1990’s to balance the Federal Budget and manage the nation’s ever growing debt. He was constantly at odds with the George W Bush administration. We will look back at his many challenges to the Bush Administration, his role as a budget hawk, and his final campaign in the 5th Congressional District.
Finally, we will hear from the Congressman’s exit interview about his career in Congress just as he was leaving office.
Spratt died on December 14, 2024 at age 82. He lived a remarkable life.
Also, this episode is dedicated to the memory of KOLD tv 13 anchor woman Ana Orsini in Tuscan, Arizona. She died suddenly of a brain aneurysm at the age of 28. This was the same thing our host’s brother , Keith Wallace, died of 12 years ago at age 26. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and her coworkers at this time.
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In this episode, we look at three major stories that all happened in the early summer of 1992.
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H. Ross Perot decides to enter the race for President after getting over 200,000 signatures to get him on the ballot in Texas. When he decides to enter the race he is polling in first place ahead of both President George Bush and the Democratic presumptive nominee Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. It is a story that shakes the political class to its core as it heads into the Convention season
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Boris Yeltsin comes to Washington D.C. and meets with President Bush and they begin negotiating an Arms reduction deal that would see the Nuclear arsenal of both countries not cut by a third but to a third of what they had at that moment just after the Cold War had ended. It was a major achievement for George Bush that is lost often in the retelling of the 1992 election. Plus this segment will also give you a feel for a State Dinner if you have never witnessed one.
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Senator Al Gore of Tennessee is selected by Bill Clinton to be his Vice Presidential running mate. It would be a ticket made up of youth and it will signal a sea change in the generational leadership of the country. Both men are in their mid forties, Gore 44, and Clinton 45, and both men are from the South and that will help undercut President Bush in what had been his strongest geographical base of support in the country. It is a big moment in the 1992 campaign, just as we head into the conventions for the two major political parties in America.
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In this special edition we will hear President Bush speak to the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is a group of State elected officials that help form conservative policy for the Federal Government.
In this speech you will hear the President as he discusses the various policy intiatives he was pressing in the spring of 1992. It gives you a sense for where he was headed domestically and how he wanted to direct Federal Policy.
This was an interesting speech, and I am sharing it to give you a feel for President Bush's domestic policy agenda.
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Rodney King was stopped for speeding in California the year before and savagely beaten after he resisted arrest. It was all caught on video by a bystander and the police were charged for excessive brutality while trying to subdue King.
When the police were acquitted by an all white jury in another neighboring county from where the crime had occurred the city of Los Angeles exploded. There were riots , looting, and fires all over the downtown area, and after the death of a rioter in Koreatown, the tensions mounted as the riot moved over into the Korean section.
In this episode, we will relive the riots both in real time, and thanks to the L.A. TV Station KCAL, through the eyes of some of the people 25 years later in their series reliving the L.A. Riots. We will hear from Mayor Tom Bradley, Governor Pete Wilson and at the end of the episode we will hear President George H. W. Bush as he addresses the nation in an attempt to bring calm to the disorder he was facing, all of which is occurring just six months before the 1992 Presidential Election.
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The 1992 New York Democratic Primary was a knock down drag out affair between Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and his one remaining challenger Former California Governor Jerry Brown. The two men pulled no punches as they fought over the delegates in this state , that was no stranger to rowdy politics.
Brown would accuse Clinton of shaking down the Arkansas poultry industry for thousands of dollars in legal fees for his wife's law firm in Little Rock. Clinton would return the fire going after Brown's constant reinventing of himself, and the fact that he had been known for his shaking down of California business interests for years.
They both went straight for the jugular and it left hard feelings that did not end after the primary was over. But Bill Clinton would win it, and Jerry Brown would lose not only to Bill Clinton but also to Paul Tsongas, who had suspended his campaign a couple of weeks earlier. That would seal the fate of Jerry Brown and finally give Bill Clinton his party's nomination for President.
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In this episode we will listen in as Pat Buchanan begins to fade away after it is discovered he drives a Mercedes Benz and the Bush campaign pounces on it.
On the other side, Paul Tsongas, Tom Harkin, and John Kerry also fade away but Bill Clinton will still find himself with one very stubborn opponent left to lock horns with before he can lay claim to the Democratic Nomination.
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Here is Ross Perot in all his blunt, direct, glory. In this episode we hear him give the 1992 graduating class of Oklahoma University commencement address. It is a speech full of truly useful advice. It will leave you impressed and you will understand better after you listen to it as to why he came very close to actually winning the Presidency in 1992.
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He was talking on the Larry King Show on CNN and said that if the people could get enough signatures to gethim on the Texas ballot he might run for President. They needed 50,000 signatures, they ended up with 250,000. Suddenly, H. Ross Perot was a serous contender for President of the United States.
He had the money, a self made billionaire, and he told you what he really thought without poll testing it first. He ran for President warning everyone of the disaster the deficit and national debt could be. The people were listening and for a while he was in first place.
In this episode we look back at the man who , in a way, is who Donald Trump has followed in the foot steps of in his run for the Presidency three times, winning it twice. Perot may not have won but he laid the foundation for the politics we see dominating the political landscape we look out upon today.
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This short housekeeping show will air on both of our podcasts because we want to hear from you. We are about to air an uninterupted oral history on The Richard Nixon Experience. We want to know if you would be interested in more episodes in this type of format and have us, at the Richard Nixon Experience, comeback for a seventh season.
Just let us know by emailing me here on the website or at our website RandalWallace.Com or at my personal email address Randalrgw1@Aol.com
We are at the end of our series on the Richard Nixon Experience, and will run the interview with former FBI Agent Angelo Lanao, starting tomorrow, followed by our tribute to Federal Judge Lawrence Silberman and then the Watergate symposium filmed just three weeks before Judge Silberman passed away and featuring Geoff Shepard whose research made this series possible.
That will wrap up our existing work on Richard Nixon, unless you decide we should comeback for a seventh season.
I am running this short episode on both of our podcasts.
Thanks Again for tuning in and listening to our podcasts,
Sincerely,
Randal Wallace
Host.
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In this episode we cover the 1992 New Hampshire Primary with the help of WMUR News from Manchester, New Hampshire. They do a segment titled "Inside the Vault" that covers the history of the New Hampshire Primary. They did several on the 1992 Primary, we used four of them for this episode.
We will look back on Bill Clinton's incredible comeback in this primary after scandal threatens to take him out, we will look at the floundering campaign of Senator Bob Kerry who at the start appeared to be the most formidable of candidates and it just never materialized for him, we will also look at the incredible speech at the Dover, New Hampshire Elks Club that turned Bill Clinton's fortunes around , and then finally, we will tune in at a look back at the forgotten winner of the 1992 New Hampshire Primary Senator Paul Tsongas.
Then it's off to the nightly news broadcast from that evening and hear the analysis before the votes come in and after, as we relive one of the turning points in the most exciting campaigns in the history of the republic.
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The first stop of the primary season is in Iowa. It is an important stop on the pathway to the Presidential Nomination in both parties. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush was way out in front and his challenger, Pat Buchanan, decided not to contest him in Iowa, and on the Democratic side Iowa Senator Tom Harkin was running and therefore the Democrats decided not to invest to much energy there either.
But we are going to start there in Iowa. Then move you over to New Hampshire where at this point in the campaign both front runners are hemorrhaging badly to their challengers. Bill Clinton gets bogged down in two personal scandals, one concerning infidelity and an Arkansas lounge singer named Gennifer Flowers, and the other one about his attempt to dodge the draft and steer clear of the Vietnam War. The result of both of these scandals is Clinton drops from a clear frontrunner to battling to stay alive with Tom Harkin and Bob Kerry on his heels. He will spend this week trying to stop the bleeding, and as we shall see on election night, he does.
Then President Bush is in a tug of war with television commentator Pat Buchanan. Buchanan wants to put "America First", to stop getting into trade deals, and stop providing foreign aid. His main theme is that the elite, personified by George Bush, don't care about you, and make decisions to the detriment of the working class. He wants to "Make America First Again", sound familiar. That message is resonating in a New Hampshire then in the throws of a tough recession.
In this episode, we will stop off in Iowa and then venture over to New Hampshire and the eve of the hard fought New Hampshire Primary and in both primary races they will serve up some surprises.
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In this episode we introduce you to the one person who needs no introduction, Bill Clinton, the then Governor of Arkansas. He would burst onto the national stage in 1991 and quickly emerge as the Democratic Frontrunner. He raised the most money, setup the strongest organization , and used his extraordinary people skills to win the public over.
In this episode we let you see those skills in full bloom. We watch two different Clinton Foundation videos that tell the story of the start of his historic 1992 campaign, and we will sit down with him, and legendary reporter Hugh Sidey, as they discuss his life and career before the Presidency.
Then we head down to Little Rock, Arkansas, on October 3, 1991, to hear the Governor announce he is a candidate for President of the United States. It is a big moment , for this Governor from this small Southern State, who will in little over a year, find himself the First in his Class of Baby Boomers to make it to the White House.
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Pat Buchanan, the tough talking, former speechwriter and aid to Richard Nixon, and former Communications Director for Ronald Reagan, steps up and challenges the President and leader of his own party in New Hampshire. His campaign will sound very familiar to you if you have followed the last three Republican Presidential Campaigns.
For much of the "America First" and "Make America Great Again" platforms and campaign rhetoric began with the campaign in 1992 of Pat Buchanan. In this episode we will take you back to the beginning of his improbable campaign in 1992 when he nearly toppled a President before the President could get his campaign off the ground.
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In this episode we look at the daunting economic tasks George H. W. Bush has in front of him over the next year. The economy, Unemployment, Healthcare, and the ever present issues on the World Stage, are all piling up and Bush is busy putting his plans together to tackle them. We will see him in this episode start putting those plans out into the public.
At the sametime, he will face the 1992 Presidential Campaign and in this episode we will hear from the long list of Contenders all vying for his job. Senators Tom Harkin, Paul Tsongas, Bob Kerry, and Governors Jerry Brown, Doug Wilder, and the front runner, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, all step onto the national stage in an attempt to unseat President Bush. They will receive some help too.
From a Republican, who will challenge Bush from his right, in his own party, the way Senator McCarthy did President Lyndon Johnson, nearly a quarter of a century before. Pat Buchanan's candidacy would have much the same effect, turning the Republican race into a real race for the nomination and wounding the President for the upcoming fall campaign.
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In our first episode of our fourteenth season, we open with arguably one of the high points of the George H. W. Bush years. When he opened the 1992 State of the Union address he could legitimately say"The State of our Union is strong", for in the past year, he had vanquished a dictator in the Middle East, and he had managed the collapse of the Communist World without it leading to another World War.
As Robert Gates had said often, the collapse of a major World Empire rarely if ever happens in history without a major War. Bush and his Soviet counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, had managed to oversea the end of the Cold War without it leading to a hot one.
However, in the meantime, the United States economy had gone into recession and that would be the next big item on President Bush's already historic agenda. The question would become could he get it all turned around in time for the election that was on the horizon in 1992.
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In this brief bonus episode we take just a few minutes to remember the career of the great ABC News reporter Tom Jarrell who passed away in October 2024. Jarrell covered some of the biggest stories of the last half of the 20th century. He most notably was in Memphis covering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when King was assassinated in 1968.
We have some of his remarkable career to play for you in our brief tribute to one of the best television reporters of our time.
Tom Jarrell was 89 years old.
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In 1992, as the Cold War had come to an end, George H. W. Bush was up for re-election. It should have been a cake walk. Bush had accomplished more in three years than many Presidents accomplish in 8 years. He had presided over the end of the Cold War, victory in the Gulf War, and in Panama, he had bailed out the Savings and Loans, passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, and presided over the management of Communisms collapse around the globe.
To this day, I still have never understood how George Bush lost that election. The reason can be summed up in two words, Bill Clinton. The Arkansas Governor is without question the best campaigner who ever drew a breath and he got helped out by a conservative firebrand on the right challenging and wounding the President , named Pat Buchanan and a Texas Billionaire named H. Ross Perot draining away Republican votes in the general election too.
If you listen closely, what you will hear in the echoes of this 1992 campaign, are the talking points and blueprints of a movement that has taken a hold of the United States today in the form of Donald Trump, Make America Great Again, and America First politics of 2024. The big difference between now and then is the charismatic talents of the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton. He is the first of the Vietnam era generation to win on the national stage and this election marks the moment that the World War 2 Generation begins to leave stage left.
A special thank you to CNN's "Campaign 1992" for many of the edited highlights
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In our Season finale of the historic year that was 1991, we look at the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union itself.
It began in a bloody revolution that saw the execution of not only Czar Nicholas the second but also his entire family including his young daughters. In the 69 years it officially existed and in the five years before that after the Russian Revolution, it saw its revolution spread to many other countries and its own power spread across 11 time zones, and all across Eurasia. It became a world , nuclear Super Power in parity with the United States militarily. However, it never had any kind of real economic strength and it had all the weaknesses of a command economy.
That was what eventually brought it down. It had seen Lenin, a bloodthirsty dictator in Joseph Stalin, a wily, constantly experimenting in economics and Agriculture and cabinet shuffling leader in Nikita Khrushchev, the cunning, pragmatic, and cautions 20 year rule of Leonid Brezhnev, and then a succession of two old, relatively ill, and brief Presidents in Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko before a young, vibrant, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985.
Gorbachev would serve 6 years and try and reform, and save his country. It would be the reforms he let loose that would bring his country its first taste of political and economic freedom. Once it was tasted that freedom, it could not be turned back and Gorbachev, ever the committed Communist, continued to try and manage it all without totally overhauling the system.
In that he failed. On Christmas Day, 1991, he resigned the Presidency of the Soviet Union and the once proud hammer and sickle flag of the USSR was taken down from over the Kremlin and the flag of the Russian Federation was flown in its place. The Soviet Union, began in blood shed, and revolution, vanished quietly in the night with a phone call to the President of the country it had been at Cold War with for nearly half a century.
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In over a thousand years of Russian history only one man can lay claim as having been elected directly from the people. His name was Boris Yeltsin.
He is the man who pushed the Soviet Union over the cliff and then became the leader of the fledgling Russian Federation. He stood on a tank in defiance of a coup that was trying to seize control of the nation from the President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, and while that coup failed to topple Gorbachev, it in effect, stripped all the power away from the USSR President and all the real bonds of the republics that held it together.
By the end of 1991, the various republics of the old Soviet Union had declared themselves independent and Yeltsin got together with their leaders of those republics to form a new Federation, leaving Gorbachev and the Soviet Congress with no real country to rule. The Politburo would meet one last time to debate the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
This all occurred as one man rose to power in the Russia and it would be him who would lead Russia up until the start of the 21st century . In this episode we look back at him, Boris Yeltsin, and how he rose to the position of President and how he did as the new nations leader.
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In our second part of our look at both the fall of the Soviet Union and of its final leader Mikhail Gorbachev, we look back at his life and his career. we listen to the man himself and hear his thoughts after the dissolution of the Soviet Union had occurred.
We will also examine one of the ultimate of ironies for this historic figure of the 20th century. By the time of his death at age 91, Mikhail Gorbachev, had become a loved and admired figure around the world, and yet he was shunned in his own country. The new leader of Russia said of the demise of the Soviet Union "It was the worst catastrophe of the 20th Century"
Vladimir Putin, while sending condolences to the Gorbachev family and visiting the wake of the last Soviet Union, sent his regrets that he was to busy to attend the funeral of the last President of the Soviet Union and a giant in the history of the world, Mikhail Gorbachev.
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As we begin our four part look back at the fall of the Soviet Union, we begin by looking back at the man who presided over it, Mikhail Gorbachev.
He was reformer, a charismatic leader, and a committed Communist. It is that latter part of the description that is the key to understanding his own downfall. He stayed married to the Communist philosophy to long and due to it was maneuvered out of his job, by another leader, Boris Yeltsin, whose rise was only made possible by the reforms that Gorbachev himself had unleashed.
In this episode we examine both the life, rise and career of Mikhail Gorbachev but also the situation the Soviet Union faced after the committed Communists tried to overthrow Gorbachev in August of 1991. The Gang of 8 were trying to take back control of the country before the Soviet Union fell apart. Instead, they may very well have pushed it over the cliff. It created a change in the power dynamic that even after Gorbachev was restored to the title of President of the USSR, he found himself sharing power with Boris Yeltsin, and all the real power had shifted away from him.
Here is the beginning of that story.
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On the 33rd anniversary of the address to the Kennedy Political Union at American University by Senator Strom Thurmond, we thought we would rebroadcast it here for you.
In this address, Senator Thurmond will talk about various issues of the day from the recently concluded Clarence Thomas Hearing, to military preparedness, to politics, Thurmond discusses it all and then takes questions from the students at American University.
Thurmond was a former school teacher and this Q&A segment is an excellent tutorial on Government and politics from a master of the craft, a man who served in South Carolina in one capacity or another for 74 years. Here is Strom Thurmond and this is an excellent speech and presentation.
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In this episode we will watch the United States Senate cast its vote on the confirmation of Clarence Thomas as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court.
We will hear his mother's reaction as he wins the fight .
Then we will travel to the confirmation ceremony itself and hear from both President George H. W. Bush and the newest member of the U. S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas as he addresses the crowd just after taking the oath to serve on the highest court in the land.
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In this episode we listen in on a number of the giant figures of the era in the United States Senate as they debate the confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas.
It is a whose who of some of the the towering political figures of the era. They will debate Clarence Thomas's political positions, their concerns about his Judical rulings, and his positions on natural law, and abortion rights but always the question of sexual harrassment will linger in the air.
We will also feature commentary from the coverage of NBC News with Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell as they count the votes right up until they actually do vote on the nomination of Clarence Thomas, the numbers will be close as the Senate prepares to vote.
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In this episode we hear the Senators ask questions of both Clarence Thomas and his accuser, Anita Hill.
The questions and the answers can be at times graphic, deeply personal, and revealing. The Senators often were portrayed as sexist for the grilling they put to Anita Hill. However, some questions needed to be asked, like why did she stay in touch with Thomas for years after the alleged harassment had occurred.
To both of their credit, they answered them all and I will leave it to you to decide as you listen if you find one more credible than the other as the hearing unfolded.
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In this episode we hear directly from the accuser and the accused just as if it happened yesterday. This episode will also have both of the people involved give addresses and opening comments from both the Chairman , Joe Biden, and the ranking member, Strom Thurmond.
It is a fascinating look back at tumultuous times and you will get to hear both sides of the argument as we feature both the accuser, Anita Hill, and the accused Clarence Thomas as they open up their lives for close examination .
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The accusations against Clarence Thomas explode on to the scene just the day before he was going to be voted on for placement of the Space Court. The news was a bombshell in the hearings and the two sides were aimed for a fight.
In this episode we listen to the man that had originally employed Clarence Thomas as he worked his way up the legal ladder to serve as a District Judge and now a potential Supreme Court Justice. Senator John Danforth will step up and hold a press conference in defense of his former employee who was now poised to become the a Supreme Court Justice, or maybe not.
This is the opening act for the hearings that will get underway later the next morning.
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In this episode we get to listen in on various panels both in favor of Judge Clarence Thomas and opposed to Clarence Thomas testify in front of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. You will hear the senators raise issues from Affirmative Action, to Civil Rights, to the Judges opinion on the South African Government.
You will hear from a former Attorney General , Griffin Bell, some Georgia State Senators, a State Judge, the President of the American Bar Association, and several College Professors who taught Thomas at Holy Cross University.
This is an excellent opportunity for many of our listeners to hear the U. S. Senate at work debating and discussing issues in a civil manner about the qualifications of a Supreme Court Nominee. Things don't get ugly until our next episode. You will hear some of the giants of the Senate in this episode asking questions and gathering information and it will give you some insights into why Clarence Thomas was picked to be on the Supreme Court in the first place, before the debate of race and sexual harassment over shadowed everything.
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In this episode we see the Senators as they discuss this appointment of Clarence Thomas to Supreme Court.
We begin with a meeting of three of the most powerful Republican Senators on Capitol Hill , John Danforth, Bob Dole, and Strom Thurmond. They will discuss the qualifications of Judge Thomas and the strategy for getting him through the confirmation process.
Then Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell comes out and you will hear the arguments against Thomas that the Democrats are planning to make in the hearings to come. They will question his commitment to Civil Rights, Affirmative Action, and what they feel his position on abortion rights are all going to be. Then they try to sneak in some attacks based on race.
But Senator Strom Thurmond will step up to counteract that attack by inviting several leaders in South Carolina to come to the Judge's defense and show there support for Thomas. It is all here in this episode along with the opening questions that will begin with the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.
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In July of 1991, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announced his retirement as a Supreme Court Justice. That would set off the second ugliest fight to date to fill a Supreme Court seat. Only the fight over the nomination of Robert Bork was tougher and Bork lost.
Clarence Thomas was a conservative justice, he was young at age 43, and had had a distinguished career as the head of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and he served on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, He was a Yale Graduate and he had an undergraduate Degree from Holy Cross. He would also be the second African American to sit on the Supreme Court but he was not a liberal nor a Democrat.
That guaranteed him a fight on issues concerning Civil Rights, Affirmative Action, and Abortion rights. Those fights turned out to be only the first round of the Hearings to confirm him. An accusation had been made in some of the FBI reports that had been checking his background and in typical Washington style, it got leaked.
That led to round 2 and a long debate about the sordid tale of sexual harassment between the Conferee and a former employee he had at the EEOC, Dr. Anita Hill. This is the story of some of the most heated hearings ever held on Capitol Hill.
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In this episode we let you listen to one of the most impressive statemen of the century, Secretary of State James Baker. He was a graduate of Princeton University and after the Soviet Union Coup attempt finally calms down he returned to his Alma Mater to talk about the future he hoped would occur in the Soviet Union.
We will be covering James Baker quite a bit over the next seasons as he takes a central role in managing the end of the Cold War, and running the re-election of his friend George H. W. Bush in 1992.
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In this episode we get the President and Secretary of State's views on the events over the past few days in the Soviet Union.
In the press conference you will see how the management of this historic event in the Soviet Union is indictive of how the fall of Communism was managed by these two wise leaders.
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On the third day the Coup collapses. This is that story. From the moment the three people perish the coup becomes a trainwreck.
At one point they go back to work out a deal with Gorbachev and nothing works. By the end of this day, Yeltsin has emerged as the man who saved the Soviet Union, for the moment anyway, and Gorbachev is on his way back to Moscow, but it is clear to the world that everything has changed.
As the Coup collapsed, the many different Republics declared themselves independent and by the end of the week it appears the Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse itself, which will occur later in 1991.
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In this episode we see the beginning of the end of the Coup as three people are killed by tanks running over them as the Army is moving in Moscow toward the White House, their home of the Russian Parliament. It is a day full of drama as Boris Yeltsin fights back defiantly. He eludes the Coup leaders by 40 minutes at his house and heads down to the parliament building. Then he moves to block the coup.
He calls on a strike by the nations minors, calls the coup leaders directly, and warns them that the world is watching and their would be consequences for their actions, and he talks with the leaders of the free world , John Major of the United Kingdom, and George H. W, Bush. the President of the United States, and he impresses then both. He is singularly the brave figure who stands up against the tyranny of the Committee of Eight.
Boris Yeltsin emerges on this day as the most powerful public figure in Russia.
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On August 19, 1991, George H. W. Bush was woken up just after midnight to be told that Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned suddenly for health reasons as the President of the Soviet Union. That did not sound right to anyone.
What unfolded for the next three days was the entire world watching the unraveling of one of the two Super Powers of the past half century. Gorbachev was placed under house arrest in his Black Sea Dacha, and his vice President and the leaders of the KGB and the Army took over the country.
However, the coup was poorly conceived, poorly managed, and the plotters were often unwilling to to the things necessary to secure control of the country. They also miscalculated how much the reforms that Gorbachev had set forward in the Soviet Union had actually taken hold. The people were resisting the take over and a leader emerged who stood up against it all.
His name was Boris Yeltsin. This is the story of those three days in the next three episodes. It was a historic three days that changed the World.
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In this episode we look back at several important situations developing all at once. The Soviet Union is in trouble. Economically the situation is getting dire as Gorbachev comes to the economic summit to ask for help. As the G-7 includes the Soviets for the very first time.
This is just after a fairly small, and not so celebratory May Day in the Soviet Union. It used to be the event every year where the Soviets displayed their military muscle and its high brass stood up over seeing it all from the balcony. Missiles and troops would march by under portraits of Lenin, and whomever the Communist Party Leader was at the time, be it Khrushchev or Brezhnev. But this time it was sparsely attended under heavy security, and it had none of the trappings of old.
If that was not bad enough for the Communist superpower, its largest Republic, the Russian Federation, was in the midst of holding its very first election for President, in what would be its first completely free election with real choices for leadership. the front runner was not the Kremlin's choice, it was a renegade natural politician who had already bolted the Communist Party and was busy trying to get control of various power sources from the Soviet leadership and put it under Russian control His name was Boris Yeltsin and he was on the verge of being catapulted onto the World Stage.
Finally the START 1 Treaty was being negotiated and it would be a further thawing of the Cold War but one that had the hardline Communists worried that their control was rapidly fading away. The Treaty was defined here by a use of Artificial Intelligence (our first use of that) here:
START I, or the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I, was an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to reduce the number of long-range nuclear weapons. The treaty was signed in Moscow on July 31, 1991 by George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev.
The treaty's main limits included: 1,600 strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, 6,000 accountable warheads, 4,900 ballistic missile warheads, 1,540 warheads on 154 heavy ICBMs, and 1,100 warheads on mobile ICBMs.
The treaty also required the parties to:
- Exchange data on the number and location of their strategic delivery vehicles
- Allow each other to conduct inspections
- Ban the encryption and exchange of telemetric data that tracked ballistic missiles during test launches
- The START I treaty was part of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START), which began in 1982 and lasted for three decades. The START II treaty was agreed upon in 1993, but never came into force.
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Coalition Building in the Gulf War
President Bush introduces former Secretary of State James Baker. Mr. Baker then spoke about diplomatic efforts to build an international coalition to fight Iraq and liberate Kuwait. Following his remarks he answered questions from the audience.
We decided that this event was too important not to feature in its entirety. It was held on October 26, 2001
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In this episode we follow President Bush during the period just after the Gulf War has ended. In this period he makes several speeches thanking the State Department, the soldiers, speaking to the future soldiers at the West Point Graduation and trying to inspire their future service to the nation.
Finally, he addresses the service remembering those who fell during the Gulf War at the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. It is there on our nation's most hallowed ground that this President comes back to honor those we lost on his watch during the Gulf War.
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On March 6, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed a joint session of Congress to report back that the war in the Gulf was over. That Iraq had been repulsed and Kuwait had been restored. It was an impressive moment for a President who had once been called a wimp on the front page of Newsweek.
This military operation had not only been a success it was arguably the United States most successful military endeavor. It was run as near perfectly as a war could be run. President Bush and his team set clear objectives, and backed them up with overwhelming force, and when the mission was complete they left without getting bogged down in a nation building exercise in the Middle East.
It was a clear sign of the lessons learned by a generation of Americans who had mastered their moment, from a Great Depression, to the Cold War, to this final triumph in the Middle East.
However, it would not be their final triumph as the Cold War had a couple of more twists and turns to make before it would end in 1991 as well.
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In this episode we look back at the end of the war and then tune in to a speech by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
General Colin Powell emerged from this war a national hero. He would go on to look seriously at his own run for President in 1996. After you listen in on this speech you understand why he was seen as so formidable a candidate. Powell is a very good public speaker.
Here he talks about the war, the past wars, and the soldiers who have fought them. It is a good speech.
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In this episode we take a look back at General Norman Schwarzkopf the man as remembered by one of his colleagues. Then we tune in to the press conference known in Gulf War lore as "The Mother of all Press Conferences"
In this press Conference Schwarzkopf goes through what had been happening on the ground and offers his own assessment of the Leadership skills of Saddam Hussein. He is , as always, blunt, direct, and to the point. He also shows flashes of his sense of humor as the war begins to wind down with a commanding American victory in the Middle East.
Then we tune in to the ceremony honoring both General Schwarzkopf and his Commanding officer Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell.
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We had planned to do a series of Press Conference shows as we told the story of the Gulf War. These are those shows. They are, as we earlier explained on our Housekeeping episode, out of chronological order.
This Press Cnference is from Janaury 27, 1992 and it was held on the same day as the Super Bowl, In this briefing Gernaral Shwartzkoft will go over the situation in the Gulf. The biggest issue at this time was the dumping of Kuwaiti Oil into the Gulf waters.
You will Schwarzkopf go over the situation as best he understands it from the environmental impact side but he is clear that it won't effect his military ability to make war on Saddam Hussein.
It is vintage General Stormin Norman Schwarzkopf.
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In this special edition of The Richard Nixon Experience, we let you tune back in to that final day at the White House for President Nixon. You will hear excerpts from his resignation speech, his speech to his staff and reminiscences from several different people about those events including President Nixon and President Ford.
All of this leading up to an extraordinary 3 minutes of footage just released by the Richard Nixon foundation that includes President nixon's brief impromptu remarks at the El Torro Marine Base when he arrived back home in California. Until this year that footage had not been released. So, other than the network news casts we had not been able to hear any of the audio from that extraordinary moment when a President, leaving office in disgrace, was greeted like a hero by the people he had led. Not at all the story you have been told.
Then we have invited a guest to speak on this episode. Robert M. Bostock, was an aid to President Nixon in retirement and he has been a great friend to podcast. He recently wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times and in it he asked a question that I hope many of you will ask. What if President Nixon had been allowed to finish his second term?
It is a question worth listening to the answer too and we asked Mr. Bostock to read his op-ed for our show and we will let you listen to it at the end of this broadcast.
I agree with Mr. Bostock, the world would have been a much different and much better place had Richard Nixon completed his term of office.
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In this special edition of our podcast we look back in Memoriam to three people who passed away in August of 2024.
They are our podcasts legal advisor, James Wiles, a retired lawyer who lived here in Myrtle Beach and was active in Republican Party Politics, working on several campaigns for Horry County Council, Myrtle Beach City Council, and Myrtle Beach Mayor, he also helped in a couple of congressional Races and he worked on the Presidential Campaign of Rick Santorum. He later became an advisor to this podcast, starting around our 30th episode and really gave us solid advice as we dealt with the series on Former President Richard Nixon. He was a good friend and will be missed.
When we were running our series on Richard Nixon we often heard the voice of CBS Newsman Phil Jones, he covered the Watergate story and then seven more Presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush before retiring in the early 2000s He passed away in late August at the age of 87.
Finally, we look back at television talk show pioneer, Phil Donahue. He made our show for two very personal stories to us at this podcast. He had Rita Jenrette on his show and it was then , in prime time that our Congressman called in and made national news. It was an episode everyone in Myrtle Beach in that era always remembered.
Then there is a love story like no other. When Phil Donahue met Marlo Thomas on his television show and it was love at first sight and on live television. Everyone watching could see the chemistry on full display. We should all be so lucky. They were married for 44 years and there was just as much chemistry between them in their last appearance on TV as there was in their first. It is one of our hosts favorite stories to retell. So, we let him tell it here on this episode again.
Rest in Peace, James Wiles, Phil Jones, and Phil Donahue
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Due to the death of our legal advisor, James Wiles, here at "The Randal Wallace Presents" Podcast we were caught in a situation on August 1, 2024, that led to some episodes we had produced not being aired in the order they were supposed to be aired on. They are episodes that deal with General Norman Schwarzkopf. We will be airing these two shows next week and a special edition episode later today.
In this brief episode we are just going to explain the situation and how these episodes will work out. We are a small shop here at this broadcast and we apologize for the error. Thank you for baring with us too.
Randal Wallace
Host
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The Ground War begins.
In this episode we will listen in as the press struggles to get a full story as to what is happening on the ground in Kuwait and Iraq.
We will hear President Bush address the nation and that will be followed up by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney holding a press conference at the Pentagon with a simple message that the ground operations have begun and that they will not be telling the press what is happening from this point on .
It is high drama as the end game of the 1991 Gulf War begins.
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In this episode we look at the dominating ability of the Coalition Air Forces led by the United States.
Saddam Hussein finds himself out gunned, out technologized, and on the brink of losing badly. The United States forces are gearing up to begin the Ground War after basically demolishing the Iraqi Air Force.
We will also show you some of the new technology developed for fighting the war and one one old ship that came back for active duty, the historic USS Missouri. Plus, we will listen to an interesting story about the impact of music in Wartime going back to World War 1.
All as we get ready for the Ground War to begin.
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The second in a series of Norman Shwartzkoft press briefings. His briefings were a work of art. He lays out the situation and keeps the public informed. He does it with an amazing sense of humor and focus all at the sametime.
Enjoy listening to the General on the ground running the war in a way we had never been able to hear a commanding in the field General talk before.
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This episode we will examine the battle of Khafgi. It was Saddam Hussein's attempt to make America bleed. He had not been able to engage any American troops at all and therefore had few if any bargaining chips as the War had been mostly an air campaign to this point. His thought was to invade this tiny Saudi Arabian border town and force the Americans into a battle . Killing some and capturing some. It did not work that way.
In Fact, it served as a tactical blunder as it exposed just how weak the Iraqi military actually were on the ground. After the battle of Khafgi, the ground war would be sped up and the entire war brought to an end quickly as the Americans had figured out that the famous Iraqi million man army was mostly ill managed, ill equipped, and ill trained. We were now ready to press on to victory.
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This episode we hear from President George Bush as he reports back to the country the State of the Union as we are poised for a land war in the Middle East.
It is a strong speech from a commanding President who at this point was one of the most popular Presidents' in American History.
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In our second edition on the two speeches from July 24, 2024, we have the address to the nation of President Joe Biden. This is the speech that was a follow up to his letter to the American People announcing his withdrawal from the Presidential race this coming fall.
In this episode we discuss our personal good feelings for the current President even though we are a Republican and not a supporter of the President. We will also look back at the similar withdrawal of Lyndon Johnson in March of 1968.
These two speeches were both of major importance to the world and for those of you who may not have been able to hear them, here is your opportunity. The Gulf War will return in August to continue our look back at the Presidency of George H. W. Bush.
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This is a special edition of our podcast looking at the first of two very important speeches delivered on July 24, 2024. This first one was by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel was attacked on October 7, 2023 by surprise by Hamas. The atrocities committed by Hamas and its terrorist friends against the Israeli people have been horrifying. The Prime M
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Day 2 of the Gulf War starts out with Iraq having been decimated by the Coalition air campaign. The military action began at night and exploited all the Iraqi regimes known military weaknesses. The Iraqi Air Force was basically grounded at night and the Army was unable to counter in any way. It was in the first 24 hours a rather lopsided affair.
However, Saddam Hussein still had a few cards to play and in the middle of the night on day 2 he played one of his strongest ones. He launched bombs with some limited chemical weapons on them into Tel Aviv in an a attempt to draw Israel into the war and to divide up the United Nations coalition. This is that story in our third episode looking back at the first Gulf War.
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In this episode, we will listen in as the news covers the events in real time. CNN has its crew literally on the ground in Bagdad as events unfold and they continue to cover it all live.
We will listen to a full interview with CNN star reporter Peter Arnette in his interview with the Academy of Television as he describes what it was like on the ground in Iraq, and what it felt like to be the last reporter in town.
Then we will listen as CBS News covers the estimated damages of that first night of action as we start the Operation that would eventually free Kuwait.
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In this our 13th Season Premiere, we begin our look back at the Gulf War, Desert Storm, as President Bush leads a united World to push back the dictator, Saddam Hussein, from Kuwait.
This season will be broken apart into little mini-series of historic events in and incredibly consequential year in the history of not only the United States but of the World as well. We will be looking back at the Gulf War, the American and Soviet Summer Summit, the Soviet Coup attempt, the Appointment of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court, and the fall of the Soviet Union. It just seemed like earth shattering events kept coming one right after the other throughout 1991.
We will try to capture them on our 13th season of podcasts, starting with this episode as we capture the start of the air campaign in Kuwait and Iraq. It is here on January 16, 1991, that Operation Desert Storm begins.
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James Mountain Inhofe , was an interesting man. He was Oklahoma's longest serving Senator, a pilot, and a man who served in office on every level of Government. He was Mayor of Tulsa, a Congressman and a Senator. He was a conservative advocate and aman who fought the Climate change movement every step of the way. He even famously once brought a snowball into the Senate Chamber to make his point.
In this episode we will remember that famous moment and look back the years he served as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee too. He was a tireless advocate for veterans and active duty personnel too. He was most famously though, a man who fought for the needs of Oklahoma. We will look back at his career and in our last half hour let you hear from him on his final day in the United States Senate, in his farewell address.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., described Inhofe on Tuesday as a "dear friend and mentor, a titan in Oklahoma, and a highly effective leader in D.C." He was an extraordinary figure in the Senate and in this episode we look back at his career. He died on July 9, 2024 at the age of 89.
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In this episode we look on as two Presidents spar on the subject of how to handle drugs in America.
George H. W. Bush would address the nation to talk about how to fight the scourge of drugs in America. He would lay out his plan for dealing with the issue.
When he is done talking we will hear the Democratic response and it will feature a Senator from the State of Delaware who will address the nation. His name is Joe Biden. He would go on to become the President of the United States decades later in 2020. He is running for re-election this year in 2024. You will hear him in his prime responding to George H. W. Bush.
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In this episode we look back at one of the major moments of the American Civil Rights movement, the Orangeburg Massacre . You will hear about the situation that developed in Orangeburg , South Carolina when the AllStar Bowling Alley refused to allow African American students from SC State and Claflin Universities to go inside and bowl.
It led to the deaths of three students and the wounding of several others.
This episode includes news reports looking back, contemporary reports, and you will listen in on a bus tour of Orangeburg given by an area resident, a tour of the bowling alley itself with its new Director and , finally, a presentation by Civil Rights pioneer, photographer, and Director of the Civil Rights Museum , Cecil B. Williams
This is a very educational episode on a historic event right here in South Carolina
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Welcome to our look at the South Carolina Hall of Fame. Our host Randal Wallace is the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the South Carolina Hall of Fame. It is a title he is very proud to claim.
He recently traveled to the Landmark Conference for the Confederation of Historical Societies in South Carolina held in Orangeburg S.C. at South Carolina State University. In that presentation Wallace talked about the South Carolina Hall of Fame and shared many of the segments from the hall to the folks who came to hear him speak. Wallace recorded the presentation and his speech at the Conference Keynote event.
This episode captures that speech and most of the presentation given at South Carolina State University. We hope it will be a good introduction for you of the South Carolina Hall of Fame and if you are ever in Myrtle Beach please stop by the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to see the exhibits or go to our website at http://www.theofficialschalloffame.com
Enjoy, and join us for a second special edition from our Orangeburg S.C. trip on the Orangeburg Massacre, which will air next week.
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The season finale, the Gulf War is on the eve of beginning. Here we listen in as the world gets ready for War.
You will hear President George H. W. Bush as he agonizes over the start and you will hear the nation of Israel, and Iraq, and Kuwait as they all brace for what is to come.
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As the nation moves closer to war with Iraq, the Congress begins to deliberate whether they will support the Bush Administration's policy.
In this episode we will listen in as the news covers the events going on in the Gulf and in Congress, we will hear from a group of senators after they meet at the White House with President Bush, and finally, we will hear from the two senate Leaders as they speak before a vote in Congress about the authorization to go to war. the leaders are Tom Daschle and Bob Dole.
It is a prelude to the Senate debate that will be covered extensively in our next episode as the nation finds' itself on the eve of War.
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In this episode we will hear for Secretary of State James Baker in an interview with FOX News Anchor Sean Hannity discuss the lead up to the Gulf War start. We will also hear the news coverage of those waning days before the war broke out in the Gulf.
We will revisit the last minute efforts of the Bush Administration to stave off the war with a high stakes and tense day in Geneva between Secretary of State James Baker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz,
After hours of negotiation the effort got nowhere all of which was symbolized by the unopen letter left by Aziz on the table from President Bush to Saddam Hussein in a last minute personal appeal to prevent war.
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In our second episode looking back at the life of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher we will hear from the leaders themselves. We will listen to the raw footage from a BBC interview with Ronald Reagan about Margaret Thatcher and her contribution to World politics.
Then we will hear Margaret Thatcher herself talk about President Reagan in her recorded eulogy for the former President.
Then we will tune in as President George H. W. Bush honors Thatcher after she resigned as Prime Minister giving her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, plus we will hear her remarks from that event.
This is the second episode in our tribute to one of the greatest leaders Great Britain has ever produced and the woman Ronald Reagan considered his full partner in the 1980s as they changed the world together.
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In this episode we look back at the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher. We listen in on stories about the relationship she had with United States President Ronald Reagan, complete with a private call between the two after the Grenada Invasion. They were two conservative icons and in both cases they were leaders who turned their countries around after years of turmoil.
In Margaret Thatcher's case she had inherited a country largely considered the sick man of Europe. By the time she was done Great Britain was an economic power. She was loved and vilified and we dip into that controversy as well. This is the our tribute to one of the most successful leaders in the last half of the 20th century.
This is the first of two tribute episodes.
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Thanksgiving arrives in Saudi Arabia, as President Bush travels there with Mrs Bush, Senate Leaders George Mitchell and Bob Dole, House Speaker Tom Foley, and several other congressional people. They will speak to the troops and spend the holiday with them. As they get closer to the start of the Gulf War.
However this is not the only big news going on in the world. In the United Kingdom, a major political shift is about to take place as the Conservative Party abandons support for its leader Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It would be hard to overstate her impact on the world. This moment was huge.
It was also a bit of a surprise to George H. W. Bush, who will be without a major partner in his efforts to take on Saddam Hussein.
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A Little Bit de Todo is a podcast about a little bit of everything, for curious minds...
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Here is one of the press conferences from the month of November. Here the President will talk of his desire for peace as he has the region prepared for War. It is at this point that the United states can say they are prepared for any actions the Iraqi's may take. As we tune in and listen in on this important moment in November of 1990.
The Press Conference will be held with both President Bush and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.
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In this episode we take you through the tension building period in late October and Early November of 1990. You will listen in to news reports from ABC News and the News from New Zealand as the Middle East moves closer to War. We will also listen to letters from George H. W. Bush to King Hussein, his staff and to common everyday people. In them Bush tries to reassure them all that he wants to resolve the situation peacefully if at all possible.
But if we have to go to war he feels strongly that it will not be another Vietnam.
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This episode is a rare chance to listen in on a speech at the United Nations. The video, and therefore, the audio quality is not the best but the speech is rare and very important to the storyline.
In it the President makes his case to the world of just how important it is to stop the Iraqi aggression now, calling up the lessons of world War 2. Plus he discusses the new direction the World is taking and how we can now leave many of the old fights of the 20th Century behind us. Overall, it was a hopeful speech about the future of our planet. How it worked out I guess is up for debate....
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In this follow up episode on the reunification of Germany we arrive at the White House for German - American Day about three weeks after the reunification had occurred. At this White House Event, the President will celebrate the contributions to America made by the millions of Germans who immigrated or were direct descendants of those who did. It was a moment of happiness for all who witnessed it.
The event featured some small children singing, a speech by both the President and the German Ambassador, and even a raid conducted by the President's dog Millie. It was a nice event and we thought we would let you listen in at this celebration of not only the German influence on our country but at the celebratory mood of everyone at the new united nation of Germany and the obvious joy it has brought the people of that country.
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Here is one of the great stories of the Bush Administration and of World History. After 4 decades of separation the people of Germany would be one country again. Though the Berlin Wall had come crashing down just 11 months before, this was the big moment for the German People, but it did not come without a lot of high level negotiations that involved horse trading, and skilled diplomacy. The other countries of Europe had not forgotten the Germany of two different World Wars and they were also aware that they would be creating an economic powerhouse in the center of Europe, the moment the two countries were reunited.
Margaret Thatcher was opposed, Mikhail Gorbachev was opposed, and Francois Mitterrand was so opposed he famously said "He loved Germany so much that he thought there should be two of them", so who was for it other than Helmut Kohl of West Germany? The answer to that was the President of the United States, George H. W. Bush. It would be his goal, and his Secretary of State's skills that would make it happen. It is an incredible story, and one we hope we captured, with a lot of documentary help, in this episode of our podcast.
It took 11 months from the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it is an incredible tale to tell, but one that has allowed the people of Germany to finally be whole after a half century of being divided, as the price it paid for the days under the Nazi regime.
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In this episode, we look back at the coming together of the Military coalition on the ground and the man who would command it, General Norman Schwarzkopf. It would be a coalition made up of 42 countries, and troops from around the world. They would all come together on the ground in Saudi Arabia to prepare for the possible War to come. We will look at the command structure of the coalition and see just how complicated an endeavor this really was for Bush to put together.
We will listen to a 60 Minutes profile from CBS News of the General who would run the operation on the ground in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. It would be the coming together of the world to fight back the aggression of the Iraqi Dictator showing the World that we had learned our lesson from World War 2.
However, the luck would not run as well on the other side of the Atlantic as George Bush would be pushed past the point of having to shutdown the government in a budget battle here at home. We have already covered the budget situation in an earlier episode but we wanted to give you a sense of the full plate the President had to deal with as war loomed in the Gulf.
We also include floor speeches by two Senators we profiled early in our podcasts history Senator Ernest Hollings and Senator John Warner.
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In this short episode we will listen in on PBS as Governor Bill Clinton comes to the hall at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 a night early. Clinton will say just a few words of thank you for the Democrats nominating him. The interesting part of the segment is that joining in the commentary from PBS is Senator Joe Lieberman, as he discusses his early history with Bill and Hillary Clinton. It is one of the first moments the country tunes in to hear about this couple who would come to dominate the political landscape for the next 30 plus years.
You will also hear from David Gergen, Mark Shields, Jim Lehrer, Robert McNeil, and Senator Lieberman, so I hope you will see this episode is a little bit of not only a tribute to Senator Joe Lieberman but also a peak into our podcasts future episodes too.
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Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, died unexpectedly in April from complication from a fall. He was 82 years old and his loss from the scene will be incalculable. For Joe Lieberman was one of those rare public figures who was not just respected, but beloved, by both sides of the aisle. He was unafraid to take on controversial issues, and he could disagree without being disagreeable and, most importantly, he was committed to bipartisan leadership. He could reach across the aisle, find common ground, and work to find a real, workable, solution.
Like a good chunk of the American public, Lieberman was fed up with the current breakdowns in our political system so he went out and helped form a solution, the "No Labels" organization. The organization actually predates the rise of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. It foresaw our problems in their earliest stages. That vision was in large part due to the contributions of Joe Lieberman.
Lieberman is unique in that position. He was once the Vice Presidential nominee of his own Democratic Party, speaking at their Convention in a prime slot, and then just 8 years later, a keynote speaker at the opposing party's Republican National Convention. To my knowledge, only Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller has ever pulled that feat off (though Miller was not a Vice Presidential nominee) and spoke at both political parties conventions. Lieberman was that committed to standing up for what he thought was right.
He did it during the Clinton Impeachment, standing with President Bush 1 and 2 during their Wars in the Middle East, he stood up for Israel including recently in the current war situation facing the country. the fact was Senator Lieberman was so independent that he was eventually defeated in his own party's Senatorial Primary but he then filed as an independent and won his seat for yet another term. While he caucused with the Democrats, he would serve as one of the chambers two independent Senators.
That was just one of the signs of his independent streak, and the other major one, was his long friendship with Republican Senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham. They were known as the Three Amigos, and they worked tirelessly strengthening our national defense and working to find solutions to issues ranging from Immigration to Judiciary Reform.
In all it was an extraordinary life and career, for the first Jewish American nominated to a national ticket from either party, and Lieberman not only set a shining example of how to lead and be bipartisan in doing it, but he did it all as an observant Jew, who was proud of his Judaism, and followed it strictly, so strictly, in fact, that often the Senate calendar was accommodating to his religious schedule. We hope in this episode we project to you our admiration for a man who set such a good example of what a true leader should be. We did not always agree with him politically, but Joe Lieberman will be missed and missed at a moment when the country needs more leaders like him to set the example for us all.
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In this episode we will listen in on two addresses by President George H. W. Bush. One is to a joint session of the United States Congress as he reports back to the nation the situation in the Persian Gulf. He will also address the growing issues of division at home on the Federal Budget.
We will listen in on the growing size of the military force then building up in the Persian Gulf region as the World prepares itself for war.
It is from this backdrop that an offer from Saddam Hussein comes in to allow President Bush to speak to the Iraqi people. We will end this episode letting you hear that address in its entirety.
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In this episode we watch as the Cold War comes quietly to an end. The United States and the Soviet Union actually work together to handle a crisis that involves a client Soviet state, Iraq.
We will tune in as the situation in the Gulf continues to move close to war. Then we will travel to Helsinki for the meeting of the two leaders of the World's superpowers. You will be able to listen in on their press conference as the two men answer questions about the situation in the Gulf War and it is in that moment that you realize that the 40 years of a Cold War is finally over.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode we hear from Saddam Hussein himself in an exclusive interview by ABC News and Diane Sawyer. In it he denies he has ever murdered his opponents, claims he is not an admirer of Josef Stalin, and tries to justify his actions in Kuwait.
Then we listen in as he rounds up the British citizens who had been working in Kuwait and keeps them in a hotel there under the guise of protecting them. He even goes for a visit and at one point pats a small child on the head, sending a clear message that these people are hostages and he intends to use them as human shields. It is a chilling period in the desert, as the world begins to come together to push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.
We will listen in on the build up, visit with the troops so far from home, and hear from the Israelis about how they are coping with the situation in which Saddam Hussein has discussed making them a target too.
Finally, President George H. W. Bush will address the United States Armed Forces to prepare them for the possible battles to come.
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As we approach the eve of the August 10, 1990, Arab League Summit; I thought this a good time for us to go back, with the help of the PBS Documentary series "Frontline", to the summer of circumstances that led to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. So, we will relive the summer months prior to the invasion as we listen to the "Frontline: The Gulf War" Documentary sum up the issues between Iraq and Kuwait that escalated into the invasion. How Saddam Hussein mislead Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who in turn assured President Bush that an invasion was not imminent.
Then we will listen in on a Documentary on Former Secretary of State James Baker, as he describes going to the Soviet Union and bringing them into the coalition which in a lot of ways marked the true end of the Cold War.
All of this while tensions mount and the world moves closer to war, and the United States starts negotiating with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, to move more than 200,000 United States Military troops to the Persian Gulf to insure that Iraq will not make moves toward any other neighbors in the region.
Then we will go to the coverage of the Arab League Summit where the Arab Nations stand with the United States against the aggression of Saddam Hussein against Kuwait. It is a united Arab League, with just a couple of hold outs.
We want to recognize "The Gulf War by Frontline" a documentary on the war, we used a long segment for this podcast to go through how the war started, and we recognize "James Baker President-Maker Real Stories " Documentary for the use of the long segment from their documentary as well. Links to both documentaries are provided in the chapters. The use of these documentary segments was for educational purposes and we claim no copyright to those materials or the use of any other materials in our broadcasts .
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After we put together our tribute episode in memory of Former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, that had included a short tribute honoring my Step Father, Larry Bulmer, I thought about the World Heritage site I had visited and Larry talked about in the short segment I used in the show.
I figured most people probably know nothing about the Buffalo Jump nor the World Heritage site in Alberta , known as Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump History Center. I figured here is a chance to tell that story and a couple of more I learned while traveling across Canada in 1996 with my Step-father and Mother. It was one of two trips I consider the trips of a lifetime, Western Canada and , our earlier covered, trip to the Florida Keys.
While it is impossible to really recreate a vacation from nearly 30 years ago, I thought I would highlight a couple of things we visited that really stood out. In this episode we will take you to the Canadian Province of Alberta, to visit the Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump History Center, the tiny Mountain mining town of Frank, where one of Canada's most well known disasters took place when a Rockslide consumed the tiny town in 1903, and we will look back at the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, the cross country railroad that really brought unity to the nation. My Step-Father grew up around railroads because his father was a Railroad station manager in several towns along the line and because of that Larry was always "a lover of all things trains".
So, I hope you will enjoy this short trip across Canada, the only other country I have grown to love, and consider as sort of a second home.
If you would like to learn more about the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump History Center its website is https://headsmashedin.ca/
and if you would like to learn more about the disaster at Frank's Slide its website is here
https://frankslide.ca/
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Brian Mulroney was a great friend to American Presidents, and one of the big four leaders who helped bring down Communism in the 1980s. He helped George Bush in the Gulf War and was the leader who pushed for the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He was a man who played an outsized role in his times as the leader of our great northern neighbor.
Brian Mulroney died on February 29, 2024. In his Obituary The New York Times wrote of him:
" Mr. Mulroney was known as the Canadian leader who led the country into the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the United States and Mexico, a pact signed in December 1992, and as the author of an overhaul of Canada’s tax regime.... He prided himself on being a confidant of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; on promoting a thaw between Moscow and Washington in the closing days of the Cold War; and on going much further than either the United States or Britain in imposing sanctions against white-ruled South Africa to press for the release of Nelson Mandela and the dismantling of apartheid."
“I am a centrist, a modern one open to all discussions,” Mr. Mulroney said during the 1984 campaign. Mr. Mulroney proposed a goods-and-services tax, he successfully negotiated the NAFTA accord, and tried but failed to bring about a national unity with Quebec and get them to sign on to the country's constitution. That failure would eventually lead to splits in his own Conservative Party and his resignation and their total wipe out in the election just after he left office.
In this episode we look back at the life and leadership of Brian Mulroney, and listen to perhaps the speeches that are today how most Americans remember him. The great friend of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher , George H. W. Bush, and his Queen, Elizabeth 2. He gave the eulogies to three of them, and spoke on television during the period of mourning for Prime Minister Thatcher, this episode will feature those speeches and one of the interviews, plus we will hear from Canadian leaders, the Canadian news coverage of his passing, and an interview with the man himself on the George Stroumboulopoulos Show.
As we bid farewell to this great friend of the United States. Our host will also pay tribute to his own Step-Father, Charles "Larry " Bulmer, who was a member of the Canadian Air Force for 35 years and then worked with NATO, and we will hear him briefly retell the story of our host's family trip to the Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump National Park in the Alberta Province of Canada. It was a trip our host said was one to remember. If you would like to learn more about the Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage site here is the link https://headsmashedin.ca/
We hope this is a fitting tribute to a legendary man, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
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One of the United States' closest allies is the nation of Canada and during this period it had one of its greatest statesman at the helm of Government, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He stood with Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul 2 as they worked to end the scourge of Communism in the late 1980s and continued on to aid President Bush as Communism fell. He formed great friendships with all of these leaders.
In this episode we hear about some of that, including the former Prime Ministers reminiscence about giving President Bush's eulogy many years after the Gulf War, and then we will watch him step up to the microphone to stand with President Bush as he began the coalition building that was necessary to stop the naked aggression of Saddam Hussein.
This episode will feature that press conference from Kennebunkport, Maine.
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In this episode we sit in on the President's press Conference on August 9, 1990. At this point he has been busy assembling the World LEaders that he will need to begin the process of forcing Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.
This press conference is an interesting look at how the President deals with the press and it shows President Bush at his best.
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It is the day after the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi Army under the orders of it's dictator Saddam Hussein. We will listen in to the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw as they recount the events of the 24 hours after the initial invasion for the public. We will hear from the Kuwaiti citizens as they recount the events as they unfolded. In chilling detail, they tell the tale of living in a peaceful tranquil Kuwait, in the period of time that many were just coming off their vacations, to wake up with jets and tanks running through their streets.
We then will head off to Colorado with President Bush on an already planned meeting that will include British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who will advise Bush that military action may be required if Saddam Hussein does not leave Kuwait.
And he has no intention of leaving.
It is here in this episode that we set the stage for the battles and the War to come.
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In this Special Edition of our show we are adding a third installment to the special series we ran in January looking back at the life and career of Senator Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Republican Leader in the history of the Senate. In our special series in January we profiled the leader and his historic role over the past 40 years in the Senate. We even labeled him as the Senator of the Century. It would be hard to find an argument against the statement. He totally changed the direction of the Federal Judiciary especially the Supreme Court.
We added this episode due to the announcement that he would be stepping down in November after the 2024 election as the Senate Republican Leader. This announcement caught us here off-guard and we look at it with some level of actual fear. As far as we are concerned Senator Mitch McConnell has led not only with integrity, he has often been the only adult in Washington D.C. on either side of the aisle. In an era of midget sized leadership from literally almost every position in Government he has been a giant and often he has alone been the one voice of reason at the helm and without him there it is almost scary where things may actually go for our republic.
In this episode, we will look at last week’s announcement and this episode will feature the full Senate floor speech by Mitch McConnell.
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In this episode, we will examine one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation passed since the 1960s. It was the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it insured for all Americans the basic right to equal access to all of American Life. It is hard to believe that there was actually a day when people with disabilities were forced to stay home, hidden from the rest of society. They were often discriminated against in employment opportunities, in restaurants, and other public places, and they had to figure out how to make do in a world designed to leave them behind.
That all changed with the stroke of George H. W. Bush's pen. He pushed for the law and worked to see it passed even though one of his strongest allies, the American business community was staunchly against it due to the costs it would have to bare. Strangely, George Bush would have allies in this fight, allies from unlikely sources, and places.
He had the help of Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, whose own brother was deaf, and he would have the help of an old nemesis he had had to battle to find himself in the Presidency at all. His old 1988 primary opponent, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Dole, a veteran of World War 2, had been gravely injured in Italy toward the end of the war. He had lost a kidney, was paralyzed from the neck down for nearly a year, spent 36 months in an Army hospital, and lost the use of his right arm, and some of the feeling in his left hand as a result of his war wounds.
Bob Dole had a daily reminder of the sacrifice he and others had made for their country in war. He also knew what it was like to go from being an able bodied person to an American with a Disability, and he wanted to even the playing field for all of them. Dole wanted to give them the opportunity for a better life and it was through this effort that Bush and Dole would work together for a cause so much larger than themselves. A cause that has helped millions of disabled Americans forge for themselves the full blessings of American Life. It is quite a story, and we try to tell it from the start to the sunny , hot day in July of 1990 when George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law on the White House Lawn with Senators Tom Harkin and Bob Dole by his side. It was an amazing day.
But just as the sun set on this amazing accomplishment in domestic civil rights, a war would explode onto the scene on the other side of the world that would demand the President's attention, and set the example on how to handle conflicts every President and leader could learn from. Iraq would invade Kuwait.
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In this episode we close out our podcast coverage of the 2024 South Carolina Presidential Primary. We will listen in to the concession speech of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and the victory address from former President Donald Trump. We will also hear remarks from South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and our two Senators Tim Scott, and Lindsey Graham.
It is that always fun moment when we get to hear from the candidates themselves for that brief moment when they get to savor victory or put a spin on defeat before going to the next states, as Willie Nelson sang they will be "On the Road Again"
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Feedspot released yesterday, February 26, 2024, our ranking at number 1 of the 70 Best American History Podcasts of 2024.
https://podcasts.feedspot.com/american_history_podcasts/ Here is the List
We are enormously proud to have been listed in that position and we thought we would have a little fun on our victory lap in this episode, but most importantly, we are enormously grateful to all of you who have tuned in for the past nearly four years and 12 Seasons. It has been an honor, and a pleasure to tell these stories and have some fun with you too.
Thank you again!!!
Randal Wallace
Host: "Randal Wallace Presents" and "The Richard Nixon Experience" Podcasts originally titled "Bridging the Political Gap"
We want to recognize TOSCDOV, and his video "Trump Can't Win" from YOUTUBE for some of the clips used in our reel, also the WWE and "Ric Flair" for a segment in the clip reel.
Again, I am honored that you have tuned in and lifted us into the top spot in American History Podcasts.
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In our final show to air before the South Carolina Presidential Primary election, our Host Randal Wallace , will discuss what he believes is the root cause of much of the division our country faces today. It is the criminalization of politics and the weaponization of Justice in America. It is the legacy of the worst and least qualified Attorney General to ever hold the position, Robert F. Kennedy, and it has morphed into a tragic way of administering Justice in this country that has left a legacy politically of extreme bitterness that may, with a combination of a number of other factors, be driving the collective meltdown our nation seems to be facing.
This episode will cover the history of how the Justice Department began the targeting of individuals with the goal to find a crime instead of chasing crime where it occurs, and how that weaponization has mostly been aimed at Republican Officials when it has been used in the political sphere. But, understand this method is not JUST being used in the political sphere, nor at JUST the Federal level, it is being used across the board to incarcerate people who run afoul of overzealous prosecutors and people with political agendas all across the nation. It is also, I believe, being used in an attempt to prevent former President Donald Trump from getting re-elected President of the United States.
However, as horrible as what is happening to Mr. Trump has obviously become, it is ripe with possibilities that now this evil that has beset our country, divided us into tribes, and created such anger and bitterness can be changed. For the first time, the collective strategic takedown of a political figure has so far not worked, as it did in the cases of Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Ted Stevens, and countless other lesser known figures, and if Donald Trump is re-elected after the $500 million dollar onslaught of unequal justice he has been subjected too, there is a real possibility that he may very well take the actions to end, what Maurice Stans, a victim of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office rightfully titled, the "Terrors of Justice" . For that reason, among many, we here wholeheartedly endorse Donald Trump for President just the day before the South Carolina Presidential Primary.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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In this episode , we will let you listen in on the Colorado Ballot Access case against President Donald Trump. This case rests on accusing Former President Donald Trump of being an insurrectionist, a charge of which has not been made in ANY of the 91 indictments so far being charged in the court cases in New York, Georgia, or in Federal Court in Miami, Florida.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our "Nixon and Watergate" Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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"Read My Lips , No New Taxes!!" , the most famous words George H. W. Bush ever uttered. He said it at the 1988 Republican National Convention as he struggled to unite his party for the coming race for President against a surging Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts. Dukakis was a whopping 20 points ahead of George Bush the sitting Vice President. While Ronald Reagan had grown to have a good relationship with his Vice President, those around Reagan and the conservative wing of the Republican Party he represented did not trust George Bush. He had to bring them into the fold if he had any hope of catching and defeating Michael Dukakis. So Bush made a promise, a promise he would have to break for the betterment of the country.
He would live to hear those words again.
This is the story of the 1990 Budget Deal that led to George Bush reneging on his promise to not raise taxes. It would lay the groundwork for much of the division among the various factions within the Republican Party that still lingers to this day. Robert Cahaly, of the Trafalgar Group National Polling Firm, says much of what you see today in the modern political landscape is found in the coming 1992 election divisions that would eventually cost George H. W. Bush his Presidency. As he points out the Ross Perot voters of then are Republicans now, and 20% of the Republicans then are Democrats now.
The decision to go back on that pledge had a profound effect on the Republican Party. It led to the "America First" anti establishment campaign of Pat Buchanan, and in the remnants of that campaign are the seeds of the rise of another political figure nearly three decades later, President Donald Trump. That is a story we will tell in our next season of shows but for now here is where it all started.
In this episode we go back to the very start of it all, the 1990 Budget Deal that may very well have laid the groundwork for the boom of the 1990s, but it did so at the expense of the unifying principles of the old Republican Party, and in that split, lay the seeds of the populist party of Donald Trump we see today.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode , we will let you listen in on the Colorado Ballot Access case against President Donald Trump. This case rests on accusing Former President Donald Trump of being an insurrectionist, a charge of which has not been made in ANY of the 91 indictments so far being charged in the court cases in New York, Georgia, or in Federal Court in Miami, Florida.
We thought in this final week before the February 24, 2024 South Carolina Primary our listeners may want to hear the oral arguments that were presented in front of the United States Supreme Court in the same manner we presented the Nixon vs the United States oral arguments during our "Nixon and Watergate" Series, (Now re-airing on our sister podcast The Richard Nixon Experience)
This is a two part episode and presents the oral arguments in their entirety.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Join us in this episode for the Donald Trump for President Rally. As the old saying goes poor planning on my part does not constitute an emergency on their part. I did not get there in time to get in because 20,000 plus may have been in attendance.
You will get to hear our host as he tries to get in before giving up and heading home only to be stuck in traffic on Hwy 501 all while President Donald Trump takes the stage to electrify the crowd.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode we see the South Carolina Primary starting to heat up, which is what this primary is historically well known for doing. We will feature two Donald Trump for President events , one in Columbia centered on Nikki Haley's record on illegal immigration as compared to that of President Donald Trump , and another in Horry County at the Conway Courthouse that centers on Governor Haley's friendly relationship with China.
It is an all star cast of speakers from Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Treasurer Curtis Loftus, to Representatives Stuart Jones and Bill Taylor, then when we get to Horry County, we will hear from Representatives Case Brittain, and Val Guest and then Congresswoman Nancy Mace and the State's biggest rising political star Congressman Russell Fry, as they talk Chinese Spy Balloons and Nikki Haley's supposed status as the Chinese's favorite Governor.
This episode begins the hard hitting nature for which the South Carolina Primary has become famous and this cycle is just getting started.
Then we switch gears, and sides, to cover the South Carolina Democratic Presidential Primary which this year became the first in the election cycle on the Democratic side. It was pretty much a non event, given that after Robert Kennedy Jr decided to run as an independent that turned it into essentially a one man show on their side of the fence. Joe Biden carried 97% of the vote in a state that has always looked out for him. The big question for his campaign, however, was the extraordinarily low turn out, only 200,000 voters statewide. Is that an ominous sign for the race to come? Who knows for sure, but we do know this for sure we are now officially underway in the race for the White House.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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It is the season 12 premier episode and with such a long gap since our last Bush episode we thought we would start by looking at the life of George Bush , from his love of Golf and his family connection to the game, to his military time in World War 2, and his time as Vice President, up to the moment in our timeline when Bush enters his second year in the Presidency.
It is in 1990, when President Bush meets with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to sign the Arms Reduction Agreement at a Summit in Washington D.C. The relationship had come a long way and it was clear the Cold War was thawing out and the relationship between the struggling Soviet Union and the United States was in fact getting much warmer.
In this episode, we look back at the thawing of tensions in the Cold War and listen in on the historic press conference with George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, as an era of peace begins to be taking shape. However, things would soon take a very different turn.
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Though many in the political world think this race is all but over, it still is not over. I can tell you from my many years of working in South Carolina politics that Former Governor Nikki Haley is no paper tiger and underestimating her is something you will do at your own political peril, just ask any number of leading political figures who did that in the 2000s, when she rose out of political nowhere, to end up the Governor of South Carolina. I remember "Nikki Who?"
So, here we are with Nikki Haley and Donald Trump the last two political figures standing in the 2024 Republican Presidential Primaries. Haley has a ginormous mountain to climb but I do think in fairness to her, we should let her fight the battle she wants to fight, in the end, Former President Donald Trump will end up all the stronger for it if he emerges, as it appears he almost certainly will, victorious. That is why in this show I have called on the Republican State Party leadership to make the local parties maintain at least some level of fairness for our former Governor and the second place running candidate until this primary is actually over. Nikki Haley has a perfect right to continue her campaign until she is ready to withdraw and she should be allowed to participate in party events, meetings, and gatherings until such time as she ends her campaign or she is defeated.
With that said, here is her rally in Conway, South Carolina, at Coast Carolina University . When you listen to this rally you will fully understand why I stated earlier that she is no paper tiger. This is a masterful performance and while I doubt she can make a serious run at the nomination in 2024, I would say she is clearly on the radar screen for 2028 and beyond.
This rally begins with introductory remarks from another political figure in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune. Most of her remarks are included here as well. I do wish to thank the television stations for covering this event because I was not actually able to be there in person but I have hoped to cover this primary with total fairness and at least some level of equal time to the candidates.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Charles Osgood Wood III , was the given name of a television icon, we all knew simply as Charles Osgood. He was the host of the CBS News "Sunday Morning" broadcast for 22 years but long before that he was the voice for the Osgood File on CBS Radio. It was that voice that made him instantly recognizable to almost everyone in America. He stood out in the media landscape for his understatement and his genuine kind nature. He was a poet, a musician, and an extraordinary storyteller. He seemed to have always been around. It was that understatement that made you feel like you were listening to a kindly relative who had always been there and that perhaps you did not really appreciate like you should have until you realized he was not there any longer.
I think we have all missed Charles Osgood since the day he retired in 2017. I know I have missed him. In a world that seems to be half crazy all the time, I enjoyed his simple uplifting stories and his amazingly insightful poetry early on each Sunday morning. His famous two minute commentaries, "The Osgood Files", were always insightful and thought provoking and his poems were exactly perfect for the moment you had tuned in for on those Sunday Mornings.
So , in this episode, we look back on his amazing life and career, with tributes from his friends and his journalistic colleagues, we here wisdom from him in his interviews and speeches, and we found a good cross section of his many commentaries known as "The Osgood File" , we hope it is a fitting tribute to the CBS Newsman known as the networks poet in residence, and we will even listen in for a song or too.
Charles Osgood was 91, and we can honestly say of this icon of television news, "We were glad to know you" and as we bid farewell we will simply say Godspeed, Mr. Osgood, We will see you on the radio, until we meet again.
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Welcome to the 2024 South Carolina Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina.
In this episode , we have included some of the news coverage of the induction ceremony both before the event with an interview with SC Hall of Fame Chairman Randal Wallace (also the host of this podcast) and the coverage after the ceremony occured from the evening newscast on WBTW - TV 13, which is the local CBS affiliate. The episode includes the entire 2024 Induction Ceremony with acceptance addresses from Judge Alan Clemmons, SC Historical Society President Faye Jensen (with brief remarks from Mrs. Mancke) , and Joe Frazier Jr.
The 2024 South Carolina Hall of Fame Inductees were Francis Salvador, Rudy Mancke and Joe Frazier and they are all briefly profiled in this episode, they are also more thoroughly profiled in the previous episode of our podcast. This episode also includes remarks from Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune and Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Karen Riordan.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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This is a housekeeping show to let everyone know when the George Bush series will be returning to the podcast. It will also fill you in on what we have been doing and what else we have in store over the next few weeks.
We hope you are enjoying the various new things and subjects we have been trying to cover. Please let us know what you think.
Randal
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In one of the true honors of our host Randal Wallace's career has been his appointment as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the South Carolina Hall of Fame. 2024 marks the first time Mr. Wallace would preside over the induction ceremony of honorees inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. He decided that we would make a podcast covering the event.
In this two part episode we look on at the 2024 Induction Ceremony honoring Francis Salvador, Rudy Manke and Joe Frazier. We begin by looking at the honorees and their lives.
Francis Salvador was an American Revolutionary figure who was also the first Jewish person elected to public office in America, and the first Jewish person to die fighting for independence in America.
Rudy Mancke, the host of SC ETV's Nature Scenes television show that became a national broadcast introducing young people all over the country to the natural world around us, a show featuring a host who so clearly loved his job and the natural world he was exposing his audience too. Nature Scenes ran for 23 years.
Smokin Joe Frazier was the undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion who was the first man to defeat Mohammad Ali at Madison Square Garden in the first of a three fight series that are easily the most famous boxing matches in the entire history of the sport. To say that Joe Frazier was a giant in the sport of boxing is an understatement of huge proportions. He shared the ring with some of the greatest athletes of the era and one of them, George Foreman, is quoted as saying that Joe Frazier was the one opponent he feared.
We also are proud to share with you on this podcast a Question and Answer segment with the son of honoree Joe Frazier, Joe Frazier Jr. It is an inspirational talk with the young people of Myrtle Beach S.C, and it is a segment they won't ever forget and you won't either.
We also spend a couple of minutes learning about the history of the Hall of Fame with one of its founding Board members and former long time Chairman , Former Myrtle Beach Mayor Robert Hirsch.
We hope you enjoy this first of two episodes on the South Carolina Hall of Fame and its newest honorees.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In our final episode in this special series we will listen in as Mayor Hirsch talks about his wife of many years, Ethel Hirsch. Her many contributions to his successful life, and career, and the raising of 10 children. The real keys to happy life are right here to be learned in this special story.
We will also listen , in its entirety, to the speech that inspired this special series in the first place. When Mayor Bob Hirsch addressed the ceremony at the Grand opening of the Myrtle Beach World War 2 Memorial. It was an extraordinary address that captured all the high points, emotions, and the sense of adventure that came from the generation that fought this horrific War.
We then switch gears to hear some advice for the future leaders who are now taking their seats at the table of government and for the next generation of young people who are just starting out in life too.
It is an episode of sound advice from our local example of all the great lessons of leadership we should be learning from the example set by the Greatest Generation.
It has been an honor to produce these seven episodes.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode, in our special series, looking at the career of former Mayor Robert Hirsch, we look back at his arrival in Myrtle Beach and his single term as Mayor. It was a term of extraordinary accomplishment, much of which may not be as well known by the public in general today. Myrtle Beach today is the fastest growing region in America, a far cry from where it was in the early 1970s.
When Mayor Hirsch was elected in 1973 , the City of Myrtle Beach was operated under an entirely different form of government than it is today. In that time the Mayor ran the city and each council member ran a separate department of the city government. That system was the first thing Mayor Hirsch worked to change, leading a movement that changed the form of government to the type of city government structure we have today, a Council-Manager form of Government. Where a professional Manager runs the day to day operations of the city and the Mayor and Council are a policy setting body. When that referendum was held in the early 1970's the citizens of Myrtle Beach voted for it overwhelmingly.
Mayor Hirsch also led the way to adopting the zoning and building code document that has served as the foundation for the way the city operates to this day. He worked with Senator Strom Thurmond and Congressman John Jenrette to get joint runway use for commercial flights to begin coming to the City of Myrtle Beach, opening up an entirely new way to bring tourists into our community. It is hard to imagine the city of Myrtle Beach even functioning without those three major initiatives, that Mayor Bob Hirsch spearheaded, not being in place. They are so integral to how the city functions that they are often today taken for granted as a given.
When Mayor Hirsch left office he was immediately recruited by the new Republican Governor in the State, James Edwards, to head up the Energy Department for South Carolina and later to join his staff. His work in that realm actually contributed greatly to Jim Edwards being selected to go to Washington D.C. to lead the Energy Department under President Ronald Reagan. For a brief time there were even calls for Bob Hirsch to run for Governor of South Carolina. However, Bob Hirsch decided to come home to Myrtle Beach where he would serve another term as a city councilmember here a decade after leaving Columbia.
Bob Hirsch would also through out the next half century serve as the Chairman, and as a Board Member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, and under his leadership it became one of the highest honors available for any citizen to achieve in our state, to be inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
In this episode we will listen in as Mayor Hirsch recalls the moments in those years that made all of that possible.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In our third episode of the Grand Strand Politics segment, we witness what we thought was going to be the first of many rallies in the Myrtle Beach area as we got closer to a barnburner of a fight in the South Carolina Presidential Preference Primary on the Republican side this year. Instead, it appears the race was over within 48 hours of that rally.
In this episode we shall see the power play that shutdown the primary election cycle turning it from a contested battle between four candidates, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson. To a two person race, in name only, between Former President Donald Trump and former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. In just one day, you see us go from a super charged Ron Desantis rally in Myrtle Beach, we covered for you live, to Senator Tim Scott's endorsement of Trump, and then a rally that very night in New Hampshire that literally made you wonder if the entire State Leadership of South Carolina had come to New Hampshire and left South Carolina with only a lonely Maytag Repairman watching over the State.
It was a who's who of South Carolina's political figures, Governor Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, SC House Speaker Meryl Smith, Congressmen Joe Wilson and William Timmons, State Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, and our state's newest and biggest political rockstar, Congressman Russell Fry, all on stage, to endorse and support, former President Donald Trump.
What happened next, for all intents and purposes, ended the Republican Presidential Primary, with Governor Ron DeSantis dropping out and Asa Hutchinson being swamped on election night and only Nikki Haley refusing to leave the race. It appears to me the 2024 Presidential Primary on the Republican side is over before it ever really got started, though we may still see an attempt at a challenge from Nikki Haley who is currently a whopping 60 points down in her own home state.
You can listen to it all unfold in this episode of Grand Strand Politics as we set the stage for the coming South Carolina Presidential Primary, that may, or may not, end up even contested in the end.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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In this special Edition within our special series I thought it was important to introduce you to three of the names you have heard or will hear in our series. As a person in my 50s who has worked in or around politics my entire life these names are familiar to me. That may not be the case for so many of our listeners who are either younger or not from South Carolina.
Strom Thurmond, the former Senator from South Carolina, was as dominate a political figure in my home state for decades as any name you will ever know. He literally served in political office for 72 years and up to the age of 100. Governor Jim Edwards, the first Republican Governor in South Carolina since Reconstruction, was also a well known figure for many years. Both men have also been out of public office for more than 20 years or longer. I thought it would be important to introduce you to both men so that our younger listeners can grasp how important they were in their time.
I also have learned in the three years and 12 seasons we have been producing these documentary podcasts that you end up with great materials that don't actually fit into your narrative. In the case of General George Patton we had that issue. Mayor Hirsch met Patton while he was fighting in the war but he headed home before the General died in a car accident near Christmas of 1945.
We found an extraordinary documentary short on Patton's life from the time of his death and it was narrated by Ronald Reagan. We wanted to share that short audio with our audience but could not find a place where it would fit. So we thought we would share it here. The same for another interesting story told by Mayor Hirsch that involved the star of our current long series , President George H. W. Bush. We thought that would be a great story to share here in this episode as well.
We hope you will enjoy this episode of what we like to call our "DVD Extras"
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As the War came to its end it brought about the confirmation that up to that point had been known but not confirmed. That the horrific genocide of a people had gone on throughout Europe. The Deathcamps that were discovered , one by one , by the Allied troops as they moved closer to Germany, from all directions, had practiced such organized, horrific, cruelty, that even these most hardened of war veterans could barely talk about it over 80 years later. Which we will hear when we ask about it. The short answer given by Mr. Hirsch is as powerful a moment as we will hear in these interviews.
We will also hear the radio broadcasts marking the deaths of Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, and finally the surrender of Germany itself. We will then hear the stories of how pilot Bob Hirsch flew the displaced persons to the new places that they were to go to be housed in, having lost everything, from their homes, and businesses, to their entire families.
Then, just as Bob Hirsch is sent to Paris, France, to pick up his plane to be flown around the World to the Pacific Theater. His orders are suddenly changed, and he and his fellow troops are left to wonder, why?
Then we will focus in on the Potsdam Conference, the bluff to the Japanese Government, and the decision to drop an atomic bomb on Japan, that will finally bring this horrifically, bloody war, to its end.
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Operation Market Garden was an enormous effort led by General Montgomery that included 41,268 troops from Allied countries. It was designed to capture several bridges so that the Army could cross over into Germany and , with any luck, end the war by Christmas of 1944. The overall effort failed because the German forces fought hard to defend the bridges and they had help from the weather.
This operation was where Bob Hirsch was extremely active throughout and his stories will hold you spellbound as you hear about his return with a plane with 85 bullet holes, or death of a jumpmaster killed by bullets that hit him as soon as the jump door opened, or the need to slowdown to allow two paratroopers with parachute problems to jump, to late for their targets, but still over enemy territory.
This is a fascinating look at Operation Market Garden that was the inspiration for the movie " A Bridge to Far". Then we will follow our troops as they head into the Battle of the Bulge and on to the final days of the War.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Operation Overlord, known to the world as D-Day, was the beginning of the end for the Nazi Regime of Adolf Hitler. It was the start of the Allied march across the European Continent. Bob Hirsch had not yet arrived in England in time to take part in the invasion. However, a decade ago he sat down with Rod Gragg of Coastal Carolina University and participated in several interviews about his experiences as a pilot that carried paratroopers over enemy lines. Those interviews were a part of two videos we are using in this series : "Military Memoirs" and "A Salute to American Veterans : Death Drop and the 82nd Airborne in the D-Day Battle of Normandy"
The latter video, "Death Drop" , is an extraordinary look at the air campaign that was such a major part of the success of D-Day. In this episode we have attempted to take our former Mayor's extraordinary insights of the air and paratrooper campaign and combine it with a fascinating look at D-Day Veterans and their account of those events from a documentary titled "D-Day, Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944 Volume One" by Voices of History and documentarian Larry Cappetto.
{ Documentary Filmmaker Larry Cappetto
Voices of History YouTube Channel
Voices of History Radio Station, (KVOH)}
These veterans were on the ground or in the boats who came ashore on the beach's of France. We also found several radio broadcasts recorded live in the middle of the night on June 6, as the folks on the Homefront were trying to find out for sure if the invasion had actually begun.
I hope to give you a feel for how everyone felt, and what they dealt with as this historic day unfolded, be it from the air, ground, or back home, worrying about the boys so far from home.
This episode also sets the stage for the situations to come for our former Mayor, Bob Hirsch, as he arrived on the seen to take part in the final crusade to liberate the enslaved people of Europe.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Welcome to a very special edition of shows over the next couple of weeks. Over the next seven episodes we will be looking back at the extraordinary life of the former Mayor of my hometown, of Myrtle Beach S.C. His name was Robert J. "Bob" Hirsch and he recently celebrated his 100th birthday. In another milestone, for our community, City Councilman Phil Render, himself the son of a World War 2 Veteran, achieved the passage of a Myrtle Beach World War 2 Memorial that is located near the entrance way to the Market Common area of Myrtle Beach in Warbird Park. Market Commons is located in the footprint of the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
Mayor Bob Hirsch was the Keynote speaker at the event when the World War 2 Memorial was opened to the public. It was there, while I was recording the event, for an earlier episode of our podcast that it hit me that Mayor Hirsch would be the perfect first guest for an interview on his life and career. This podcast was originally a show dedicated to reviewing the Leadership Lessons we could learn from a generation of Americans, born in the height of the Great Depression, who were forced to go to World War, and then came home to build the American Century that has afforded all of us a quality of life only dreamed about in most of the rest of the World, and by earlier generations of Americans too.
While this show has centered on the Cold War Presidents, and other well known political figures, we have in Mayor Hirsch the living embodiment of all of those lessons living right here in our town. I am sure that communities all over America and the World have similar figures, often unsung heroes, who exemplify these same leadership traits. I thought as a I sat there listening to the Mayor's speech what a gift we could be given to examine his life as an example all of us could learn from and follow.
In this first episode, we shall re-live the start of World War 2, and listen in as he describes how he, and all those like him, had to step up to take on the Nazi nemesis and that of Imperial Japan. We will also look back on the dawn of June 6, 1944 and the invasion that spelled the beginning of the end of World War 2. While Mayor Hirsch arrived just days after the invasion he will shed amazing light on the incredible stories of that day, and the rest of the march across Europe to the end of the bloodiest war in history.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode we have a brief introduction by our Host Randal Wallace on Mayor Robert J. Hirsch and the circumstances that led to this special series on his life and career. Bob Hirsch was the Mayor of Myrtle Beach S.C. from 1973 to 1977, and then later served as a Myrtle Beach City Councilman from 1990 to 1994. He would also serve as a member of South Carolina Governor James Edward's staff running the Energy programs for the State and he has been a driving force as the Chairman, Chairman Emeritus, and a Board Member for nearly 50 years of the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
Mayor Hirsch recently celebrated his 100th Birthday on August 30, 2023. He was honored at a Myrtle Beach City Council Meeting by our current Mayor, Brenda Bethune, and the current City Council at that time. Mayor Hirsch also spoke as the Keynote Speaker at the Unveiling ceremony of the Myrtle Beach World War 2 Memorial, at Warbird Park, at the Market Commons entryway on what was once the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. It was while recording that event for this podcast that we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the life of this amazing man, who served as our city's Mayor.
In many ways, our Host Randal Wallace, has a special kinship with Mayor Hirsch, because Wallace is now the Chairman of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, and also once served on the Myrtle Beach City Council, following in the footsteps of the former Mayor. Our podcast, from its beginning, has focused on the leadership lessons that we can learn from the generation of Americans who fought the Second World War, and then came home to build the American Century. There is no better example of those leadership qualities, of integrity, service, boldness, humbleness, and patriotism than the example we have right here in our hometown of Myrtle Beach, in the person of our former Mayor, Robert J. Hirsch.
We hope you will join us for our 6 - part Documentary Podcast, with one special edition episode too, that will chronicle the life and service of Robert J. Hirsch, from the start of World War 2 at Pearl Harbor, to his time flying paratroopers and supplies over enemy territory, from France, to Holland, to Belgium , and over the Rhine River, to his long and happy marriage and happy family life raising 10 children, to his days as our Mayor, and as a staff member for our Governor, and onto the celebrations of his long life here in Myrtle Beach today.
This is an honor for our podcast to present this story to you, and we hope you will tune in over the next few days.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this new introduction to our podcast documentary series “Nixon and Watergate” we take you through the many exculpatory examples of events that are exposed over the next three seasons that the public was unaware of a half century ago.
All of which points to one extraordinary fact, that Richard Nixon did not deserve to be forced out of the office he had earned. That there truly was a sinister force at work to remove one of the greatest political figures of the century from public office.
We hope this episode will intrigue you enough to join us through out 2024 as we take you through the wild ride that was the real story of “Nixon and Watergate”
** This episode is running simultaneously on “Randal Wallace Presents” and “Richard Nixon Experience “ podcasts as the latter prepares to rebroadcast our documentary series
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On January 9, 2024, the City of Myrtle Beach held a swearing in ceremony in Council Chambers to welcome two new members of the Myrtle Beach City Council, Debbie Conner, and Bill McClure, and say farewell to two members John Krajc and Phil Render. This was the end of the election cycle our podcast chronicled in October-November of last year. An election cycle that found our host in the race as a candidate. He did not win.
In this episode we also saw Councilman Michael Chestnut become the longest serving city council member in city history as he was elected to his 7th term. At such a historic occasion, along with the retirement of Phil Render, our third longest serving council member, we thought it would be fun to look back at two men who were also among the longest serving in our city's history, former Mayor Bob Grissom and former Councilman Wilson Cain. Both men have since passed away but their memories still loom large in the history of our great city, and we thought it would be fun in this episode to look back at them both, as we see on this day Dr Phil Render and Michael Chestnut set new records for longevity of public service.
We also invite you to tune in to our podcast and its special series that will start next week as we honor our city's senior statesman and former Mayor Robert J. Hirsch.
Please tune in on this historic day in Myrtle Beach.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this second episode looking back at the career of Senator Mitch McConnell we will listen in to two of his most important Senate Addresses. The speech he gave prior to the vote that rejected Robert Bork as a Supreme Court nominee and the speech he gave that helped save the current Filibuster rules when the Democrats attempted to change them.
One at the very start of his Senate career and one here in recent times. We will also listen to biographical story aired on CBS Sunday Morning, that will give you look at the more human side of a man who has dominated the federal Government for the past two decades and counting.
I hope this special series will give you a much deeper appreciation for a leader who has done more for the conservative cause than any other. A man few have shown their appreciation of in these volatile times we face today. In my opinion, Senator Mitch McConnell has often shown himself to be "The last adult in Washington" during an era when the rest of the leadership of the country could be labeled a collective national embarrassment.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Welcome to this first Grand Strand Politics Segment episode. In this episode, we try and set the stage for the coming South Carolina Presidential Preference Primaries coming to our State. We do so by covering several different political events from both parties that have occured over the past month in order to set the stage for February 2024.
First, was the Republican "First in the South" Action conference held at the Myrtle Beach Hilton Hotel. It featured a number of grassroots workshops and talks with big political stars in various fields. We included parts of addresses by Robert Cahaly, the head of the Trafalgar Group, the only polling company in America that called the 2016 election correctly for President Donald Trump, & we will also hear from Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, plus our own 7th District Congressman Russell Fry.
Then we will listen in on local news coverage from the visits to the Palmetto State of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. You will get some insights from these events as to what both sides of the political aisle think will be the important issues and messages for the campaign to come.
Finally, we will take you to a local meeting of the Horry County Republican Party where surrogates spoke for candidates Nikki Haley and Ron Desantis. By the time this episode is done you will have at least heard something from everyone of the major contenders for the 2024 race for the White House as we gear up for the South Carolina Primaries. A Primary, that in both parties, has often proven the firewall from disaster for whomever the frontrunner was and, in the case of both parties, it is safe to say it is here, in South Carolina, that this primary picks Presidents. So a lot will be at stake when February begins.
It is at this final meeting we will also hear from the 7th Congressional District of South Carolina's popular Congressman Russell Fry, as he fires up this group of Republican activists for the work and the fun to come as we kick off the 2024 Presidential Campaign in style in Horry County S.C.
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this two part Special Edition Series, we are going to look back at arguably the most effective public servant in Washington D.C. today. He is the senior Senator from the State of Kentucky, the current Republican Leader, and the man who rested away the Federal Court System from Democratic total control, making it a far less effective way for the Democratic Party to use it as a weapon to block conservative policy. His name is Mitch McConnell, and a good case can be made that he is the Senator of the Century as we approach the end of the first 25 years of the 21 Century.
Mitch McConnell has wielded the power of his position, as both the Senate Majority and Minority Leader, to dominate the domestic agenda of all of the Presidents who have shared the stage with him, with the possible exception of George W. Bush, the others , Barak OBama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, have all found in McConnell a formidable adversary, or a most important ally, in getting anything they hoped to accomplish done. While President Trump has received the lionshare of the credit for the powershift in the Federal Judicial Branch, it would never have happened without the long , steady, hard work, that Mitch McConnell began back in 1987 to one day create the scenario that accomplished that goal. McConnell had promised to one day right the wrongs done Supreme Court Nominee Robert Bork and he achieved it on the day Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett filled her seat on the court.
That is not the only battle Mitch McConnell has won over his 40 years in public life. As we will see he has been one of the most effective Senators in American History. There is literally no area in which his mastery of the Senate rules has not left a full stamp on American life over the past two decades. When it comes to the Senate rules and traditions, messing with them in a way to get around his formidable presence has resulted in disaster for one Democratic Leader after another. As he famously admonished Democratic Leader Harry Reid when he imposed the "Nuclear Option" changing how Judges were confirmed, " You will regret this decision, and it may be sooner than you think" , it was.
In this episode we will look back at this amazing career, and show you, as well, the more human side of this champion of conservative governance. We will also hear for ourselves his long involvement in helping secure Civil Rights for minorities in America, a fact he rarely is given the credit he deserves for having played.
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This week, as we start our 12th Season of podcasting, we will feature a special two part look at the longest serving Senate Republican Leader in history, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
He can rightfully be given credit for the conservative control of the United States Supreme Court we now see and our series will look back at his heroic efforts dating back to the shameful actions of the Democrats in the Senate who worked to destroy Supreme Court Nominee Robert Bork. How that awful moment led to his determination to take back the weapon that had become the Justice system for the other party.
We will also look at the other aspects of his career including his long commitment to civil rights, Join us this week for this series on the Republican Senate Leader.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Coming in 2024, the second part in our three part series looking back on the Presidency of George H. W. Bush.
In this series "The Sweep of History" we will look back at some of the most historic moments of the 20th century, as Communism breathes its last and one of the two Super Powers, the Soviet Union, comes crashing down. Though it all happened without a war and without the United States having to fire a shot.
In this series we will also look back at the Gulf War, the textbook example of how to fight a war in the modern era, the Clarence Thomas Hearings, and the Soviet Coup attempt that helped bring about the total collapse of Communism throughout the World.
It was a dramatic year and a half.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN THIS PAST YEAR OF 2023 TOO!!
In this episode, we look back at several people we have featured through the years who passed away during 2023. They included Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Congressman John Jenrette, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. Sadly, Congressman Jenrette passed away just as we were completing our series on him and his eventful and often colorful career. We also lost two of my favorite entertainers this year, Jimmy Buffett and Tony Bennett, both of whom we tried to work into our show intro. Tony Bennett was also a World War 2 Veteran who served in Europe.
As we look forward to 2024, we will be introducing some new features to our podcast, our new "Grand Strand Politics" segment which will cover the coming South Carolina Presidential Primary for both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Plus we will begin our new monthly interview segments with various figures involved in South Carolina and National politics. We hope these new features will add a level of excitement to our podcast over the next 12 months.
We are, in this episode, also previewing our sister podcast "The Richard Nixon Experience" which will be rebroadcasting our earlier series "Nixon and Watergate" all this year as we head up to the 50th Anniversary of the resignation of President Richard Nixon. We have a lot planned on our other podcast for the commemoration and invite you to tune in over there and head over to our website www.RandalWallace.com to look at our episodes, our books, and our "2024 Richard Nixon Vindication Tour" T-Shirts. We hope you will join our efforts to expose the wrongs done our 37th President, Richard Nixon, in this 50th anniversary year of the resignation, and as we go through again the dubious ways it came about happening.
We also have three more seasons of Historical Podcast Documentaries planned and in this episode we will be previewing them as well. We will look back at the consequential Presidency of George H. W. Bush as he has more foreign and domestic policy decisions to make in a monumental moment of historic change around the world. In "George H. W. Bush 1990 - 1991 The Sweep of History" and "George H. W. Bush 1992 The Changing of the Guard"
Then we come to the end of the World War 2 Generations four decades at the center of American Power, as we look back at the last public figure of the era, in "Bob Dole 1993 - 1996 The Last Man Standing", as Dole attempts to hold off the government overreach that has become the hallmark of the Federal Government of the past 30 years. It would be the last stand of the reasonable type Leadership we had seen from the Greatest Generation that had created the American Century and it will leave us all with the question as to whether we have been worthy of the legacy they left us.
Overall, I think we have an exciting and interesting 2024 planned here at the "Randal Wallace Presents" and "Richard Nixon Experience " Podcasts. We hope you will tune in, and we thank you for the years of loyal listening as we enter our 4th year and 12th thru 15th seasons on the air.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Dear Friends,
Thank you for tuning in to our podcast during 2023. It was a year that saw us delve into our most personal of podcasts to date, as we looked back at our friend former Congressman, John Jenrette, and his role on the national stage during the middle - late 1970s. We also examined the Presidencies of the two Presidents that came to office after the overthrow of Richard Nixon, as they were forced to try and keep the country stable in the most tumultuous of times, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
We then began our look at George H. W. Bush, his political rise alongside a giant, Ronald Reagan, and his eventful first year as President. It is the first of three seasons, two of which are on tap for 2024, looking back at the Bush Presidency, as he presided over the fall of Communism, a war in the Persian Gulf, and finally the changing of the political guard in America as the World War 2 generation leaves the Presidency upon the election of Bill Clinton.
We saw our show hit 12,000 new downloads, and get some of those downloads in an amazing 94 different countries around the Globe. We are honored beyond words and want to say a simple thank you to all of you that have tuned in throughout this, our third year on the air. We have quite a few things planned this coming year for 2024. We have two more seasons in our look back at George H. W. Bush, we plan to cover the South Carolina Presidential Primaries, we have a series of interviews we plan to share with you, including an extraordinary special series focused on our community of Myrtle Beach's own local World War 2 figure and former Mayor, Bob Hirsch, where you will get to see an example of the leadership lessons lived out in our own community that this generation of leaders set for us all.
I think it is a year you will enjoy and, like me, possibly learn a lot you did not know too. It is also another year that will be very personal for me as we look back at the two campaigns I cut my teeth on in politics, in 1992, and in our final series: Bob Dole 1993 - 1996 The Last Man Standing , that will look back at those years after Bush left office when Bob Dole was the last of his generation, and the only Republican left, to make leadership's last stand before the current generation of leaders took over from there and brought their dismal record of divisiveness with them.
We hope you will enjoy it, and we thank you for tuning in this past year,
Sincerely,
Randal Wallace
Host
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In this special edition, we look back at the remarkable life of the longest serving female Senator in American History, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. A Democrat that I almost never agreed with on anything except forestry management and protecting endangered fish. She was a champion of gun control, was an entrenched fighter of the pro-abortion agenda and spent her career working on environmental and liberal social agenda items.
So what in the world could we possibly be thinking doing a tribute to her career in these weeks following her passing away at age 90. Diane Feinstein was a liberal Senator, but she was also a very warm, respectful, good natured happy warrior. Feinstein often went out of her way to find common ground in order to work with her Republican Colleagues. One of her closest friends n the Senate was Senator Lamar Alexander , a Tennessee Republican. Ironically, as her health dramatically declined , after her husband died and she reached the age of 89, it was most often her Republican Colleagues from Lindsey Graham, to Ted Cruz, to John Kennedy, to even Mitch McConnell who more often than not were the people who defended her against vicious attacks from the liberal wing of her own Democratic Party.
For it was Dianne Feinstein, at the end of the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court Hearings, who reached out to Senator Lindsey Graham to say we as Americans can be proud of the way we worked together through differences during the hearing. She wanted to do more work like that for the good of our country even though she was also opposed to the appointment of Barrett to the Court. She was repaid with some of the most disrespectful treatment I have ever witnessed a senior elected official receive from the members of her own party. It was in a word, disgusting to listen too.
Our show, wants to remember Dianne Feinstein here for the giant she was in the history of the country, and show our gratitude to the last major figure in America to try and "bridge the political gap" that is currently driving our nation full speed into a wall. We feel like we need more representatives in government, and everywhere else in society for that matter, who behave like Senator Feinstein and for that we honor her long and illustrious career with this special edition of our podcast.
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In the season finale of our 11th Season, we have the equivalent of the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of DALLAS mixed with all the excitement of the end of a Roger Moore "James Bond" movie.
In the second part of our look at "A Bloody Christmas" we look back at the suddenly swift, and deadly fall of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. He had been the absolute ruler of the nation of Romania for nearly 25 years. In that time, he had been the Communist Ruler with at least some good relations with the West because he had often been at odds with his fellow Communist in the Soviet Union. He had even condemned the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Inside his country he had ruled with an iron hand, and a well armed secret police force and as Ted Koppel would say he had created an atmosphere where it was as insane as having an insane asylum run by the inmates. Romania under Ceausescu was every bit as bleek and foreboding a place as the Dracula mythology had portrayed it to the world. Then suddenly, after a bloody confrontation in the town of Timisoara, while the dictator was mid sentence in one of his long speeches on the balcony of the Palace of the Parliament, the people rose up, Ceausescu panicked and fled, and the country plunged into absolute chaos in what would be the only bloody revolution amongst all the Communist collapses in Eastern Europe.
This episode, using an extraordinary ABC News Special Report by Ted Koppel titled "The Death of a Dictator" and mixed with contemporary news reports, and interviews with historians, we will tell this most incredible, almost to strange not to be fiction tale of the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu , from the panicked speech , to the frantic helicopter escape, to the car chase with two stolen cars, and finally the three hour trial and immediate execution. This is an incredibly wild ride through the history of the bloodiest revolution during the communist collapse that changed the World.
A link to the video "The Death of a Dictator " by Ted Koppel of ABC News is available in the chapters section
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This is the start of our two part Season 11 conclusion, A BLOODY CHRISTMAS. Two major events occured at the sametime over the Christmas holidays in 1989, the invasion of Panama, and the Romanian Revolution. Both were bloody affairs and both were plotlines no novelist would have ever made up.
In this episode we look back at the invasion of Panama and its dictator Manuel Noriega, described by one Cabinet Official as "The Mouse that Roared" . He actually declared war on the United States that December as though the Panamanian Army was a match for one of the two Superpowers on Earth. The situation got worse from there and after a military officer was killed and another was wounded and his wife attacked, George Bush had had enough.
In this episode, we will take a look at Noriega's life and regime, and then lead you through the events that led to his ouster and the invasion. Noriega himself proved hard to find for several days until turning up at the Vatican's Consul office where he held up for a few weeks before finally surrendering in January 1990.
He was then taken back to the United States where he was tried on drug smuggling and money laundering charges, the first former head of state, tried for criminal acts outside of his own country. It was an interesting end for "The Mouse that Roared"
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In this episode we look back at the moment it was clear the Cold War was essentially over. The story actually begins in 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev is elevated to power after a succession of elderly, Communist leaders, all of whom went back to the early days of the Soviet Union.
Leonid Brezhnev had been a hard line, old school, Communist leader, that had been in power throughout the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and early Reagan Years. He had presided over the Soviet Union's military rise as a Super Power but also had seen the nation's economy become weak. He, however, was not, and when he took power as part of a team in the 1960's he had consolidated his position and was clearly the man in charge in the Kremlin for most of his 18 years as General Secretary.
Brezhnev died in November 1982 and would be succeeded by Yuri Andropov , the former head of the KGB, for just over 15 months, before dying at age 69. Andropov would then be succeeded by Constantine Chernenko who would serve for even less time passing away just 13 months after being named General Secretary. It was then that the protege of Andropov would emerge, and at age 53,it was clear Mikhail Gorbachev was not going to die anytime soon.
On the other side of the ball, was Ronald Reagan, a career anticommunist often ridiculed for his unwillingness to work with his Soviet Counterparts. An unfair charge given that all of them had died about once a year since Reagan had been elected. When Reagan and Gorbachev finally met they had an instant chemistry and thus forged a warm relationship that helped turn the corner on what had been an icy , untrusting , mutual existence between the United States and the Soviet Union since the end of the Second World War.
What Reagan and his CIA Advisor William Casey had figured out was that the Soviet Union, while militarily strong, was a dying nation inside its borders and they pushed them to the bargaining table. In Gorbachev, they finally found a Soviet Leader, who was more concerned about the future of his people than the future of it's revolutionary global desires. We will look back in this episode at the relationships that both Reagan and Bush had with Gorbachev, and the circumstances that led to this meeting in Malta on the heels of the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Gorbachev was trying to negotiate a way to save his struggling nation.
This episode was produced over one year ago, and is dedicated in memory to CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante, who died at that time we were producing this episode, and who also produced for CBS News one of the historic reports we used for this podcast.
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The Fall of the Berlin Wall was the most significant moment recorded in an era when it became obvious that the winds of freedom were about to sweep through Eastern Europe and around the World. It came without warning at the end of a rather boring press conference when the Communications Director for East Germany read a final statement ending the press conference that if East German residents wanted to leave they could and if they wanted come back they would be allowed with a VISA, but all applications would be accepted.
Suddenly, the very symbol of oppression throughout the world, The Berlin Wall, that seperated the East Germans from the West Germans basically meant nothing. The East Germans came through the gates like a tsunami over a broken sea wall. It was a flood of people and a flood of emotions for the German people who had been separated by that wall for 28 years.
For so many people alive today, who did not live through the Cold War, the significance of the moment, may be hard to explain. Since the end of World War 2, the world had been divided between the free people's of the World and the people trapped in a Communist system that stifled innovation, and controlled every aspect of the people's lives. The results were nowhere more evident than simply looking on one side of this wall and comparing it to the other. On the West side of the wall was a thriving , bustling West Berlin , full of opportunity, prosperity, and the freedom to live life as you chose, on the East side was a drab, decaying, city in economic despair and where the people were trapped inside the borders of their own country.
My step father, Larry Bulmer, was in the Canadian military and his memory of the era was that of the horrified East Germans driving the ragged , old, limited Soviet made automobiles in terror as they tried to navigate the German autobahn, being passed by the modern West German cars doing over 100 MPH. It was a dramatic change, and welcome one for the world, and it marked the beginning of the end of the Communist rule over Eastern Europe.
All of this momentous change occurred under the cautious, watchful, magnanimous leadership of George. H. W. Bush, the single best manager of government we have seen in our lifetime and to paraphrase the famous Carly Simon song, "Nobody could have managed it better"
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Deng Xiaoping was the People's Republic of China's Paramount Leader for over a decade. A decade, in which the nation rose from a backwards, isolated, command economy, Communist Nation, to the front doorsteps of becoming an unquestioned World Power. It is hard to find an argument against Deng Xiaoping's status as one of the most important figures in the history of the 20th century.
While all of that is true it is also true that most Americans probably know almost nothing about him and the remarkable life that landed him in the position to lead the World's most populous nation almost singlehandedly for over a decade. He had been politically shunned more than once during the years of Mao Zedong. His own son was tossed from a building and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of it. He was even forced at one point to wear a dunce cap, and shipped off to the Chinese hinterlands.
However, once Deng Xiaoping assumed power, in his 70's, he moved quickly to change the nation into an industrial an economic power. While other leaders like Chairman Mao are more famous none are as important to the nation we now see as our chief rival as the most powerful nation on Earth. The fact that China is now the number two economy in the world, moving quickly to fill the power vacuum around the world created by the end of the Cold War, can be directly attributed to the leadership of this one man.
This episode will introduce you to him. We will hear from many of the American diplomats who dealt directly with Deng Xiaoping while he was in power, and we will listen in on the news coverage available when he passed away in 1997. Ironically, Deng Xiaoping was often overshadowed by others. So often, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai have been lauded for their roles in Revolutionary China, the outreach they did to President Nixon and the United States, and the dominance they held in China for so many years, all of which often overshadowed Deng Xiaoping's role in the eyes of the World, and even in his own country. It is my opinion, and the opinion of many historians, that eventually his mark on World history will probably be far more consequential than any of the rest of the leadership China has had to this very day.
Here in this episode we put the spotlight on Deng Xiaoping, and his axiom " To get Rich is Glorious"
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President George Bush had been the first envoy to China during the Ford Administration. A job he had loved. He was a friend to the People's Republic of China, and he actually picked the nation to be the first place he went on an official trip as President.
Which put him, and his administration, in an awful spot when Deng Xiaoping ordered the military to crush a student demonstration that had gone on for several weeks in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. It would take the deft management of this skilled diplomat to weather the storm of outrage in our country as this tragedy unfolded on the other side of the world.
This is that story, of how President Bush went about defending the human rights of the students victimized in the square, while also keeping a very idealistic American Public from seeking a severe response against the nation that had become a major trading partner and ally of the United States, and while also keeping our relationship with China from a collapse at a pivotal moment at the end of the Cold War.
It is the first major moment in what would become a long list of major moments in the foreign policy of the United States as the Cold War came crashing to an end. George Bush seemed to know as it all unfolded, that in the long term, it would be China that would one day be the Communist World's nearly sole survivor.
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In this episode we take a look back at one of the biggest environmental disasters of all time. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit the Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989 and dumped 10.8 million gallons of oil into the water. Prince William Sound was so remote that it could only be gotten too by boat or air, and that made getting to it in order to clean the spill up nearly impossible for Exxon and the Government. The result was that the oil drifted everywhere, eventually covering 1300 miles of the coast affecting dramatically a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals , and various bird, and other wildlife.
President Bush was forced to act as fast as possible to reverse the damage before it laid waste many of the natural resources Alaska needed to survive. All of this tragedy was blamed on Captain Joseph Hazelwood who was accused of being drunk at the time of the accident. That proved to be untrue, and Hazelwood won a criminal case in 1990 ending that widely believed mythology. He was , in fact , not even on the bridge at the time of the accident. He had not been drinking while on the job and the accusations stemmed from a DUI arrest he had received some 6 months earlier while off from work.
Years later , Exxon was found to have been negligent in how it operated its supertankers. Three factors would eventually be listed as the cause. They were : (from Wikipedia)
- Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the master (ship's captain) and provide a rested and sufficient crew for Exxon Valdez. The NTSB found this practice was widespread throughout the industry, prompting a safety recommendation to Exxon and to the industry.[13]
- The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue or excessive workload.[13]
- Exxon Shipping Company failed to properly maintain the Raytheon Collision Avoidance System (RAYCAS) radar, which, if functional, would have indicated to the third mate an impending collision with the Bligh Reef by detecting the radar reflector placed on the next rock inland from Bligh Reef for the purpose of keeping ships on course. This cause was brought forward by Greg Palast and is not presented in the official accident report.[14]
It would be the Bush Administration that would supervise the clean up of the Sound, and implemented the reforms that helped make the oil industry far safer after the spill. This is that story, and the story of the nearly two decades of struggle for the Alaskans who had to try and pick up the pieces after the spill was over and the attention of the world had moved on.
This show also discusses our host , Randal Wallace's own involvement in the debate over offshore drilling in the Carolinas, where he supported drilling for Natural Gas in an era before electric cars had so transformed the energy market in America.
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In this episode we look as President George H. W. Bush looks head on into one of the most expensive financial disasters the nation had seen up to that point. The Savings and Loan industry had long since operated without the same constraints as normal banking operated under and it led to a meltdown for investors and those who had deposited money in them in 1989 just after President Bush tool office.
He could have let it collapse and done nothing, which actually would have been a popular position but instead he stepped up to the plate and bailed out the industry. He did so by reaching across the aisle and getting the opposition party to come on board with his proposals to save the day. It was a tough call with plenty of political risk but in the end Bush was determined to do the right thing and protect those depositors who had unwittingly placed their life savings in these Savings and Loans.
It would not be the last time that Bush would step up to make tough , politically damaging decisions but decisions that proved to be beneficial for the country in the long run.
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This episode takes a look at the team President George H. W. Bush put together in order to run his Administration. They were an impressive group that helped guide the country through the many historical events that this administration faced during its four years in office.
From the Savings and Loan debacle, to the Exxon Valdez disaster, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Panamanian invasion, the fall of the Romanian Government, the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this episode we will hear from several of the key players on the team assembled by George Bush and hear them talk about the man they worked for and the way he dealt with the consequential decisions he made in all of these situations he faced.
Then in the subsequent episodes we listen in as Bush deals with each of these events that occurred in 1989 as we finish up our 11th season. It is a fascinating portrait these figures paint of a man who was humble, strategic, and cool under fire, who had built personal relationships around the world that he was able to call on as he dealt with issues everywhere and for the most part navigated it all successfully.
Most of these interviews were collected when President Bush passed away after November 30, 2018,
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This episode opens on the joyous occasion of President Bush's Inaugural event and his walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. You will hear from George W. Bush, then a Texas Oilman who had little to do with politics other than working for his Father, and NBC News personality Willard Scott from the parade route. It was the happy culmination of years of hard work and following a winding road that had finally led George Bush to the White House on his own
Then we will move on to the speech given at Texas A&M University that would lay out the strategy that Bush would follow as the world changed all around them. For on this eve of the start of his term, the world was still dominated by two Superpowers, one who stood for Freedom and capitalism, and another that believed in no freedom and and a command economy, which was failing all around the world.
Here you will see the first steps toward the end of the Cold War.
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Henry Kissinger, a giant of American History, and arguably the nations greatest diplomat died on November 29, 2023 at the age of 100.
In this episode we look back at his extraordinary 100 years as he worked with Richard Nixon to bring peace to millions of people around the world and keep our nation safe here at home.
His passing comes at an unusual moment as our rebroadcast of the Nixon Podcast Documentary is, in December, coming to the section that brings to a close the end of the Vietnam War. The bulk of the coming episodes is a window into this extraordinary partnership between one of the four greatest Presidents in American History and one of its greatest diplomats, as they bring to a close a war that ripped apart the American people as few things have over its nearly 250 year history.
We invite you to tune in, in December, to a month that will be dedicated to the memory of Henry Kissinger as it shows you in real time the true story of how the Vietnam War ended. So please join us at "The Richard Nixon Experience" (a link is provided in the chapter lists) or go through our back catalogue here at "Randal Wallace Presents" for a chance to deep dive into the most comprehensive examination of the Nixon tapes available online, other than at Luke Nichter's www.Nixontapes.org website. You can also visit www.RandalWallace.com to hear our show and read all about these podcasts.
We want to thank CNN News and FOX News whose reports and two interviews we used to tell this story, as quickly as we could.
Henry Kissinger was 100 years old.
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In this episode we hear from George H. W. Bush as he addresses the nation in his Inaugural Address in 1989.
It would begin a single term in office that would see the face of the entire world change dramatically from its start to its finish. The final triumph for a generation of American Leaders who rightfully could be called the Greatest Generation.
We will also see one of America's Greatest leaders leave center stage as Ronald Reagan flies away to California after laying the foundation for the triumphs to come.
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In this final episode in our 8 episode look at the 2023 Myrtle Beach City Council Race we bring you to the end of the run off election and the fate of the final seat available on the Myrtle Beach City Council.
In the final race Bill McClure was elected and we have all the coverage here for you plus a little house keeping about some of the coming episodes and special editions on tap for December and into 2024.
Thanks for tuning in and if you want to learn more about the Dickens Christmas show here is the website for Myra Starnes legendary event held each November here in Myrtle Beach.
WWW.DICKENSCHRISTMASSHOW.COM and if you want to learn more about our host and the things he is busy doing, plus listen to our back catalogue of episodes of our podcasts please venture over to WWW.RANDALWALLACE.COM too.
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In this episode we do a deep dive on one of the most famous speeches ever given by an American President. It was when Ronald Reagan went to the Berlin Wall, just as Mickael Gorbachev had loosened up restrictions on the Soviet and Communist world, and demanded that Gorbachev prove he was serious about change and tear down the wall that divided the people of East and West Germany.
We found a lecture from the Ashbrook Center with Reagan Speech writer Peter Robinson where he tells the story of how the speech came to be, and how the famous line "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall!!" was placed in the speech and the efforts of the State Department and several of Reagan's closest advisors to remove it even though Reagan himself was determined to leave it in the speech.
Then you can listen to President Ronald Reagan as he addresses Berlin in one of histories most consequential addresses in its entirety. A speech that laid the foundation for the story to come and the fall of communism around the world.
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In this episode we tune in to the race between Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and Vice President George H. W. Bush. as they debate each other in a debate that saw Dukakis answer one of the hardest hitting questions ever asked in my memory of any candidate. His answer came off like a robot and with that the slide began that would lead to Bush's victory.
We will join an August, 24, 1988 campaign rally in California that will feature George Bush's other ace in the hole, the then current President, Ronald Reagan. You will see a vintage Reagan as he delivers a speech in the effort to elect his Vice President to carry on the work he had begun over 8 great years as President.
Finally you can relive the election of George H. W. Bush as we drop in on the coverage on election night 1988 when George Bush closes in on victory after climbing over a 17 point deficit with the voters and eventually defeats Michael Dukakis to become the nation's 41st President.
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In this episode we get an overview of the 1988 Presidential election field of candidates. On the republican side the race has 8 candidates but it really is a battle between two: George H. W. Bush and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole. There is also a new rising force that would play a major role in the campaign primaries and continue to do so to this day. It is the role of Evangelical Christians. their leader , televangelist Pat Robertson, would turn the Iowa Caucus on its head with a far stronger showing than anyone had predicted and hand Bob Dole the win and the lead finishing second and knocking Bush to third.
George H.W. Bush would have to claw his way back into the race in New Hampshire and he would do it with some of the most skillful use of television ever produced. It would be a fight that would lead to an angry eruption from his vanquished foe on primary night.
On the Democratic side, we see a little known Massachusetts Governor emerge after helping the early demise of a Senator who had widely been seen to that point as a rising political star for nearly two decades. Senator Joe Biden had been elected at the age of 29, and had risen in the Senate to Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Michael Dukakis would see to it that it was a short lived campaign for Joe Biden, the first of possibly five Presidential forays the Senator has made on the Presidential level over the past four decades.
We will also tune in on the campaign of Jesse Jackson, that really did shatter the race barrier for national elections, that would open the door twenty years later to the election of Barack Obama as President.
It was 1988, a historic campaign year, that showed an entire generation of political consultants the rules to the game, of what to do, and what not to do, in order to win. They have been perfecting it ever since.
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On November 9, 2023, The City of Myrtle Beach opened its new World War 2 Memorial on the grounds of Warbird Park, just past the front entrance going into the Market Commons area of Myrtle Beach. This was, for nearly a half century, the front gate of the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base until it closed in 1993. In the years since the city of Myrtle Beach has tried to preserve its history as a military town.
This Memorial was the brain child of Myrtle Beach City Councilman Dr. Phil Render, whose father was a World War 2 Veteran, who aided at the landing at Bougainville in the Pacific. This Memorial was very special to us at this podcast as we have been trying to educate people on the great leadership lessons that the Greatest Generation showed us in the half century they ran the American Government. In this episode, we actually use materials from the various episodes we have done covering the military events of the era. We use footage from interviews with Senators Dan Inouye, Strom Thurmond, and Bob Dole, we also feature George H.W. Bush and survivors from the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Much of this audio materials is mixed in with the recent event in Myrtle Beach.
At that event the city was able to gather together 11 World War 2 Veterans for an amazing moment to share with the last living links to this incredible era. The Former Mayor of Myrtle Beach Robert Hirsch spoke at the event and we have his speech in its entirety on this broadcast. Mayor Hirsch, who served as Mayor from 1973 to 1977, was also a World War 2 Veteran and American fighter pilot, who served in Europe and met General Patton among many of the giants of the era. He tells that story and many more in his speech at this event. Mayor Hirsch just recently celebrated his 100th birthday. This episode is a real treat, and an honor to have been able to put together , as we honor the Greatest Generation both on our show and with a beautiful Memorial in Myrtle Beach.
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In our final full episode on the 2023 Myrtle Beach City Council Election special series we take you along on election day with a candidate in the race (who is also the host of our show) In it you will hear him talking to people, checking the poll numbers, (which as a candidate he is allowed to do) and talking with people as he goes from precinct to precinct on Election Day.
We also take a look at the changing dynamics of our city, Myrtle Beach, as this election moves from an old school type political structure, with lifelong, or 30 year residents serving on council to the first run off in the city's history that will feature two candidates who have lived in the city for less than a decade. It is the dawn of a new era and we try and take you along for the ride.
Our host Randal Wallace, was a candidate in this race, and as he will discuss his long shot bid, with only the materials from his attic, his own two feet, and his desire to continue serve the people he had represented for nearly two decades, he managed to come within 250 votes of winning a spot in the election runoff against candidates endorsed by the heir to the Budweiser Distribution fortune, who is the current Mayor of Myrtle Beach, who not only publicly selected and endorsed her candidates, she helped raise and spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars in their efforts. For Wallace it was a campaign against all odds , that even featured one final sneak attack by dark money special interests determined to stop the Cinderella campaign of Randal Wallace at the twilight hour, as he fought to return the city to responsible fiscal management, and to listening to the people again.
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Dear Friends,
As you may know I am a candidate tomorrow for the Myrtle Beach City Council. I am asking for and hoping you will vote for me in that election if you live in Myrtle Beach. I have recorded this special message for you and with it my hope to return to the city council and continue to work on your behalf to insure our city remains the great, family, working class beach it has been for over 80 years.
We are a wonderful place that is why we are now the fastest growing, number one destination in America. We have a wonderful hometown and we need to protect it for the future.
Please consider voting for me tomorrow, November 7th, if you live here in Myrtle Beach and if you know someone here please ask them to consider voting tomorrow for me too,
Thanks Again,
Randal Wallace
Host of "The Randal Wallace Presents " Podcast
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This episode is the recording of the only event in which all 8 candidates appeared together. It was held at the Portside at the Grand dunes meeting room and it features five minutes for each candidate to talk about their positions and issues and it features a question and answer portion with all the candidates.
It is a very informative event and I hope you enjoy this look at all the candidates. Thank you to the Grand Dunes HOA for putting on this event and providing food and drinks at the event.
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This episode allows you to listen in on the only debate of the campaign with the candidates answering questions and interacting on stage. There were some fireworks between a couple of candidates. One candidate , Stuart Behar, was not able to attend due to a medical procedure but he would attend the event in our next episode.
The participants in the debate, hosted by the NAACP and Micky James, were : Kenya Hennigan, Mike Chestnut, Debbie Conner, John Krajc, Bill McClure, Myra Starnes, and Randal Wallace.
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In this episode we listen as Randal Wallace discusses some of the plans that were cut short in 2017 when he was not re-elected. How he had hoped they would be continued but were not after he departed and how he thinks they are still things that could help with issues the city continues to wrestle with here in 2023.
Then we can listen in on the speech he gave to the Horry County Republican Women’s Club at Magnolia’s Restaurant in Myrtle Beach. It is an address that lays out his ideas for how to cope with several issues of importance to the people of Myrtle Beach.
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Our first episode of the podcast on the Myrtle Beach City Council campaign of 2023 features our Host Randal Wallace's speech to the Forrest Dunes Home Owners Association and that is followed by his appearance on " Morning Coffee with Reese Boyd" a local Radio show that airs each Saturday Morning. The Radio show is also available as a podcast on Apple I-tunes.
You can learn more about the Randal Wallace for Myrtle Beach City Council Campaign at www.RandalforCouncil.com
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Welcome to our special podcast series all week looking back at the the past two months of events leading up to the Myrtle Beach City Council Election.
In this episode we will briefly introduce you to the eight city council candidates that have stepped up to the plate to make a difference here in our little corner of the World.
They are :
Kenya Hennigan
Stuart Behar
Mike Chestnut (Incumbent)
Debbie Conner
John Krajc (Incumbent)
Bill McClure
Myra Starnes
and our host Randal Wallace (no we are not joking)
We will also pay tribute to our long time friend and retiring city councilman Dr. Phil Render, and we will feature an interview with council candidate Randal Wallace from the WRNN Radio Station morning show with Dave Priest.
We have four more shows planned and ready to go , two centered on our host Randal Wallace's campaign for the open council seat and two more episodes that will feature all of the candidates in two debates, one hosted by the NAACP and another hosted by the Portside Facility at the Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach. While this show makes no pretense of not being an infomercial for the Randal Wallace for City Council Campaign, we do and will attempt to allow you to hear from every candidate just as though you were there at the event as it happened.
We will also offer time so that any candidate will be able to rebut any attempt at the last minute by any outside group to smear any particular candidate, by going up with a special show that any such candidate who finds themself in that situation wants to participate in.
The election will be held on November 7th, with a possible run off election occurring two weeks later on November 21, 2023.
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In this episode we look back at the relationship between President Richard Nixon and California Governor and future President Ronald Reagan. As you will see it is obvious that Richard Nixon is actually working to open the doors of opportunity to his fellow Californian as he brings jobs to the state and arrainges for Reagan to spend time with dignitaries from around the world too,
Reagan in turn offers up his own ideas and suggestions on how to handle some of the world situations confronting President Nixon, from appointments to the Supreme Court, to who he thinks would be a good Attorney General, to a rather ugly call in the wake of the United Nations voting to expel Taiwan as it excepted into its membership the People's Republic of China.
Finally, we will listen in as an embattled President, who has just fired his most trusted advisors in April of 1973, receives a phone call from Ronald Reagan, who offers up his support as only a friend would attempt to do. It is an intimate look into the relationship between arguably two of the five greatest American Presidents in all of American History.
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In this final look back at the phone calls of Richard Nixon with Alexander Haig it is December of 1972 and January of 1973. The end of the War for America in Vietnam seems at hand. We will hear the two men work on these final problems and issues concerning getting an agreement to end the war.
We will also hear them as they learn of the death of President Nixon's predecessor Lyndon Johnson and the ultimate irony that he would die literally on the eve of peace and not live to see it for himself.
This is an extraordinary look inside the White House at one of the most difficult times in all of our history, listening in on two of history's most significant players.
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In this episode, we see President Nixon moving in on what he believes will be peace in Vietnam. However, it is not without issues and games being played by not only our enemies in Hanoi, or their allies in Peking and Moscow, but also by our own friends in Saigon too.
This is a fascinating look at the end of the War in Vietnam that so divided the nation and we listen in on the thoughts of the men who brought that war to an end, Richard Nixon and one of his assistants General Alexander Haig. These calls cover mostly 1972.
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In this second episode on General alexander Haig , we will listen in on the phone calls between the President and the Assistant National Security Advisor Al Haig. These are the calls from 1971 and they cover several different subjects from the theft of the Pentagon Papers, to issues in Africa, to the Indian - Pakistan War. Plus the war in Vietnam.
We have used some of these calls in our earlier series on Vietnam and some are shared here for the first time. What you will hear is a President in firm control of his foreign policy and the adept way Alexander Haig assisted Henry Kissinger in carrying it out.
These next three episodes are a chance for you to hear the thinking and the strategy of an American President during war time working to get our troops and POW's out and how the same President handles a various array of issues and problems. these are the calls between Nixon and Haig and we hope you will enjoy them and find them insightful too.
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This is the first episode in a four episode special series looking back at the life of General Alexander Haig. Haig served several Presidents, working most closely with Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan. He has been a major player throughout the time periods we have been covering throughout the entire storyline of our podcast. He has been such a large player throughout the run of our series and we thought here at what will be his last major appearance in our timeline that now was a time to look back at Al Haig, so that you could get a full picture of this man who played such a major role in four major historic moments in our nation's history: The Vietnam War, Watergate, the Nixon Pardon by Ford, and The Reagan State Department.
To say Alexander Haig was a major player in all of these events would be a major understatement. All three of these Presidents relied on Haig for advice an understanding of the World. Over the final months of the Vietnam War, Haig helped guide the President to the conclusion, as we shall see in this special series, and it is alleged he may have also later helped guide Richard Nixon out of the Presidency. Haig's role in the Nixon years, especially, is not without controversy, some of which I was unaware of when I started this podcast several years ago.
In this episode we will look back at several historic moments from the life of Alexander Haig. We start first at the moment that most likely ended his political life when he stepped up to the cameras and insisted he was incharge of the government after the assassination attempt on President Reagan. We will hear from the man himself, from an interview he gave while attempting to run for President in his own right in 1988. We will hear of his role in the pardon of Richard Nixon from Gerald Ford, and we will hear of his successes as Secretary of State including his role in trying to prevent the Falklands War.
But it is his role at the end of Vietnam, and at the end of the Nixon Administration itself that has engendered the most controversy, including accusations that at some point he may have been involved in a spy ring against the President from the Joints Chiefs of Staff, and also that he may have been a secret source for the Washington Post's journalistic team of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, while also managing the Nixon White House as its Chief of Staff. We will examine it all here in this first of four episodes on General Alexander Haig.
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We open this episode looking back at the hostage release just after President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office in January of 1981. It was a moment of deep relief for the entire country and former President Jimmy Carter deserves much credit for the the tireless way he worked to insure it would happen just as he was leaving office. President Reagan made it a point to allow Carter to fly to Germany to greet the hostages.
Then we move on to March 30, 1981, a date which shook the city of Washington D.C. and the entire nation. It was a day I remember vividly, for when I got home from school the television was running nonstop with coverage of the assassination attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan had just completed his speech at the Washington Hilton to the AFL-CIO and was headed back to the Presidential Limousine when shots rang out. John Hinkley Jr, a deranged young man, in love with actress Jodi Foster, shot four times gravely wounding White House Press Secretary James Brady, also hitting Thomas J. Delahanty a D.C. Policeman, and Timothy McCarthy one of Reagan's Secret Service Agents and also hitting the President. What ensued was both our government's finest hour and several moments of chaos.
In this episode, we tell that story and let you relive the moment as it happens, in real time, as we see the White House Pressroom give confused answers to questions, as the Vice President is being flown back from a trip to Houston , Texas. We also see the forceful presence of a main character of our show's past re-emerge in General Alexander Haig who would step up to calm the nation and end up committing political suicide instead.
It is a fascinating story at crisis point moment that would change the Reagan Presidency and the Reagan - Bush relationship, from two former foes working together for the betterment of the nation, with some level of apprehension, to relationship that would blossom into a full friendship between the two leaders of our country.
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In this special edition we relive the Inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States. It was a moment in which the country was looking for new leadership and moving away from its near four and half decade run with liberalism. The coverage of the day was glowing and as we covered in Season ten it looked very apparent that our hostage crisis in Iran was coming to a close.
It was with this backdrop that Ronald Reagan would address the nation. It is one of the most inspiring Inaugural Addresses in history. We provide it here for you in its entirety. It was the dawn of the Reagan era, and it would be the beginning of a generation of Americans who had led our country since the end of World War 2, in one final struggle with the communist world.
As we shall see, it would be that generation of American leadership's greatest triumph.
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In this episode we look back at the end of two campaigns in 1980, the Democratic race between Senator Ted Kennedy and President Jimmy Carter and then the end of the general election between Carter and former California Governor Ronald Reagan. It was one of the most exciting races in modern American history and it was, almost until the end, much closer than history has portrayed it.
The Democratic race was a bitter fight and that bitterness would linger for decades after the race was over. As we show you in this episode Ted Kennedy would, after delivering his famous concession speech, stall coming to the hall to congratulate Carter, leaving the convention organizers stuck for nearly a half hour, stalling the dropping of the gavel in order to get, what is commonly called in the political world, the money shot, of Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter together on the podium to present a unified message for the country. They finally got the picture but John Chancellor of NBC News summed up the obvious, "Ted Kennedy is there but he didn't look happy about it"
Then we move on to the closing days of the race. Jimmy Carter was actually still in a close race with Ronald Reagan. It took literally into the final days for an agreement to be struck for a the one and only debate between the two men to occur. It was then in the final minutes of that debate that Ronald Reagan asked the historic question that would undo the Carter campaign, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" It resonated with the public and with hostages in Iran, an economy struggling, and inflation high, the Carter campaign collapsed.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan would be elected the 40th President of the United States of America, and George Bush would be his Vice President.
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The third day of the Republican National Convention of 1980 was arguably the most exciting political day I can ever remember in my over 40 years of involvement in political life. It was also arguably the most historic. As a nine year old child, I was absolutely glued to the broadcast of the convention as it all unfolded on national television. Ronald Reagan and former President Gerald Ford were locked in intense negotiation behind the scenes as to how to get a Reagan - Ford ticket.
All the political heavyweights of the era were weighing in on the chances that Ford would indeed get the deal he wanted to be a Co-President and help Ronald Reagan win the Presidency. This, of course, left George H. W. Bush out in the cold. It really looked like his political future was about to be snuffed out after what had been a remarkable primary run. All into the evening, in primetime, rumors circulated that the Governor and the former President would soon be coming to the hall. Then suddenly CBS News had Gerald Ford on the air talking about the deal he was ironing out with the Reagan campaign. He would demand to have unprecedented powers in the Vice Presidency, that Ronald Reagan would have to share the title he was on the verge of winning. All while a dejected George and Barbara Bush watched on television and drinking a few drinks to dull the sense of emotional let down.
However, Ronald Reagan was watching the broadcast too and he wanted none of a co-presidency. Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky the phone rang in the Bush suite, answered by James A. Baker , it was Governor Ronald Reagan on the line for Ambassador George Bush and by the end of that phone call it would be Bush on the ticket with Reagan, The first of six out of seven national Republican tickets that would feature one of the members of the Bush family on it.
Making this night not only one of the most exciting but also one of the most important evenings of the 20th century, all broadcast live on television. As reporter Susan Page has said "It looked like the end but it was , in fact, the beginning" in a long dynastic run by the Bush Family.
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George Bush was an asterisk in the polls. He was up against several of the top brass of the Republican Party in America when he announced his run for President in 1980. He was facing Howard Stassen, Representative Phil Crane, Senator Bob Dole, Senator Howard Baker, Governor John Connally, Representative John Anderson and former California Governor Ronald Reagan. There was literally no one who thought he had any chance in that crowd at all.
On the other side of the political aisle was a race that was stealing all the attention from the Republicans as well. It was a bitter intraparty fight between the sitting President Jimmy Carter and the last brother of the political dynasty, known as America's Royal Family, Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts. They were engaged in a battle so bitter that books were still being written about it into the current political era.
This is the story of that primary campaign season. It was the campaign that caught the interest of our host Randal Wallace when he was a nine year old. It was one of the most exciting election years in the entire history of the nation and over the next four episodes we will take you through it all. The fight that ended "Camelot", the near upset primary fight that put George H. W. Bush on the political map, the single evening that changed the history of the next half century and led to a member of the Bush family being on six of the next seven national tickets of the Republican Party, and finally the rise of arguably one of the Greatest Presidents in all of American History in Ronald Reagan.
It is all here in the the four part story of the Campaign of 1980, a campaign that inspired one little nine year old boy in Myrtle Beach S.C. to take an interest in politics and eventually lead to the podcast you are listening to now.
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In this episode we look back at the early career of George H. W. Bush, as we review his father's term in the United States Senate, his own race for the U.S. Senate against Senator Ralph Yarborough, his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, and his defeat at the hands of Lloyd Bentsen in 1968. All this from a comprehensive report by NBC News with Brian Williams that gives a great overview of the former President's career.
We will then follow NBC News' Brian Williams to the look at the help and connections that Bush received from President Richard Nixon. Nixon had been a friend of Bush's father , Senator Prescott Bush, who was an old golfing buddy of President Dwight Eisenhower. That connection and Nixon's need to elevate the defeated Republican from Texas as cover in order to also place the former Democratic Governor, John Connally, in as the Treasury Secretary, led to the door opening for George Bush to become the Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. It would be in that role that George Bush would shine and see his star finally begin to rise in Republican circles.
It will be here that we begin to let you listen in to the interaction between the new Ambassador and his benefactor, President Richard Nixon. We will insert into the report full conversations between Nixon and Bush as they discuss issues in the United Nations and positions the President wants Bush to pursue. One you will get to listen into is the work Bush did in the UN to help Pakistan as it was invaded by the Indians in 1971. It is a fascinating look behind the scenes of American Foreign Policy concerning one of the most dangerous regions of the world both then and now, the border between India and Pakistan.
You will also again get to listen in as President Nixon moves Kansas Senator Bob Dole out as the Chairman of the Republican Party in order to move George H. W. Bush in after the historic landslide victory of the President by the largest margin in history, a 49 state landslide. But the job won't turn out to be as good as it seemed as Watergate would soon overwhelm the President and put George Bush in as unenviable a position as could possibly be imagined. Then we bring you through the Ford years and the eve of Bush's run for the Presidency in 1980.
Finally our episode will conclude with an interview of George H. W. Bush conducted in 1999 with C-Span's Brian Lamb where the former President discusses these years and his own relationship with former President Richard Nixon, (though this interview was conducted long before we knew so much about the wrongs done to Nixon by the WSPF) It is a fascinating look at the relationship between Bush and the man who made his subsequent career possible, Richard Nixon.
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In this special edition in our series on President George H. W. Bush, we look at a special moment for the First Lady , Barbara Bush. In 1990 , Barbara Bush was invited to address Wellesley College as its graduation speaker. It was met with resistance in an era of Women's Liberation at the all Women's University. The graduates felt that they wanted a career woman not a traditional house wife and motherly type as the speaker.
Over 25% of the entire class signed the petition protesting the selection of Mrs. Bush and it made national headlines. The students had expressed their preference for the author Alice Walker who had written the book "The Color Purple" . As the moment drew closer for the address you could actually see the tension and the looks of disdain in the faces of the students in attendance. They did not care to hear what she was going to say and had no idea what they might get from the speech.
What they got is now considered one of the most important addresses in the entire 20th Century. Barbara Bush totally disarmed this hostile audience and by the speeches end she had them in the palm of her hand as she recognized a changing world but also extolled the virtues of timeless truths that make up a happy and good life. It is a powerful 11 minutes and we play it back for you here on our show. It was Barbara Bush's shining moment in a life full of them.
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In this episode we look at the role of the First Lady, Barbara Bush, in the life of the 41st President. (and the 43rd too) Barbara Bush was known in her family as the enforcer. She was much more willing to call a spade a spade than her husband was to do so. Her grandchildren and her children talk in several of these reports about how she was the one in the family that enforced the rules, and did not allow any of them to let their heads get to big.
I actually helped put together an event here in Myrtle Beach when her son George W. Bush was running for President. We were all warned, don't screw anything up. We didn't thankfully and in my brief personal dealings with her I found her an extraordinarily nice woman with a great sense of humor with a stunningly down to Earth presence. She is my favorite First Lady.
In this episode, I think you will see that come through. You will hear from both her children and President Bush. You will hear their playfulness with each other and their caring nature for one another as they clown around together, and in the other extreme also discuss the loss of their child Robin Bush who died of leukemia when she was a three year old.
The show includes a very personal, and enjoyable interview with Larry King where several viewers call in and she answers each of their questions almost like your next door neighbor would, not at all like a former First Lady or the mother of a President of the United States. This episode will introduce you to the lady that was the foundation for a political dynasty that dominated American politics from 1980 to 2008. I think you will really like the person you will be hearing about in this episode.
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Welcome to season 11 of our podcast, the first of three seasons that will examine the life, career, and single term of President George H. W. Bush. His life and political career are full of life lessons and leadership lessons we could all take to heart to help build better everyday lives and help the nation develop the type of leadership in our elected class that we could all be proud to have in charge of our Government. In my opinion, George H.W. Bush was the best President of my adult lifetime and clearly an argument could be made that he was the best one term President in our national history. Only James K. Polk could make an argument to challenge it.
In this first episode we look back at the life of the 41st President, as we start at the end of his life with coverage of his passing on November 30, 2018. We will examine his many accomplishments from several people who served under him, from James Baker, the former Chief of Staff, to several different cabinet and staff members plus members of the media who dealt with him during his term. They will all talk about his many accomplishments, his qualities of leadership, his stressing of the importance of family, and his thoughtful statesmanship as the Communist World collapsed around him and he would have to fight a war in the Middle East, a war that has become the textbook example of how to fight a war and win it.
We will also look back at his war record from World War 2 , as the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy. You will listen in to his oral history as he tells the story of the shooting down of his plane, that killed the other two men in his plane, and landed him in the Pacific Ocean. It is a harrowing tale that will dispel the mythology that this extremely nice man was , as Newsweek once called him , "a wimp." When you listen to this story you will come away knowing he was anything but that description, and his bravery, strength, and lifelong wisdom helped manage the closing days of the Cold War that would end with out firing a shot. Something that had never happened in the history of the civilized world : the fall of a great world power without a catastrophic war to bring it about.
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In this second episode on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis we find the sailors in the water with a nemesis arguably even more dangerous than the Japanese. It is the predators that roam the oceans known as Sharks. With in minutes of the sinking of the ship the survivors began to see the the fins circling them as they tried to figure out how to survive.
You will hear the men talk about how they were covered in diesel fuel and oil, hungry and thirsty, but knowing they had to avoid drinking the salt water to avoid going mad. One soldier talks about how there are times when you pray and then times when you PRAY, and they were all doing that nonstop as they bobbed up and down in 18,000 feet of water. You will hear tales of madness, hallucinations, disemboweled bodies, shark attacks, and sharks that actually swam right up to them and nosed their life jackets. It is as horrifying a story as any Hollywood movie ever shown.
You will also hear about their heroic rescue, the unfair court marshalling of their ship's Captain despite his own heroism at sea, and you will hear some of the movie scene that brought this story back to the forefront of the American public. But most of all, you will get a full dose of the heroism of the American fighting man, and the humility, and gratefulness, that is so much a hallmark of our military as well. It is a story that will give you the full measure of the sacrifices of generations of Americans that has been made to keep us free.
Our Podcast wished to recognize the veterans whose oral history and interviews we used to tell this story, all but one are now deceased : Edgar Harrell, Art Leenerman, Don McCall, Earl Wiggins, San Gabriel, Adolfo Celaya, and Harold Bray, (Mr. Bray is the lone survivor that is still living as of this production. )
JAWS Credit :
- Universal Pictures
- (United States, 1975)(Universal, An MCA Company, theatrical)
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Jaws [Original Score] by John Williams released in 1975
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In this first episode in a two part special edition, we look back at one of the most horrifying stories of all of World War 2, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. This was the story made famous by a scene in the movie "JAWS" when the fictional Captain Quint relives his time in the water with Chief Brody and Matt Hooper. It is used to explain the character's almost maniacal hunting of sharks. That is totally understandable when you learn the real story from the survivors who lived through this nightmare.
We move you in this episode from finally finding the ship at the bottom of the Philippine Sea to looking at how our selected survivors ended up on the ship, to the night it went down and left them stranded in the water for five nights and four days. They were stranded in the deepest area of the Pacific Ocean infested with the most aggressive of deep water predators, As Captain Quint said, " *by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks there were, maybe a thousand. I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour."
It is an extraordinary story , that captures in one tale the price our nation has often had to pay to be free.*Our Podcast wished to recognize the veterans whose oral history and interviews we used to tell this story, all but one are now deceased : Edgar Harrell, Art Leenerman, Don McCall, Earl Wiggins, San Gabriel, Adolfo Celaya, and Harold Bray, (Mr. Bray is the lone survivor that is still living as of this production. )
JAWS Credit :
- Universal Pictures
- (United States, 1975)(Universal, An MCA Company, theatrical)
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Jaws [Original Score] by John Williams released in 1975
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In this preview we look at the life of our 41st President , George H.W. Bush and the leadership he brought to ending the Cold War. It was an extraordinary career and he was largely seen as one of the most qualified of all of our chief executives. Here we look back on all the great examples he set in the leadership lessons of his time in office.
This will be the first of three seasons that look at his single term in in office as he deals with the most far ranging number of foreign crisis that has faced any U.S. President, and how he managed them all successfully, from the text book example of how to fight a war with a clear mission, with clear objectives and a unified coalition of nations, to managing the fall of the other military and economic super power on the other side of the world without firing a single shot.
It is the high point of a generation of leadership that saw the United States ascend to the status of the singular Super Power on Earth in the 20th century, The American Century.
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In this special edition of our podcast , we pay tribute to one of the true giants of the post World War 2 era, former Vice President and Former United States Senator , Hubert Horatio Humphrey. He was the happy warrior and in some ways the fundamental decency of this man is probably what kept him away from the Presidency in an era of politics notorious for being shark infested waters,
For it was Hubert Humphrey that watched his Presidential dreams get dashed in 1960 when John F. Kennedy's father allegedly paid to insure the West Virginia Primary was won by his son, and again as the Vietnam War waged in 1968 he saw his campaign lose a close one to Former Vice President Richard Nixon. Those losses often obscured Hubert Humphrey's major and often forgotten role as the father of Civil Rights in this country.
For it was Hubert Humphrey that took to the podium at the Democratic National Convention and argued for the party to champion the cause of civil rights. It was his speech that led Strom Thurmond and many other Southern Democrats to walk out of the 1948 Democratic Convention and challenge Harry Truman for the Presidency. Truman had just integrated the United States Armed Forces and became the lightening rod against Civil Rights for doing so.
It was Hubert Humphrey that was also an early champion for a program that would one day become Medicare, and an early champion of healthcare reform as well. Humphrey was a giant of his era and in this episode we hope to give him his long deserved recognition.
But we also hope we can touch on the decency and goodness of this great man. For while our nation was extremely lucky to have elected one of its four greatest Presidents in 1968 in Richard Nixon, it is not without some wonder at what might have been, had Hubert Humphrey ever gotten a bite at the Presidential apple himself at some point.
Such was the choice between two of the greatest leaders our nation ever produced in 1968, that our nation had to pick just one of them to be our President. It does make you long for that era again, when our national leadership produced such great men as Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey to have to choose between.
So we hope you enjoy this special edition in honor of a great man, Hubert Horatio Humphrey.
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In this final episode of season 10, we look at the amazing contributions of our former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter. From Mental Health reform, to caregiving, to butterflies, to helping the Carter Center eradicate Guinee Worm in Africa, Rosalynn Carter has often been every bit the leader as her Presidential husband. We will take sometime to look back at all of those efforts and even see how you can help that work continue into the future.
Plus we will listen in as President and Mrs. Carter are honored by President Bill Clinton for a lifetime of work for the people, not only of the United States. but also around the world. As President Clinton stated, "It can be said of the Carters that they have done more good for more people all over the World than any other couple on Earth." That is quite the compliment that is even more so a compliment because it happens to be true.
In this final episode of season ten we wrap up their life of service to the nation and simply give them their due as two of the greatest goodwill ambassadors the world has ever known.
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Thank you, Thank you!! From all of us at the Randal Wallace Presents Podcast where we hit 25,000 Downloads during our tenth season looking back at Congressman John Jenrette and former President Jimmy Carter. We appreciate it more than we can say.
We are also planning on mixing some new features to our show during season eleven. We are planning some special interviews, covering three elections over the next six months, The Myrtle Beach City Council Election, a council our host once served on, and the two Presidential Primaries coming to South Carolina in February of 2024.
We are looking forward to season eleven as it kicks off a three season look back at President George H.W. Bush and the fall of communism and it will feature a look back at President Ronald Reagan as well. Plus , at the start of the season, near the end of September, we will have a very special two part special edition looking back at the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, It is a powerful story you will not want to miss.
So join us here on the podcast or at my Facebook page for live video streaming of the various political events "Randal Wallace Myrtle Beach Viewpoint" or come to our website too www.RandalWallace.com
Again, Thank you for tuning in and if you get a chance please leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts.
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Another special edition looking at one of the most interesting industries in the Florida Keys, treasure hunting. It is an industry with historic ties to the original big business' in the Florida Keys, that of wrecking. Which was basically salvaging of ships that sank in the reef that runs in front of the various Keys. We will look back at its historic origins.
Then we will look at the modern day Treasure Hunters who make their homes along the Florida Keya with a special emphasis on the most famous of all the treasure hunters in the modern era, Mel Fisher.
We will invite you to go visit to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum too, It is one of the best museums in Key West and could rank among the best museums I have ever been in.
This is a fun show and we hope you will enjoy it too. The finale of season Ten looking back at Rosalyn Carter, and a wrap up on Jimmy Carter, plus a special show on former Vice President Hubert Humphrey is next week, and then after a break we will start our look back at President George H. W. Bush in season eleven,
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Welcome to our first ever Travelogue edition of our podcast. We recently headed off to the Florida Keys for a much needed vacation. I have friends, Jennifer and Jimmy Hornsby, who live in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, and I stayed with them on the first day and the final day of my trip and it was they who suggested that the videos from the trip would make a good podcast. I thought that was a great idea and WALLA!! A new feature for our show was born!!
In this episode we chronicle some of the amazing history of the Florida Keys from Henry Flagler's building of the Overseas Railroad that has now become the Overseas Highway A1A, to the boat of and house of Ernest Hemingway and his influence throughout the Florida Keys. a spotlight on two of the historic watering holes of Key West in Sloppy Joes and Captain Tony's Saloon where Hemingway once drank and Jimmy Buffett got his start.
We will also introduce you to the Sea Turtle Hospital where saving this endangered species goes to an entirely new level, learn about the History of Diving at a museum in Islamorada, feed some Tarpons at Robbie's, and climb all over Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas National Park.
But no trip to the Florida Keys and Key West would be complete without a visit to Mallory Square overlooking the water at Sunset. Mallory Square is home to the Shipwreck Museum, Mason De Pepe for Cuban delicacies, countless shops, and the Sunset Celebration that features some of the most eclectic group of entertainers anywhere in America and in this episode we will introduce you to the most famous of all the buskers there, Dominique and his Flying House Cats! The Best Cat Show on Earth!
It is all here in a road trip across the Florida Keys that everyone should get the chance to take at least once in a lifetime!!
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It is the most horrific tale from the most catastrophic war the World has ever known. It is the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the warship that had just completed its top secret mission to deliver the uranium needed to build the first atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima , Japan.
It would be sunk by a Japanese submarine as it traveled through the Philippine Sea on its way back to Guam. the story was largely forgotten, even at the time, by a U.S. Government that had just won the war, announcing the sinking at the same time as the Japanese surrender, and by the American public anxious to move on from the war that had so dominated their lives for three and a half years.
It was only revived, and brought back to the public consciousness by a pivotal scene in a summer blockbuster movie in 1975. In the movie "JAWS", the fictional Captain Quint of the shark hunting ship "Orca" was said to be an Indianapolis survivor, and the speech he gave about the event was the heart of the movie. In this preview, we use portions of that dramatic cinematic moment, delivered by the Shakespearean theater giant, Robert Shaw, and directed by the legendary Stephen Spielberg, to lead you through a preview of the tale, as told by the real survivors of the sinking of the Indianapolis. It is a gripping, horrific, heroic, and in the end hopeful story, of the largest naval catastrophe of the war. In a coming two part podcast documentary special edition at the start of our podcast's 11th season in late September.
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For years, on any given Sunday, if you were in Plains, Georgia, you could visit the former President's local rural Church and attend his Sunday School class. He taught it himself. It is one of those great regrets in life that I would live within 8 hours of Plains , Georgia, and be friends with a former Congressman who could have gotten me in to hear him, that I never scheduled a chance to go.
I bet that most of our audience has also never heard the former President conduct a Sunday School class. So in this episode that is exactly what we are going to do. One of the local television stations in the Georgia Market went to Plains and recorded the Sunday School class in 2019. In it he teaches about the Christian Trinity, the need for God's teachings of peace and how a generation of war has led to the United States falling behind the Chinese in several aspects of economic growth. It is a fascinating class and we air it here in its entirety.
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In this episode we look back at arguably the greatest ex-Presidency in the history of our Republic. It has been said that no one has done more good , for more people, in more places throughout the world than Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn Carter have done through the efforts of their Carter Center. In this episode we look back at many of the ways they have been contributing in their life after the White House.
We will also get a look into the term the President spent in the White House in an unprecedented way. He kept a daily diary. Several years ago he published it, without any alterations. He left it just as he found it.
It was blunt.
Here we will listen in as CBS News Correspondent Leslie Stahl talks with him about the diary and his rather blunt opinions of Ted Kennedy. Ronald Reagan, and several congress people he served with.
This is an interesting episode that ends with a look at the President as he enters Hospice Care in this final chapter of his life.
Just a note, this episode was intended to be the Season 10 finale but after some further thought we added two more episodes, one on the President teaching Sunday School and one that features a spotlight on the First Lady Rosalyn Carter.
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In this episode , we let you listen to Jimmy Carter in his own words. You will be treated to a campaign video chronicling his time in office, an interview conducted by the President of Emory University where he served as a professor for many, many. years and an interview conducted by the daughter of the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King.
Plus he will be talking with Larry King and Piers Morgan and throughout you will hear the former President talk about foreign Policy, faith, family, personal principles, a Changing World, Studying at Emory University, being flexible, advice for Presidential candidates, The Carter Center, and having Goals.
You can a learn a lot of really good life lessons from President Jimmy Carter as he has spent a lifetime setting a good example for all of us on the proper way to spend a life, no matter your beliefs or disagreements with him on his political and policy positions.
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For me this series has been a learning experience. It is the section of our history documentaries that I had the least knowledge and I have come away with a deeper appreciation for the single term of Jimmy Carter. He actually got more done than you think and that he ever got credit for having achieved.
He was ahead of his time in the field of Energy policy, he brokered peace treaties in the Middle East, and with the Soviet Union, and he stood the course to break the back of inflation, a policy that began under his appointee Paul Volker and continued under Ronald Reagan. Carter made the Vice Presidency a much more modern and important job with his partner Walter Mondale. He also signed the treaty that returned the Panama Canal to the nation of Panama.
In this episode we look at those achievements and listen to a couple of historians who believe that if you were buying stock on a Presidency rising in esteem over the next half century they would advise an investment in Jimmy Carter. I guess the jury is out on that, but as anyone who has ever assessed Jimmy Carter they would probably say don't bet against him either.
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I am returning from vacation today but will have a description and chapters for this show later in the week. This episode looks at John Connally and his role with Lyndon Johnson.
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I am on vacation but will have a description and chapters for this show next week. This show profiles John Connally, his role in the 1980 election and the rumored October Surprise that has recently named him as a major player in the alleged activity.
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In this episode we draw the crisis to a close. Jimmy Carter has lost his bid for re-election and Ronald Reagan is on the verge of the Presidency. In this episode we take you through the story of Jimmy Carter's frantic final days as he races against time to end the hostage standoff before he leaves office.
We will also take a look at the media who covered the story, mainly for ABC News. For it was under the leadership of ABC News President Roone Arledge that a new show was born, "Nightline" which had been known for a while as "America Held Hostage" . Arledge had a vision of a late night news program that could compete with "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" but he had yet to find the type of continuing story that could build a steady audience. They had covered the death of Elvis Presley but that had been sort of a one night event.
The Hostage Crisis would be that story he had looked for and it would captivate the nation for 444 days. By the time the story was over, ABC News had a hit on its hand, "Nightline with Ted Koppel" was born, and they would cover those final days where Jimmy Carter would literally work, with no sleep, to the very end of his Presidency to insure that every single American Hostage would come home from Tehran, Iran, alive.
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Election Night 1980. The Iran Hostage Crisis is going on, the economy is struggling, and the ABSCAM scandal has several candidates seeking re-election while either under indictment or after conviction. It is with this back drop that both of our subjects, Representative John Jenrette and President Jimmy Carter, are facing re-election. It did not go well for either of them.
In this episode we will let you watch the evening progress as the networks zero in on the ABSCAM Defendants elections for at least some drama because the Carter efforts are fairing so badly. Ronald Reagan will be elected in a landslide and John Jenrette will lose in a surprising squeaker to John Napier.
This election is also a treat because it will feature just about everyone , save Lyndon Johnson, we have focused on throughout our podcast run. Jimmy Carter, John Jenrette, Henry Kissinger, Barbara Walters, Frank Reynolds, Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite, and even Richard Nixon will all be featured at some point through out the night. Finally, the episode will end as former President Gerald Ford is interviewed while Ronald Reagan comes out to address the nation for the first time as President - Elect and the two will talk on live TV. It is a big night for the Republican Party as they win the Presidency and the Senate for the first time in a generation and break the New Deal Coalition that had dominated the nations politics since 1932.
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In the second episode of the long saga that would be the Iranian hostage crisis, we watch as Jimmy Carter attempts to take action into his own hands. Carter orders a rescue attempt of the hostages in Iran, Operation Eagle Claw. An operation run by an Horry County Native named General James Vaught.
Operation Eagle Claw would be an operation in which it can be described best as "if it can go wrong it will" type of a military operation. It was described on Wikipedia here:
"The operation, one of Delta Force's first,[2] encountered many obstacles and failures and was subsequently aborted. Eight helicopters were sent to the first staging area called Desert One, but only five arrived in operational condition.[3] One had encountered hydraulic problems, another was caught in a sand storm, and the third showed signs of a cracked rotor blade. During the operational planning, it was decided that the mission would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters remained operational upon arrival at the Desert One site, despite only four being absolutely necessary.[3] In a move that is still discussed in military circles, the field commanders advised President Carter to abort the mission, which he did.[4]
As the U.S. forces prepared to withdraw from Desert One, one of the remaining helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft that contained both servicemen and jet fuel. The resulting fire destroyed both aircraft and killed eight servicemen.[3]
In the context of the Iranian Revolution, Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, stated that the mission had been stopped by an act of God ("angels of God") who had foiled the U.S. mission in order to protect Iran and his new Islamist government. "
It helped seal Jimmy Carter's electoral fate, and the hostage crisis continued for 9 more grueling months......
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In this special edition we will examine the recently declassified letter written by former President Richard Nixon to President Bill Clinton just after his two week trip to Russia and Europe. In the letter Richard Nixon gives the young President a thorough examination of what he thinks is happening in Russia, Ukraine and in Europe. In it he stresses the importance in helping Russia preserve its new found freedoms and helping it get on its feet economically and he discusses the dire consequences that could happen if we fail.
It reads as though a psychic wrote it. It is a powerful letter and it was appreciated at the time by President Clinton and it is even more appreciated today. It really puts on display the brilliance of our former President and a man who ranks among our greatest American leaders in the history of the Republic. Here is a fine example, bold, strategic, insightful and full of visionary advice, as to why that latter statement is true.
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The Iranian Hostage Crisis would last 444 days and its final day would also be the last day of the administration of Jimmy Carter. It was the singular event that seemed to spell out the frustrations of a nation that had suffered one humiliation and trauma after another for nearly two decades, from assassination of a President, to the Vietnam War that divided America to the Watergate Scandal that had removed a President from office, and now here we were at the mercy of an Islamic regime determined to take its country back to the 8th century. It seemed that we were helplessly careening out of control to the status of a failed , third rate power.
In Iran, the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had come from a dynasty that had ruled the Persian nation for nearly 1000 years. He had reformed the nation economically during his 37 year reign and it had created an economy that was flourishing, increasing the national income 423 times what it had been, a better growth rate than anywhere else on the planet, including the United States. He built the the fifth largest Army in the world and had urbanized and modernized the country like no other in the entire Middle East. He was also a friend to the United States and had embraced much of the western world's economic practices.
But he had also had to crackdown on political dissent and as he did so many of the religious leaders of the Shiite Muslim faith had rebelled and considered him an enemy to their cause. Much of that was because the Shah had given women the right to vote. One cleric in particular, the Ayatollah Khomeini, was offended that he would dare put the future of Iran in the hands of women. He was further incensed when the Shah allowed Iranian Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Baha'i to take the oath of office for municipal councils using their holy books instead of the Koran. Khomeini vowed then to overthrow the Shah and institute an Islamic Republic in the place of the ruling monarchy.
In 1979, the political unrest turned into a full blown revolution and the Shah left the country on what was called a vacation from which he never returned. Khomeini took control and the events unfolded from their that led to our hostages being captured at the overrun American Embassy. This is that story, and the brave story of the Canadian diplomats who worked to save six Americans who had somehow missed being taken into captivity on the day the embassy was overrun. That story is worthy of being a plot of a James Bond movie, in fact, movie making would be a big part of the exit plan.
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A preview of the Iranian Hostage Crisis that captured the imagination of the entire nation, frustrating American power and damaging American Self Confidence and most likely costing President Carter his re-election, while also creating one of the longest running news programs in the history of network television, ABC News "Nightline" .
This Miniseries was originally three episodes but grew into a seven episode set. It will cover the hostage crisis, the 1980 election night, and a case study of a news story that broke on this subject as we were working on the miniseries, the notorious "October Surprise" accusation that has floated around for years, but has developed some credibility in the past few months, thanks to a story, based on a first hand account by a former Texas politician named Bill Barnes about former Texas Governor John Connally.
The accusation that Ronald Reagan's campaign somehow may have delayed the hostage release until after the November 1989 election.
We will focus on the story of the hostage crisis, then look at John Connally, the "October Surprise" accusation and John Connally's role in both the careers of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. In this seven part mini-series within this season.
It is all here in in this series, about one of the most important sagas in Modern American History.
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In this episode we follow Jimmy Carter's decision to normalize relations with the People's Republic of China. It was one of the most important decisions of Carter's term as President. It was also a decision that ended our recognition of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan. A decision that was met with some level of anger in the United States. It was a bold move.
We will listen in on reaction to the decision in real time as the MacNeil/Lehrer PBS Newshour covered the news with guests National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, New York Representative Lester Wolf and Kansas Senator Bob Dole. We will hear from President Carter both at the time and in his later years as he discusses the relationship with China and why he made the decisions he did at the the time.
Finally, we will listen into ABC News with Frank Reynolds as he covers the Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, arguably China's most important leader of the century, as he visited the United States, on a months notice, where he visited the Houston Space Center, attended a western rodeo, and generally charmed the American People like few leaders ever have especially one from a Communist Power.
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We would like to ask you for a favor, from all of us here at the "Randal Wallace Presents" History Podcast .
Thank you too!!
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In this episode we start out with one of Congressman John Jenrette's more fun legacies, the comedy troupe "The Capital Steps" , which entertained people all over the nation for nearly four decades until they finally shutdown during the Covid 19 pandemic. They were laugh out loud funny and I had the privilege of seeing them many times through the years and had not known the tie to John Jenrette (They were DC Staffers who took their name from the Playboy reported liaison Jenrette and his wife had on the steps of the Capital) until they sang about it at performance I attended in Washington D.C. in 2015.
This episode is also the only one we put together after Congressman Jenrette died, which occurred near the end of the production of our series. I thought it was important to read into the record his beautifully written obituary that covers so many of the accomplishments he was able to make happen during his time in Congress and in the South Carolina State House. We also wanted to take a moment to ask for a call to action for our listeners to let their legislators and local elected officials know that you would like to see the congressman finally get the recognition he deserves for all his years of service as a representative, congressman, and as a citizen in our community. He really did help lay the foundation for much of the phenomenal growth and success our region of South Carolina has enjoyed over the past four decades.
Finally, we allow John Jenrette to have the final word in this section of our series focused on him this season. We have the last interview he gave near the end of his 2019 book tour for the book "The Capital Steps and Missteps" about his life and career. It is a poignant interview and an honest one, in which he talks about his accomplishments and mistakes. It is also an interview in which his illness is very apparent. But I thought it important to share it with you and important to allow this podcast docuseries focused on his life and career, give John Jenrette the last word on his remarkable life and career.
I want to simply say a thank you to Dianne Devaughn Stokes, and her husband Chuck Stokes, for allowing us to use the interview and their personal work in editing it into such a powerful final talk with the Congressman.
John Jenrette really lived an incredible life and it has been a privilege and an honor to be able to share the story with you, we hope you learned some things you may not have known and enjoyed the trip as we went through it all. From here on out, we will be focusing on the Administration of Jimmy Carter in the remainder of our 10th Season.
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This episode for our Host Randal Wallace may be the most fun of any we have done. It tells the story of the life of the Congressional District and region of South Carolina that was the 6th District of South Carolina. It opens after ABSCAM has ended John Jenrette's career and everyone involved is moving on from the scandal.
The District was represented by John Napier for a single term, then by a Florence , South Carolina Democrat named Robin Tallon for a number of years. But after the 1990 census the former 6th District is divided up geographically and its political strength evaporates. Tallon steps down as James Clyburn is elected to serve the new 6th District which engulfs Florence County. While Horry County is placed in the South Carolina First District where it is dominated by Charleston S.C.
Over the next twenty years the region has several different Congressman all but one of which is from Charleston County with various interest levels for what is happening in Horry and Georgetown Counties. We are represented by Tommy Hartnett, Arthur Ravenell, Mark Sanford, Henry Brown (Berkely County) , and Tim Scott. Then in 2010 everything changed.
A new census led to a big fight in the South Carolina State House as the state was awarded a new 7th Congressional District. We will see the maneuverings by the man who could rightfully be called the Father of the 7th district, Alan Clemmons, lead to the South Carolina Pee Dee Region finally getting its seat back in which the region was represented together.
That is where the fun part for our Host begins as we relive that very first race for Congress and the election of that first 7th district Congressman ensues. which eventually led to the election of Tom Rice.
A race in which our host, Randal Wallace, was a small part as a candidate for Congress. We will also see the rise of our new Congressman Russell Fry, who attained the office just at the beginning of this year , 2024, after his endorsement by former President Donald Trump, and his historic election victory.
All of which will lead us back to a final look at the remarkable life and contributions to our region of our first, and until this year, only Horry County native Congressman John Jenrette. His career was a rollercoaster ride of wild excess, historic success, and an enormously dramatic and historic fall, all of which happened in a pivotal 6 year period that laid the foundation for a region of the country that can now lay claim to the title the fastest growing area in the nation.
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This episode is a special profile of the great survivor of the collapse of the career of John Jenrette. It is the story of his ex-wife Rita Jenrette. She has led a life no novelist would have dared to create. She was married to a charismatic Congressman who self destructed in front of the country, posed in Playboy Magazine, wrote a tell all book, became a B-Movie actress, then a tabloid reporter for "A Current Affair", then got her Real Estate and commodities license and had an enormously successful career in New York City doing mega millions deals with the likes of Donald Trump.
Only to walk away on the arm of a real life Prince and move to his palatial Villa in Rome, Italy. Where she helped renovate the historic estate that featured actual art work from Michelangelo among other historically significant artists of history.
You just can't make this stuff up. So we will just tell this unbelievable part of the story in this episode.
We also want to thank a special friend for loaning us her acting and reading skills for this episode. I think we are all happier our host Randal Wallace did not attempt to read Rita Jenrette's portion of The Diary of a Mad Congressman's Wife himself. We were lucky to find an extraordinary talent to do that for us. Though she asked not to be named.
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Our ad for our sister podcast "The Richard Nixon Experience"
We have repackaged our Richard Nixon sections on Vietnam and his Administration and our Landmark Docuseries on Watergate into an overall Docuseries Rebroadcast that will air over the next year to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Nixon Administration.
The episodes are still available here on our back catalogue as well.
The Richard Nixon Experience is available at where ever you get your podcasts.
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“This is not a message of happiness or reassurance,’’ Carter said in his remarks 40 years ago, “but it is the truth and it is a warning.’’
In a speech given in July of 1979, witten about here in an article titled "Jimmy Carter and the meaning of Malaise" from JSTOR Daily:
"Carter proclaimed that the nation was suffering a “crisis in confidence” which struck “at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will.” He called upon the nation to reflect upon its meaning and purpose, and critiqued American materialism.
The immediate response was generally favorable. “No president since Abraham Lincoln had spoken to the American people with such sincerity about matters of the spirit,” gushed presidential historian Theodore White. Polls indicated that 61 percent of the public said the speech inspired further confidence. Seventy-two percent said they were willing to sacrifice to help solve the energy crisis, which had been Carter’s major policy plea. The president’s approval ratings went up twelve points."
But it was in fact, the beginning of the end of the Carter years. With in the next few months he would be challenged by Ted Kennedy, have Sky Lab fall out the sky, have gas lines throughout the country and have the biggest crisis of his term begin in Iran. This speech about "A Crisis in Confidence" in america would come to symbolize the lack of confidence Americans were growing to have in Jimmy Carter.
Carter would reshuffle his cabinet and try to provide leadership for the nation instead, as one Southern Governor put it " :“Mr. President, you are not leading this nation — you’re just managing the government.’’ Which is an image Jimmy Carter could never really shake with the American public. Despite many accomplishments Jimmy Carter had during his term much of the feeling that the President was a dour, pessimistic leader, really began with this speech. Though the speech itself was really a call to action to deal with the energy problems the nation had and that Carter believed could be corrected, and that given the proper leadership we as a nation could become an export and energy leader rather than be myriad in problems created by competitors who wanted to hurt the American economy.
The fact is Jimmy Carter was right. Years later we would become the number one energy producer in the world. This speech actually aged well, long after it could no longer do any good for a President who would be turned out of office after only a single term.
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The recent disaster of the OceanGate Submersible Titan that took the lives of five people renewed interest in the April 1912 disaster of the Titanic. We thought it would be a moment in which we could introduce many of you to the story, the ongoing story, of the RMS Titanic. The Titanic sunk on its Maiden voyage from England to the United States taking the lives of over 1500 passengers.
It had been deemed unsinkable by the White Star Line, who owned and engineered the vessel due to its compartmental , double hull. But it would be proven wrong by an iceberg that ripped across the the compartments and leaving the ship unable to stay afloat. It was another of the warnings from fate not to believe in the arrogance of our own creations.
Some could argue that as a species we never seem to learn that lesson. That may also be the lesson of the submersible known as the OceanGate Titan. Its founder, Stockton Rush, believed in an experimental carbon based pressure chamber, but many of the experts in the field of deep diving submergence questioned both the shape of the pressure chamber and the experimental alloy being used. That overtime it could give way and in the depths of the Ocean where they were diving a disaster could strike, like an implosion estimated to have occurred at 1500 miles an hour.
This is the story of two disasters and we let the survivors and the news agencies tell the story of both the Titanic and the Titan. It is at both gripping and sad, as we must both admire these pioneers of innovation that have made our world safer, more assessable, and allowed us to learn about the world in ways unimaginable in previous generations. But also we need to heed the warnings of the past that the arrogance of man must never ignore the warnings of an often unforgiving universe.
We dedicate this Special Edition episode to the memories of Harnish Harding, Shaltzada Dawood, Suliemon Dawood, Stockton Rush, Paul - Henri Nargeolet and the over 1500 victims of the first Titanic disaster.
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This is the episode where we listen in as Congressman John Jenrette's career comes crashing to its end. A sad ending to what had been an extraordinarily brave career that had seen John Jenrette help so many of his constituents with issue after issue, championing the causes of the nations small farmers, and standing up to protect the African American constituents so long forgotten or ignored by almost every other leader in the region he had represented.
We will contrast the unraveling of his career with that of another ABSCAM defendant who put up a fight rather than going quietly about giving up his seat in the Congress. We will look at the expulsion of Congressman Ozzie Meyers, and listen in on his attempt to defend himself on the floor of the House of Representatives. You will also get to hear and contrast for yourself the difference in the two cases involving Meyers and Jenrette.
Finally, we will read to you several portions of Federal Judge John Garrett Penn's decision in the case of John Jenrette and John Stowe. It is an eye opening opinion in which you can sense his outrage over the government's behaviour in this particular ABSCAM case and especially in the case that was made against John Stowe who was John Jenrette's co-defendant in the case.
By the time we get to the end of the episode it will certainly paint John Jenrette's case in a far more human light than many have come to perceive it in the 40 years since.
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This preview is for a special set of episodes on our sister podcast "The Richard Nixon Experience" that will be posted on July 3 and 4th. (these shows originally aired here on June 2 after Memorial Day)
The Richard Nixon Experience https://www.buzzsprout.com/1532626
Coming July 3 and 4, a special two part 50th anniversary edition of The Richard Nixon Experience featuring stories from Vietnam War Veterans who visited the Travelling Wall in Myrtle Beach S.C., Prisoners of War who were honored at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda California, and the tapes of the two Presidents who worked so hard to stop the high water mark of Communism in the 1960s and 1970s as it was on the march in South East Asia in Vietnam.
This is a special you will not want to miss.
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In this episode, we will lay out the case made by the government against Congressman John Jenrette. We will also go through the differences between this one case and literally all the other cases involved in the scandal known as ABSCAM.
We will also examine the daunting task John Jenrette faced as all of this unfolded as he was indicted and tried during an election year. An election year that would see him having to run in both a primary election and a general election against a formidable Republican candidate, who had once been an aid to Senator Strom Thurmond, in John Light Napier.
In this episode , our host Randal Wallace will read to you the oral history from the University of South Carolina of John Napier as he tells his rather remarkable story of how he put together a campaign that would eventually get him elected to the United States House of Representatives, in what would be a stunningly close race against John Jenrette, even though the incumbent Congressman, had been indicted, tried, and convicted, as the race unfolded.
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In this episode we let you listen to the only set of start to finish tapes that I am aware of that are available to the public, at least that I could find. These tapes involve Congressman John Murtha , who was targeted but was never indicted. John Murtha would go on and serve long enough after ABSCAM that he would become the longest serving Congressman in Pennsylvania history.
I will say that this is a situation that I do not like to do given that Murtha had a long and distinguished career and never was charged, or tried, and certainly never convicted, of any wrongdoing in the case of ABSCAM. So let me just say in this description that we are only using this audio footage because it is the only footage that is available , that we were able to find, that contains an entire meeting between the FBI, the conman, and a sitting member of Congress. All the the other footage is only segments of the sting the FBI ran on the Congressmen.
I do feel though that when you listen in on this meeting, with stunningly clear audio, you will get a feel for how these meetings went and how these governmental officials were set up for the ABSCAM sting.
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What was Abscam?
In this episode we try an answer that question for those of you who may not remember, or be as familiar with, what many will recall was the second biggest political scandal of the 1970's and early 1980's. It involved six United States Congressman and one United States Senator. They were :
- US Senator Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ)
- US Representative Frank Thompson (D-NJ)
- US Representative John Jenrette (D-SC)
- US Representative Raymond Lederer (D-PA)
- US Representative Michael "Ozzie" Myers (D-PA)
- US Representative John M. Murphy (D-NY)
- US Representative Richard Kelly (R-FL)
It was basically a criminal sting operation conducted by the FBI using a known conman, Mel Weinberg, to set up various elected officials at several levels of the Government. It is the same scandal used for the basis of the movie " American Hustle". It was not just Congressman but also 23 other elected and governmental officials who were eventually netted into the criminal takedown. It also included one member of the New Jersey State Senate, members of the Philadelphia City Council, the Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, and an inspector for the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service who were all also convicted. The operation was directed from the FBI's office in Hauppauge, New York, and was under the supervision of Assistant Director Neil J. Welch, who headed the bureau's New York Division, and Thomas P. Puccio, head of the Justice Department's Organized Crime Task Force for the Eastern Division of New York.
In all of these cases it stemmed from an investigation into theft, forgery, and stolen art. The FBI enlisted the help of a convicted conman to help them run a sting on criminals but as they made their way up the food chain they found they could nab some high ranking elected officials. All of the elected officials were somehow connected to this investigation.
All but one.
That one case that was the exception was the case of Representative John Jenrette of the 6th District of South Carolina, OUR CONGRESSMAN.
In this episode you will hear from the conman himself, you will listen in as the FBI moves in on the congressmen in question, and you will listen in just as the nation did as all of this unfolded. Ironically, the only story they rarely talked about in this early stage of the game, will be the story of John Jenrette, and as we will show you there are reasons for that.
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The Camp David Accords were the crowning achievement of the Jimmy Carter Administration foreign Policy. This episode tells the dramatic story of how Jimmy Carter was able to get these two old warriors together at Camp David in order to make it happen.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was very ready and willing to try and make the peace but an election in Israel with a surprise outcome changed the entire situation, as the hardline, conservative Likud Party was elected and Menachem Begin became the Israeli Prime Minister. Jimmy Carter found himself in a situation where one side, Egypt, trusted him completely and the other side , Israel, did not trust him at all.
For thirteen days, the three men, held up at Camp David, and ironed out an agreement. It came after several emotional moments between the three men in which both Begin and Sadat almost walked out of the negotiations. But each time Jimmy Carter managed to figure out ways to save the day and keep both sides talking. The end result was an agreement in principle. That would need to be followed up upon later.
That later almost never happened, and would not have, without the leadership of Jimmy Carter and his willingness to step up at a moment of great political peril for him personally to insure it would happen. This episode will tell this dramatic story about how the world was made a much safer place by the stubborn leadership of an American President who rarely gets the credit he deserved for the leadership he provided at a pivotal moment in world history.
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Hey future listeners, it’s Checkers and MJ here and we are two American men that are...
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In this episode we will follow the same format we have done with several other of our subjects during the run of our broadcast. We will let the tape roll and listen to advice and stories by former Congressman John Jenrette with out interruption nor narration.
Here you will listen as Jenrette gives advice on how to win elections, how to be an effective legislator, about family, about getting things done and the show will take a few minutes to introduce you to the start of the scandal that would end his political career.
John Jenrette was a legendary figure in politics in South Carolina, he was an extraordinarily effective legislator, and an effective campaigner. This episode will show you exactly why and provide you with some useful advice for anyone who needs to be effective at working with people and getting things done for any aspect of life, not just in politics.
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The second episode of a two part look back at the Vietnam War on the 50th Anniversary of its end. In this episode you will hear from private soldiers, to the tapes of the two Commander and Chiefs, as we hear the struggles of the two Presidents who had to preside over the war, and the troops who fought the war. and several of the Prisoners of War.
The audio for these two episodes came from the ceremonies sponsored by the Military Appreciation Committee of the City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as the Memorial Day events centered this year on the Travelling Vietnam War Memorial, the 50th Anniversary of the release of the Prisoners of War reunion sponsored by the Richard Nixon Foundation, and held in Yorba Linda, California, the audio tape recordings of both Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and the audio from the original POW Dinner at the White House in May of 1973.
It certainly will show you that Freedom is not free.
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The first episode of a two part look back at the Vietnam War on the 50th anniversary of its end. In this episode you will hear from privates to the tapes of the two Commander and Chiefs as we hear the struggles of the two Presidents who had to preside over the war and the troops who fought the war and several of the Prisoners of War.
The audio for these two episodes came from the ceremonies sponsored by the Military Appreciation Committee of the City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as the Memorial Day events centered this year on the Travelling Vietnam War Memorial, the 50th Anniversary of the release of the Prisoners of War reunion sponsored by the Richard Nixon Foundation and held in Yorba Linda, California, the audio tape recordings of both Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and the audio from the original POW Dinner at the White House in May of 1973.
It certainly will show you that Freedom is not free.
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In this episode we look back at several of the accomplishments of John Jenrette's time in the United States House of Representative. In many ways it laid the groundwork for much of the enormous growth we have seen in our region over the past 40 plus years.
We will look at the start of the Tourism and Travel Caucus that allowed the tourism industry to finally have a group in Congress to protect its interests and help the nation develop a strategy to make the industry grow. And grow it has to a 1.2 Trillion Dollar industry that employs one in ten Americans all over the country. John Jenrette created the Tourism and Travel Caucus and it is still in existence today. The fact is that John Jenrette, then representing a regional tourism destination, had put Myrtle Beach on the map as the leader in tourism innovation and in a place of leadership for the industry. Today the Grand Strand welcomes 20 million tourists annually.
John Jenrette was also a leader in protecting the interest of small farmers in an era when Agribusiness was taking over the Agriculture world. Secretary Earl Butts was the face of Farming policy in America and his philosophy was "Go big or go home" and that put America's small farmers at an enormous disadvantage. However, in Congress the small farmer had one true champion to keep that mentality in check and it was universally seen as Congressman John Jenrette. From defending the pesticide Miramax to fight fire ants, to investigating prices during the era of price controls in order to protect the small farmers, John Jenrette also tripled the exemption on the inheritance tax so that those small farmers, and small business people for that matter too, were protected from having to sell their family farms because they had ended up land rich but cash poor, a benefit that is still protecting the common man to this day.
Finally, it was in constituent service that John Jenrette had a record that is the stuff of legend. He helped any and everyone who came to him for help. One of the most consequential is the help he gave a future member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, Ron McNair. A man who dreamed of becoming an Astronaut, who grew up in the segregated southern town of Lake City , South Carolina. He would go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and earn a doctorate in science. In an era when there were over 10,000 applications to get into the NASA Space Program, Ron McNair applied and then went to his friend Thelma McClam who worked for Congressman John Jenrette to see if he could get help to get in the program.
In this episode we tell the story of how John Jenrette worked overtime to win over the entire South Carolina Congressional delegation and then the President of the United States in order to help Ron McNair get in the Space Program. Ron McNair today is seen as a hero to people all over America, especially in South Carolina and in his hometown of Lake City, S. C.
Finally we will tell the story of the building of the Georgetown Bridge over the Sampit River. A bridge John Jenrette got raised to over 60 feet and opened Georgetown County up to easy commerce. It is a physical symbol of the enormous success he was able to accomplish for his state in his 6 years in Congress.
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It was a new era in Washington D.C. and the United States of America. Finally, the great gash in modern American history, The Vietnam War and the Watergate Crisis, was in the rearview mirror. It was all symbolized by a new American President from Georgia, who had risen out of seemingly nowhere to be elected President. He represented a refreshing change, with a big toothy smile, and Baptist Minister like promise that he would never lie to the American People, a peanut farmer ushered in an outsider tenure, and rested away the reigns of power from the Washington insiders many saw as having nearly driven the country off a cliff.
Now Jimmy Carter would address the nation and do something we had not seen since the days of Thomas Jefferson in the Presidency. He got out of the limousine and walked the full length of Pennsylvania Avenue. It was as shocking in the moment as it was refreshing for the American People to see for themselves a new President, a President who was one of us.
In this episode we let you relive the Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his full address, and a good chunk of his walk down Pennsylvania Avenue as though you were right there watching it as it happened.
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In our previous episode, we ended with a funny story about Congressman John Jenrette trying to get his cousin, Dick Jenrette, an appointed position with the Carter Administration in a high enough spot to get a private government jet airplane. His cousin instead of asking to be Secretary of the Treasury or of Commerce, as John Jenrette had hoped, asked to be put in charge of historical preservation. John Jenrette laughed and said, "I could have kicked him!!"
No Airplane!!
It was obvious from the reaction of historian Ben Burroughs that Dick Jenrette had gone on to do some great things in which he was familiar. However, I was not, and I am betting neither are most of the listeners of this podcast. So I did a little investigating on my own into who was Dick Jenrette?
What I found was a very interesting side story, about a man from Raleigh N.C. , who went to New York, got into the investment banking business, grew his firm into the fifth largest in the world , named Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, and then formed the Classic American Homes Preservation Trust. He gifted several homes to the trust and they in turn have opened them to the public for all of the citizens of the world to enjoy. One of those homes is in Charleston S.C. , only about two hours from where we record our podcasts.
So we thought we would introduce you to Dick Jenrette, and to the American Classic Homes Preservation Trust, so that you can hear of the wonderful work they do and can perhaps one day go see the homes for yourself.
https://classicalamericanhomes.org/
(We want to thank the American Classic Homes Preservation Trust who created all the videos, save one CNBC Newscast report, we used in this episode. )
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This episode introduces the other main character in our documentary series, President Jimmy Carter. He rose out of a field of political insiders all of whom were better known to capture the White House in 1976. Carter was perfectly situated as the consummate outsider from the state of Georgia to pull off such an improbable upset. He would face a list of Democratic leaders all of whom were higher profile, Jerry Brown, George Wallace, Mo Udall, Henry Jackson and Frank Church. However, the real opportunity for Carter was created by who was not on the ballot, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
In a field of such well known figures, it was amazing the vision that Congressman John Jenrette had to step up and out front for Jimmy Carter. Jenrette was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse and campaign on behalf of Jimmy Carter for President. It was a political risk and favor that Jimmy Carter never forgot. In this episode you will hear that story and the common upbringing in the rural South that bonded the two men together. For both of them had stood up against the tide of their two deep South states and been strong supporters of protecting the civil rights of their African American constituents and those stands had launched them both on to the national stage.
For most of the next four years Jimmy Carter and John Jenrette turned the political World on its head. It would be a successful run for both men with accomplishments both the World and our region of South Carolina continue to benefit from all of these many years later. Over the next few episodes we will listen in on what could only be described as a remarkable political run.
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It was an historic class of freshman members to Congress in 1974. It was made up of 17 Republicans and 74 Democrats and many would go on to become household names. They turned the inner workings of the House Chamber upside down, removing longtime chairmen, and opening up the rules for more transparency and more access, in ways that are still with us today. In the midst of all of this Speaker Carl Albert, with his Majority Leader Tip O'Neill , made a decision that one of these freshman needed to be in leadership and he picked the one he thought had the most potential, and the brightest future, John W. Jenrette Jr of the 6th District of South Carolina.
In this episode we look back at this class through the eyes of John Jenrette as he recalls the moves that changed an institution. We remember some of the all stars of this class like Paul Tsongas, Paul Simon, Max Baucus, George Miller, Jeff Jeffords, Jim Florio, Henry Hyde, Tom Harkin, Henry Waxman, Larry Pressler, Butler Derrick, and the one member still serving in Congress today, now Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. They left a mark on their times, so much so, they were all the subject of an extraordinary book "The Class of '74" by John Lawrence.
We use excerpts from the author's excellent interviews available on You Tube ,where he discusses the 1974 class and its impact.
https://youtu.be/E2MfhV8Ax0w
An Interview with John Lawrence, author of "The Class of '74." - R Street Institute
John Lawrence , was a former Chief of Staff to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and worked for a while under Congressman George Miller, a member of the 1974 class. The book on the class received rave reviews like this one:
"If you want to know how we got to this bitterly partisan time in politics, read this book. Through hundreds of fascinating interviews plus rigorous research, Lawrence shows us how unintended consequences of congressional 'reforms' started the country along this poisonous path. "
-- Cokie Roberts
We highly recommend the book and include a link to the Amazon page here https://www.amazon.com/Class-74-Congress-Watergate-Partisanship/dp/142142469X
It was a historic moment in the history of the Congress and our Congressman John Jenrette was in the center of the action, a place he always seemed to be....
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We had a couple of announcements and a couple of websites to direct you in this brief housekeeping episode.
- Thanks to the interest in our show " How to cook a pot of Chicken Bog", we have discovered that the legendary "Southern Sportsman" Franc White still has a website up that is run by his two daughters. YOU CAN STILL GET HIS COOKBOOKS. So I went out and bought two more. So we thought we would send you over to their site if you had an interest. You will never regret it.
FrancWhite.Com The home of the Southern Sportsman
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We have done some organizing to our own site and want to invite you over to RandalWallace.com where you can find links to the books we used to guide us through the materials for our podcast and our book. Plus we have a lot of other interesting links, articles, and videos to go through and all of the podcasts are up where you can connect to them if you would like.
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We wanted to invite you over to our new podcast, "The Richard Nixon Experience" where we are rebroadcasting our highly acclaimed podcast documentary on the 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon.
Again, thank you for tuning in and we hope you are enjoying our show, if you are, let us know by leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts. We would also love to hear from you if you have a great John Jenrette story to share, we are planning on compiling them in the next few weeks and months. You can find our email at RandalWallace.com
So as the great Southern Sportsman would say "Don't Litter and do yourself a favor and take a kid fishing"
Thanks Again,
Randal Wallace
Host of "Randal Wallace Presents" and "The Richard Nixon Experience"
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this special edition we take a break from the history of politics to enjoy the history of entertainment from the golden age of television. Here we look back at two of the giants of television, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The couple who invented the way America watches comedy, from the the three camera filming, to the saving of the show on film, to be preserved for generations, to always being thoughtful for the folks who are off camera or, even the folks working in the bar.
Which brings us to the heart of our story. The night Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball walked in the bar at Yellowstone National Park's hotel and ordered a Pousse-Cafe from the brand new bartender, one John W. Jenrette Jr. It may have been a complicated, difficult, and somewhat medicine flavored drink, that would not exactly be my first choice, but it sure made a great story, and we will let John Jenrette tell it to you before we travel to downtown Myrtle Beach to one of the best known restaurants and bars on the Grand Strand, to see if we can recreate the drink for you on our podcast.
You could call this "Randal Wallace Presents : A Pousse - Cafe "
As we get the proprietor of the Black Thai Restaurant, Hamilton Vereen, and Coherie Ventures owner, and "Love Boat" Isaac like bartender Keith Jacobs, to work their magic on a recreation of the magical night in 1955 when the biggest star in Hollywood slammed this drink down after our future Congressman struggled for nearly a half hour to make it for him, and another one for Lucy!!
Pousse-café (French, literally "coffee-pusher") may refer to: a digestif, an alcoholic beverage consumed after the coffee course, such as cognac in an espresso cup. a layered drink composed of several layers of differently colored liqueurs.
When you make a pousse café, you layer the drink by adding the heaviest liquid first, building to the lightest at the top. Generally speaking, grenadine or crème de anything are likely to be the heaviest ingredients you'd add to a pousse café, so it's good to start there.
3 tsp grenadine
3 tsp maraschino liqueur
3 tsp crème de menthe
3 tsp crème de violette
3 tsp Yellow Chartreuse
3 tsp brandy
- Pour the ingredients carefully into a glass in the order listed to keep the colored layers separate. You'll need a steady hand and a strong stomach. Good luck.
(The Black Thai is located in Downtown Myrtle Beach S.C. on 7th Avenue North just as you enter town off U.S. Highway 501. Please come visit the Restaurant this summer and if you enjoy the meal, and the drinks, please let your local and state officials know you would like for them to let this local dining treasure stay in its current location and let them straighten the road behind the building)
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this episode , we look back at the high drama of winning a historic primary and unseating a political giant, only to lose in the general election. Then coming back two years later to finally win a seat in the United States House of Representatives. It was a rollercoaster of a ride with enormously consequential side stories that had far reaching importance.
For the 1972 race for the 6th District Congressional Seat would open the door for the City of Washington D.C. to finally have some semblance of self governing. For years, John McMillan who chaired the committee that governed the District had prevented any form of self rule , save the schoolboard, from getting out of his committee. African Americans had decided that the only way to achieve this goal was to unseat McMillan, and they would organize to try it twice, in 1970 when they lost and again in 1972. This time they had a strong candidate and they knew it. John Jenrette was young, talented, and had been a friend to the African American Community for years.
We will listen as John Jenrette tells the story of how he got in the race, and why he decided to stay in the race even when he had only a 3% name identification in the district. He would get help from Muhammad Ali, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He would get help from his cousin the State Senator, James Stevens, and the race would be razor thin but John Jenrette would win.
Then he would face State Representative Ed Young, a Republican, who would get help from John McMillan and many other disgruntled Democrats. He would also have another ace up his sleave, one of the greatest leaders in American History, Richard Nixon. It would prove to be a mountain to high for John Jenrette to climb and Ed Young would get elected to Congress.
But two years later all of that would change.
NOTE: This show features my proudest researching find, the meeting between President Richard Nixon, 6th District Republican nominee Ed Young , and Nixon aid Harry Dent from South Carolina, from the Nixon taping system.
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this episode , we look back at John Jenrette's fateful decision to run for the South Carolina State House. He was living in North Myrtle Beach and struggling as a Lawyer. In that day lawyers could not advertise and John Jenrette was trying to figure out a way to get his name out to the public. He was, he said, tired of getting paid in collard greens.
It was a decision that would change his life forever. He won. That lifted him to position of Chairman of the Horry County State House delegation. He was 28 years old and the system of that day was entirely different than what we have in the state today. There were no County Councils and the state senators ran the county. In that respect, John Jenrette was sitting in a really good position, he was young, energetic, and the cousin of the sitting State Senator in Horry County, James Stevens. It was a relationship that would pay dividends.
In this episode, we will hear about how under Jenrette's leadership, along with Senator James Stevens, they went to work to build roads, bridges, and develop a fledgling school, then known as Coastal Carolina Community College. It was quite the ride for a young man in a hurry. It was this extraordinary run in the State Legislature that would be the foundation for his later runs for Congress against an entrenched , powerful incumbent.
Then we learn about the distant family tie between John Jenrette, a man of French Huguenot descent, and the leader of another nation on the North American Continent , Pierre Trudeau , the Prime Minister of Canada. Jenrette enjoys talking about his family and their long history in America and the Carolinas.
We will also be introduced to one of John Jenrette's closest friends and a legendary political ally whose career was as large as any in modern South Carolina history, Senator Dick Elliott of North Myrtle Beach, S.C. We will look back at their friendship, its importance in the rise of John Jenrette, and Dick Elliot's own outsized career both in politics, in business, and its impact on our State of South Carolina and through out the Pee Dee region.
Dick Elliott was as responsible for the rise of the Grand Strand in the Golf business, the tourism business, the improved road system, and the growth in Real Estate as anyone in the state, for he was a leader in every one of those industries as well as politics for nearly a half century.
In this episode we look back as John Jenrette lays the groundwork for one of the great upsets in the history of South Carolina politics against Representative John McMillan, who had served 16 terms in Congress.
That will be the next story we will tell.
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this episode, John Jenrette will take off from his hometown of Loris S.C for his days at Wofford College in Spartanburg, and his summers in Ocean Drive, now North Myrtle Beach S.C. It would be an adventure to say the least, he would meet friends Jerry Richardson ( future owner of the Carolina Panthers) and Don Fowler (future Chairman of the Democratic National Committee) , and learn the famous Carolina Shag on the beach while lifeguarding and chasing pretty girls in the pre Hurricane Hazel Grand Strand.
Then when college was done he would take off across the country to see the world and end up at the bar of the Yellowstone National Park Hotel. It would be there he would serve some of the most famous people in America including one odd couple who were also arguably the most famous and beloved couple in the world. "I Love Lucy" was at the time the biggest show on television, and Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnaz are widely credited with creating the format of the comedy sitcom still used today to make America laugh. John Jenrette was their bartender in the bar at Yellowstone before he was our congressman in the 6th District of South Carolina.
In this episode we will introduce you to the specialty drink of Dezi Arnaz too:
Pousse-café (French, literally "coffee-pusher") may refer to: a digestif, an alcoholic beverage consumed after the coffee course, such as cognac in an espresso cup. a layered drink composed of several layers of differently colored liqueurs.
When you make a pousse café, you layer the drink by adding the heaviest liquid first, building to the lightest at the top. Generally speaking, grenadine or crème de anything are likely to be the heaviest ingredients you'd add to a pousse café, so it's good to start there.
3 tsp grenadine
3 tsp maraschino liqueur
3 tsp crème de menthe
3 tsp crème de violette
3 tsp Yellow Chartreuse
3 tsp brandy
- Pour the ingredients carefully into a glass in the order listed to keep the colored layers separate. You'll need a steady hand and a strong stomach. Good luck.
This is a fun show, it has it all, the beach, a dance, chasing girls, and life lessons with the rich and famous.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
John Jenrette started life in the tiny hamlet of Loris S.C. He was the youngest son of a carpenter turned farmer, so poor it was noted he first saw indoor restrooms at the age of seven. His sister was 23 years older. It would have been hard to imagine the heights he would rise to in his life during these years in Loris.
This episode will take you back to a different era in the rural south. When the world was segregated and people literally had to make plans around when the Ku Klux Klan might be marching in the middle of their rural town. It was a different world. We will listen as John Jenrette takes you back to a time when church meetings were a constant, trips to the beach on sunday were for catching fish, and how he learned to drive from some older men who wanted a chauffeur to get to Georgetown for extra curricular activities in a place known as The Sunset Lodge.
It was there that this future Congressman would get a chance to meet the largest figure of the 20th century as he tagged along with the Sunset Lodge's owner as she catered an event at the Hobcaw Barony main house. At 8 years old, John Jenrette sat outside on a swing with the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while they waited for the food to get ready. The first of many of the important people he would meet in a life no novelist would have dared to create.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
This episode is a housekeeping episode to address several circumstances that we felt needed to be addressed as we moved forward with our documentary presentation. Former Congressman John Jenrette passed away just as we were completing this series of shows. It was such sad news because anyone who knew former Congressman John Jenrette could not help but like him. It left us with a few dilemmas, mainly that at various times we talked about the congressman in the present tense. I felt like addressing the passing here was the best way to address that issue and then allowing the documentary to speak for itself.
We also wanted to say thank you to Ben Burroughs of Coastal Carolina University who allowed us the use of his three hours of oral history interviews with Former Congressman John Jenrette. This may be hard to believe given John Jenrette's rather large place in the collective memory of our area but there was actually not that much material readily available about his time in office nor the scandal that ended his career. It had all occurred prior to the widespread use of VCR's and long before the internet. A lesson I learned in this season was that if you were not a President nor served during the modern age of technology, there would actually be very little available to tell your story. This was also true of former Congressmen John McMillan and Ed Young.
This season of documentary episodes would literally not have been possible without the use of the materials from Ben Burroughs and Coastal Carolina University, so we wanted to say a special thank you to them for the use of the oral histories. We also want to thank some other sources for their materials too, all of which were vitally important to the show, John Bonsignor and Paul Gable for the interview on Talking Politics, Greg Everett and his three interviews from Carolina People, Dianne Devaughn Stokes and her Inside Out interview with HTC, and the campaign video interview from the Dick Elliot retrospective. It was also very important to be able to use the book "Capitol Steps and Missteps" written by John Clark and Cookie VanSice, two long time Jenrette staff members, as a guide for much of the Documentary presentations as well.
I am personally very proud of this our 10th season. It is the most personal of all the materials we have done because we knew and were friends with former Congressman John Jenrette, and the show focuses so much attention on Horry County, South Carolina. It is a place of many colorful, and interesting people and features. This is my home, and I am proud of it, and have enjoyed this opportunity to introduce it to you on our podcast.
I hope you enjoy the shows.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
If you have not noticed in our first two episodes, and in the next, we have a character that is almost as big a star in our 10th season as John Jenrette or Jimmy Carter. It is a low country South Carolina dish famously known as Chicken Bog. If you watch campaign rallies on C-Span or make it to the Democratic Party's Galivants Ferry Stump or the Republican Party's Horry County Stampede you will see it in abundance on the plates of every candidate and every audience member. It is a staple of every low country gathering.
So I thought, due to an accidental opportunity at a perfectly timed Bachelor party, that we had the perfect opportunity to show our audience, in 91 countries and over 1500 cities, many of whom may never get to travel to South Carolina for a bite, how to cook up a batch of Chicken Bog. So this podcast was put together , hastily as some of the audio shows, in the spirit of the great Southern Sportsman Franc White. though we never flew off in a Zebra airplane., nor did we have any House Autry products to put in the mix.
Still in this episode, dedicated to the memory of Franc White who passed away in 2012 at the age of 86, featuring another Southern Sportsman , Horry County native, and Chicken Bog chef extraordinaire Brad Daniels, as he leads us through the art of cooking up a batch of this southern delicacy. If you follow his instructions and recipe we will assure you of a batch worthy of entering in the famous Loris Bog Off or maybe even a campaign rally or two. So we hope you will enjoy our very first culinary edition of the Randal Wallace Presents Podcast.
Recipes
- Franc White's Fruited Wild Rice Stuffing : 1 pkg 16 oz Long Brown & Wild Rice, 2 Cups of Chicken Broth, 1 Tbsp of Margarine (we recommend you switch this to butter) , 1/2 cup of chopped Red Apple, 1/4 cup of currents, 2 tsp chopped parsley.
- Brad Daniels Chicken Bog: White and Dark Meat Chicken (Breast & thighs) , Link Sausage ( Kielbasa) , Bacon, Onions, Salt, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Chicken Broth, Uncle Ben's Rice.
Cooked in stages, bacon in pot first cooked alone to season the pot, then Onions added alone, Chicken and sausage, seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning, cooked and mixed in for a few minutes, then after proper cooking covered in Chicken Broth brought to a boil and then allowed to cook for 20 minutes or until meat is done, taste broth for saltiness, and add any broth needed to level back out, brought back to a boil, add Uncle Ben's Rice. Quantities vary depending on how big a batch you are making. We were feeding 10 people for this audio broadcast.
This show is dedicated to the memory of the original Southern Sportsman Franc White, several of his shows are still available on You Tube , and always remember " Don't litter and do yourself a favor and take a kid fishing!!!" (or in this episode a girl fishing)
The videos are available on my Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10159285016275658&type=3
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In our last episode we introduced you to both Former Congressman John Jenrette and a historic South Carolina political event known as the Galivants Ferry Stump. The latter is just one of those things you have to be a part of to truly appreciate. Since many of you may never have the opportunity to visit South Carolina when this historic event is going on. I thought we would take you back in time to one of its most historic gatherings when the man most associated with the event, former South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings was on center stage introducing his friend from Delaware who was then running for President.
In 2008, Senator Joe Biden would not be successful, but at the end of that campaign he would end up on the ticket with the 2008 eventual winner, Barak Obama. He would go on to win the Presidency himself in 2020. That makes him the only President of the United States I am aware of to address the Galivants Ferry Stump. In this episode, we will let you relive that day, with lots of country music, some thoughts from the events driving force for over a half century, James Monroe Holliday, plus hear some insights from former Congressman John Jenrette, and then hear those old fashioned barn burning Democratic political Speeches from two of the Democratic Parties largest figures, Ernest Hollings and Joe Biden.
You can almost smell the Chicken Bog wafting in the air, as you listen to the fired up Democratic speeches, standing by the gas pumps on Highway 501 , all of it emanating from the front porch of the Galivants Ferry Convenience Store on the banks of the Pee Dee River.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this first episode of Season 10 we introduce you to Congressman John Jenrette, who had once been the only person from Horry County S.C. to ever serve in either house of the United States Congress. John Jenrette came from obscurity and abject poverty, the child of older parents, his father a carpenter in the rural enclave of Loris , South Carolina, and rose to the halls of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the very first House Freshman to be selected as a member of the leadership. He seemed destined for greatness.
Then everything went wrong.
In this season we will tell that story. The story of a visionary years ahead of his time who sadly let his flaws, and one major mistake in his life, overshadow his amazing accomplishments.
But in this first episode, we will start at the dawn of a new era for the district John Jenrette once served, as only the second Horry County native, and only the third man to hail from Horry County, Russell Fry, begins his own journey to Washington D.C. and the Halls of Congress. Russell Fry will represent in Congress a powerhouse district for the 1.9 Trillion Dollar Tourism Industry, a region that is also now a formidable player in the Agriculture Industry nationally, and it is the fastest growing housing market in America. I figured that there was no better moment to look back at the man who was the first Congressman from this area, who had served when none of these assets had even come to fruition, and yet, a strong case could be made that Congressman John Jenrette laid the groundwork for all of the factors that will help Russell Fry become a major player in today's congress, on the first day he walks in the door.
I also thought as we look at this new beginning for the Seventh District, and back at the man who laid the foundation for the strong place our region now holds as a leader in the tourism industry, that we look back at the historic event that John Jenrette took so much pride in being a part of, and is so much a part of the political fabric of this part of South Carolina, The Galivants Ferry Stump. A political event that has gone strong for 140 years and counting, and is a throwback to the days when politicians actually had to meet people, and give speeches, between live country music bands playing, and giant plates of a southern delicacy known as Chicken Bog. From an era long before radio, television, and the internet changed how we connected to one another.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
Breaking News!! The Vindication of Richard Nixon appears at long last to be upon us. One of the leading academic institutions in America has decided to look in-depth at the documents discovered by Geoff Shepard ( and that we used on our podcast for Seasons 6 -8) as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Watergate Scandal and the fall of President Richard Nixon.
In this episode , we have been given permission to replay a new discussion panel featuring former White House Appointments Secretary for President Richard Nixon, Dwight Chapin, former Nixon legal Defense Team Member Geoff Shepard, and one of the leading historians in the World today, Luke Nichter of Chapman University, as they discuss the Hoover History Working Group and its new 12 hours of in-depth seminars delving into the documents discovered by Geoff Shepard in the National Archives. This is the first time a major academic Institution has decided to study these documents this intensely that make the case that their was massive Prosecutorial Misconduct, and misconduct of Judge John Sirica, that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon and the conviction of several of his top aids in 1974.
We also review some of the examples of exculpatory materials we featured in our recent series that covered 5 seasons and the entire Nixon Presidency. If you tune in to our shows it will be evident that there was a lot more to the story of Richard Nixon than has been told so far by historians and the national news media. A lot of it is of a great man with a long list of accomplishment. So this news about the work of the Hoover working history groups in-depth look at the new Watergate documents is welcome news in deed.
For those of us who have admired this greatest of Presidents this is an exciting and almost tear producing moment. That this man who saved our union will finally be able to take his place among the greatest Americans the nation has ever produced without any caveats concerning the scandal that ended his administration. We invite you to delve deep into our back catalogue as well, starting at episode 50 through episode 175, plus several bonus episodes running from Season 4 through Season 8, and learn the true story of a great American leader. We hope you will because the better educated we all are, the less likely it will ever happen again....and it could happen again, in fact, it may be happening now.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
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On April, 14, 2023 , I was asked to speak , briefly, to the Confederation of Local Historical Societies in my new role as Chairman of the South Carolina Hall of Fame. I only spoke for a few minutes just to introduce myself and inform them of our three inductees this year in 2023.
They are Francis Salvador, the first Jewish American casualty in the fight for American Independence, Rudy Mancke the contemporary inductee and the Naturalist for SCETV, and "Smoking" Joe Frazier , the former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
I thought it might be fun to tell our audience here about the Hall of Fame, let them listen in on my brief address and introduce the audience to just a few of the currently 99 inductees in the South Carolina Hall of Fame. I cannot remember anything I was as excited about as being selected to serve in this role, as the Chairman of this organization, that has happened to me in a long time.
So I wanted to share it with you , our audience, here on the podcast. So I hope you will enjoy this introduction to the South Carolina Hall of Fame, and enjoy the videos put together by SCETV. They have done a splendid job and I invite you to come over to look at their website Knowitall.org and check out all 99 inductees to the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
In this episode we chose just a handful, from one signer of the Declaration of Independence, to three South Carolina astronauts, to a rock star, and a race car driver. Just a small look at the many faces that have helped make South Carolina such a wonderful and inspiring place to live.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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To the nation he was the congressman who was nabbed in ABSCAM and whose wife claimed to have had a late night lovemaking session with him on the steps of the United States Capital, all written about in the pages of Playboy Magazine. To those of us in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina, where he lived. John Jenrette was our eccentric, fun loving, famous neighbor, who was always ready with a joke, a laugh, or some remarkably visionary advice.
It was almost impossible to grasp that 40 years ago he had once been on the fast track to what many believed was a political career headed for greatness, as possibly a future Speaker of the House of Representatives, or even one day, President of the United States. But it had all gone wrong and John Jenrette would not only see all of that go off track but he would never get the credit he deserved for all he had done to lay the foundation for the region we think of as South Carolina's 7th District today.
He was a visionary leader who did great things for the nation, and the industry that allowed his Congressional District to thrive. John Jenrette had taken stands to protect the rights of African Americans often forgotten by the powers that be in the State of South Carolina and in the region of the nation Jenrette represented. John Jenrette had also fought hard to protect the needs of the small farmers who were also often forgotten in an era when big corporate entities were cementing their grip on Agriculture along with many other industries in the nation.
John Jenrette had been a champion of the little man, the common man, the man who went to work every day and asked for nothing but an honest chance to live the American Dream.
Season 10 will often be a very personal story for me, because John Jenrette was my friend, and often a helpful advisor throughout two decades of service in the city I grew up in. It will be a story I am excited to tell about a man who deserves to be remembered for all of the great things he accomplished, and had the vision to see, way ahead of everyone else. A man who sadly let his flaws, and one very giant mistake, overshadow all the rest of what he had achieved......that is, until now.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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I was so moved by the ad released for Tim Scott's Presidential Exploratory Commitee that we decided to do a commentary on it.
He said in three minutes what I have tried to convey in a run for Congress, a 554 page book, and 270 episodes of this podcast.
I hope you will listen......
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In the final episode of season 9, we look back at the remarkable man that was Gerald Ford.
He inherited the Presidency at one of the lowest moments in all of American History. He worked the job tirelessly to heal the wounds of a divided land. He set an example that many hope could be followed today in these troubled and divided times. One of the ways he set that example came after he left the White House.
In this episode we will look back at the extraordinary friendship that developed between the two men who fought one of the closest elections in American history, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. By the end of Gerald Ford's life it was said that no two Presidents had become closer friends than Ford and Carter. It began to take root after Ford showed enormous restraint and consideration during a 1980 election night interview as President Carter was defeated at the hands of fellow Republican, Ronald Reagan.
Then after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, President Reagan asked former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to attend the funeral on the nation's behalf. During the long flight the two men bonded. You will see that throughout the rest of Ford's life the friendship cemented not only between the two Presidents but among their wives and children as well. It is a great example of civility, courtesy, and effort, a lesson that we could use in today's hostile political climate.
Finally, we will look back at the passing of President Ford and appreciate all he did to heal our land. So many of our Chief Executives tenures tend to be the source of endless debate among historians and political partisans but Gerald Ford's brief but important two and a half years as President has tended to be a time in which almost everyone agrees, that he left the nation in far better shape than he found it. He inherited the White House at the end of the second most divided era in our history, after the assassination of a President, war in Vietnam, and the injustice of the Watergate Scandal that had removed an extraordinarily great President from office, at that moment it fell to Gerald Ford to unite and heal a horribly divided and troubled nation. The fact that he did, is as much a testament to Gerald Ford as it is a testament to the great nation he led.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode we fast forward some 20 years to 1996, when Gerald Ford's running mate would be a weekend away from the election day when he would carry the banner for the Republican Party. Bob Dole was giving it his all in a race against a fairly popular, but considerably flawed, incumbent President, in Bill Clinton. The polls had Dole down by a considerable 20 points and it seemed after giving his lifetime to the Republican Party its elected leadership was starting to keep its distance from its struggling nominee.
But on this final weekend, Bob Dole decided to give it everything he could come up with and started out on a 96 hour nonstop campaign until the final vote would be cast to try and shake the race up. The polls were indeed tightening. Dole had some further issues with an independent candidate named Ross Perot, who was making his second try at the White House and again hurting the numbers of the Republican candidate.
It was with this backdrop that the men that Bob Dole had fought for his entire career showed back up to help him in the twilight hours of the 1996 campaign. It was the final political battle of the World War 2 Generation that had created the American Century and it all began at a rally in Dayton , Ohio featuring Bob Dole and two Presidents we either have or will put the spotlight on in our podcasts, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. Here is a fun episode commemorating that event, those final days of the 1996 campaign, and the memory of this collective group of leaders that created the American Century we have enjoyed.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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The original premise of our podcast "Bridging the Political Gap" when we began 9 seasons ago was to look at the leadership offered by a generation of Americans who fought World War 2 and built the American Century. They got things done and they could disagree without being disagreeable. They understood like no generation before and perhaps none of the members of the leadership we have today that Democrat plus Republican equals American, to quote Bob Hope from this episode.
I can think of no other single event that shows this philosophy off any better than an event held on St. Patrick's Day , March 17, 1986, at the Washington Hilton to raise money for Boston College, the beloved hometown college of the retiring Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill. The event was to honor him as he was winding down a 50 year public service career. Two of the speakers included a current President of the United States and a former President of the United States.
Tip O'Neill could not have had a more different type of relationship than the the two relationships he had with Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford respectively. Ronald Reagan had been a worthy adversary, a Republican, who was a polar opposite of Tip O'Neill. The two men were not friends but they realized they had to work together where they could if they were to accomplish anything for the American people. They learned to respect one another even if they were opposed to each others politics. They understood the power of respecting one another and they accomplished great things.
Gerald Ford on the other hand was a great and close friend. The affection for one another is obvious as you watch this event unfold. You learn that if you take the time to get to know one another, you will like each other even if you don't agree on issues or politics. A lesson we could all learn from these two giant political figures.
This is an episode that shows in one evening, so long ago , that the lesson of the power of relationships matters in whatever you do if you really want to solve problems and get something done.
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In this third episode in our three part mini - series on the 1976 Presidential Election, we get in the trenches and watch the campaign play out. For the Republicans if it can go wrong it does go wrong, from the audio going out at the Presidential Debate, to the gaffes of "No Domination of Eastern Europe by the Soviets", to the number of dead "in Democrat Wars in this century", these two giants of Republican political history, Gerald Ford and Bob Dole, seem to blunder from one mistake to the next. However, the polls keep closing.
Which has the back and forth between the two sides pretty darn exciting to watch as they criss cross the country campaigning to the masses and in one case giving the unlikeliest of interviews, from the unlikeliest of candidates, to the unlikeliest of magazines. Yes, Jimmy Carter actually sits down to talk politics, the Presidency, and the campaign, with Playboy.
By the time we get to election day both sides have given it their all and Gerald Ford has totally lost his voice. In what would be one of the closest elections in history and the election that had begun with the biggest deficits between two candidates in memory. Gerald Ford may have come up short but he had nothing to be ashamed of considering the size of the hole he had found himself in. We close out this episode on the dawn of a new era in American History, an era that will see some of our lowest moments, and our coldest moments in the history of the Cold War, and then one tremendous triumph made possible by the hard work of 9 successive Presidents whose lives and experiences had been molded by the bloodiest war in World History. And all of that is yet to come.
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In our second episode of the three part look at the 1976 Campaign we head into the aftermath of the divided Republican Convention after Gerald Ford has secured the nomination. Ronald Reagan lets President Ford know that he does not want to be the Vice Presidential nominee and that decision opens the door for my personal hero to walk on to center stage in the Republican Party. A spot that Senator Bob Dole of Kansas would occupy for the next two decades.
Then Gerald Ford will accept his party's nomination for President and invite his vanquished opponent down to the stage to make some appropriate remarks. Ronald Reagan would give arguably the greatest speech of his entire career that night, and everyone in the convention hall would be left with the feeling they may have nominated the wrong man,
Gerald Ford would then head off into the fall campaign to face Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in what appeared to everyone as a hopeless situation. Ford was 33 points down in the polls. What we shall then bare witness to was arguably one of the greatest near comebacks in all of American history, as we will learn in the next episode.
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Campaign 1976!!! It is one of the most interesting Presidential elections in all of American History. It is also the gateway to the end of one era, that of the Vietnam - Watergate years and the start of the Reagan Era. It is a Presidential Campaign that early on featured figures from the battles of the 1960's and 1970s, from George Wallace to Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, to the men who would dominate the next era of American History in Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
It will feature the last Convention battle for an undecided nomination at the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, and after the battle is finally won, it will bring about a moment that every American remembers when Gerald Ford would invite Ronald Reagan to the floor for an impromptu speech, that would be considered widely as the best speech ever delivered by Ronald Reagan. After all of that, Gerald Ford would start out his fall campaign 33 points behind the Democratic ticket of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.
This is the first of three episodes that will tell that story. In this episode we take you through the primary campaign and profile both Governors Jimmy Carter of Georgia, and Ronald Reagan of California and we will hear from President Gerald Ford too. We will take you on a wild ride to the Republican National Convention for all of its drama that captivated the nation like a convention of old.
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This is a fun episode looking back at one of the purely fun events of the past half century. It was the Bicentennial of Declaration of Independence, the celebration of our nation's founding. It was an event like no other in our history and Gerald Ford, a man who had not sought the Presidency at all, got to enjoy presiding over it all.
He gives all appearances of having enjoyed every moment of it too.
So in this episode we simply hop on for the ride as we open up the Smithsonian's New Air and Space Museum, enjoy the tall ships as they sailed through New York Harbour, enjoyed a celebratory event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on July 3rd, with two speeches on America, one given by President Gerald Ford and the other by a football All American, Heisman Trophy Winner, and one of the NFL's leading all time rushers, former Buffalo Bills Running Back O.J. Simpson. ( at that moment no one knew what the future would hold for him)
Then we follow President Ford to the great city of Philadelphia, to hear a speech at Freedom Hall by the President to commemorate this historic moment on July 4, 1976.
Then we head back to the nation's capital to welcome the most famous and perhaps most unlikely of guests who will stop over to help our nation celebrate its 200 years of freedom. A royal visit from none other than Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second of United Kingdom, the monarch of the very nation whose yolk we had thrown off exactly 200 years and two days before.....
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John Jenrette , former United States Congressman from the 6th District of South Carolina, passed away on St. Patrick's Day 2023. A fitting day for a man who was as colorful a character as has ever set foot in Congress and who was also stunningly effective. John Jenrette was the only native Horry County, South Carolinian to ever serve in Congress until our brand new Congressman Russell Fry was elected this past November.
Our podcast is planning on spending our next season chronicling his enormously impactful life and career as we also look back at Former President Jimmy Carter who was endorsed by Congressman John Jenrette in 1975, the first member of Congress to do so. We hope you will tune in to our 10th season of shows focused on John Jenrette in late April but on this day of his passing we hope you will listen in on our salute to this celebrated and often controversial Congressman.
A man who made enormous mistakes, true enough, but who made his district and our nation a much better place to live for all of us too. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Jenrette Family and friends at this sad moment. Please keep them in your prayers. John Jenrette was 86 years old.
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From Wikipedia:
According to the Cold War scholar John Lewis Gaddis in his book The Cold War: A New History (2005), "Leonid Brezhnev had looked forward, Anatoly Dobrynin recalls, to the 'publicity he would gain... when the Soviet public learned of the final settlement of the postwar boundaries for which they had sacrificed so much'... '[Instead, the Helsinki Accords] gradually became a manifesto of the dissident and liberal movement'... What this meant was that the people who lived under these [communist] systems — at least the more courageous — could claim official permission to say what they thought."[20]
In what began under President Richard Nixon as what Henry Kissinger called "grandstand play to the left." Ended up under President Gerald Ford as one of the first meaningful attempts to assure human rights through out the World. It would be the agreement that many credit as creating those first cracks in the Communist World. Here we will show you many of the benefits of the Helsinki Accords that still serve Europe today and we will hear President Ford's address to the conference in 1975 in Helsinki, Finland.
The Accords had agreements in four areas known as baskets, explained here by Wikipedia:
"There were four groupings or baskets. In the first basket, the "Declaration on Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States" (also known as "The Decalogue") enumerated the following 10 points:
- Sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty
- Refraining from the threat or use of force
- Inviolability of frontiers
- Territorial integrity of states
- Peaceful settlement of disputes
- Non-intervention in internal affairs
- Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief
- Equal rights and self-determination of peoples
- Co-operation among States
- Fulfillment in good faith of obligations under international law
The second basket promised economic, scientific, and technological cooperation; facilitating business contacts and industrial cooperation; linking together transportation networks; and increasing the flow of information. The third basket involved commitments to improve the human context of family reunions, marriages and travel. It also sought to improve the conditions of journalists and expand cultural exchanges. The fourth basket dealt with procedures to monitor implementation, and to plan future meetings.[4]"
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From Wikipedia:
The Mayaguez incident took place between Kampuchea (now Cambodia) and the United States from 12 to 15 May 1975, less than a month after the Khmer Rouge took control of the capital Phnom Penh ousting the U.S.-backed Khmer Republic. After the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in a disputed maritime area, the U.S. mounted a hastily-prepared rescue operation. U.S. Marines recaptured the ship and attacked the island of Koh Tang where it was believed that the crew were being held as hostages.
Encountering stronger than expected defences on Koh Tang, three United States Air Force helicopters were destroyed during the initial assault and the Marines fought a desperate day-long battle with the Khmer Rouge before being evacuated. The Mayaguez's crew were released unharmed by the Khmer Rouge shortly after the attack on Koh Tang began. The names of the Americans killed, including three Marines left behind on Koh Tang after the battle and subsequently executed by the Khmer Rouge, are the last names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
This episode is that story. It features the news coverage of the time and some interviews with soldiers who were there as it all unfolded. In many ways, it was the final battle of the Vietnam War for America.
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In this episode we look at three of the major events of the Gerald Ford Administration that people will remember.
First off Gerald Ford had to find a person to fill the office of Vice President of the United States. It would be only the second time the 25th amendment would be used, and the last time it was used. He would select New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to serve in that position. Rockefeller was one of the major political figures of the 1960's and 1970's and represented a wing of the Republican Party that does not exist any longer. He was a liberal Republican. Here you will hear his acceptance of the nomination and listen in on the opening of his hearings to take the job.
Then we will move on to the financial meltdown in New York City. It was the moment that the Big Apple, almost went under. The employees of the city were actually often endangered of not getting paid if they did not cash their checks early in the morning. That is how serious the situation got before the Federal Government helped them. However, before Gerald Ford would agree to do that he insisted that they come up with a plan and bring it to the Federal Government. A novel idea during a time when the Federal Government had often been the ones insisting on the plan and guidelines that all the other levels of government had to follow. This plan did resolve the issues and today New York City is one of America's most prosperous cities, or at least it was.
Then finally we look back at the only appointment to the Supreme Court President Ford got to make. It would turn out to be an important one because John Paul Stevens would go on to become the the third longest serving Justice in Supreme Court history. We will look back at his remarkable tenure and his long and illustrious life as one of America's leading legal experts.
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On April 30, 1975, The North Vietnamese Army invaded Saigon and the war in Vietnam ended. While it was not a defeat for the United States since President Nixon had brokered a peace in January of 1973, and we had left, it sure felt like one.
Gerald Ford , who had inherited the Presidency at the end of the Watergate legal process ( A process we have shown that was riddled with alleged prosecutorial misconduct) was forced to watch helplessly as the city was overrun and we had to evacuate our Embassy.
President Ford had wanted to live up to the promises we had made when President Nixon had negotiated our exit from the country. However, Congress had cut all funding to the nation and refused to allow President Ford to spend any money to even offer air support for the South Vietnamese Army. It was a shameful abandonment to an ally that had trusted us.
Seven days later, President Gerald Ford faced the television cameras and the Washington Press Corp. This is that press conference. It was a real symbol that the war was finally over as Ford actually has to answer a wide variety of questions on subjects that are very far ranging. It is a Press Conference that gives you a feel for just how many different issues the President has to deal with at any given time. It also gives you a feel for the President himself, and how he made decisions, and how open he tried to be with the American People, in contrast to several of his predecessors in that office.
It is also , in a brief answer to a question, one of the first times you hear the President firmly state to the nation that the war in Vietnam is over for America.
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In this episode we hear from both former President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty Ford from an in-depth interview from a 1996 CNN Special "Riding the Tiger". In it they discuss the feelings they had as they assumed the Presidency in the most difficult of circumstances, why he decided to grant former President Nixon a pardon, and how they dealt with the traumatizing two assassination attempts. The only two assassination attempts committed by women, Squeaky Fromme, and Sarah Jane Moore.
This episode will also have the news footage of the times and an incredible CNN interview with one of the attempted assassins herself, Sarah Jane Moore. The Ford's themselves share the story with an incredible amount of humor and grace.
Then we look back at this most impressive of First Ladies, Betty Ford. She was strong, independent, and faced life with an amazing combination of strength, transparency, and vulnerability. Traits we rarely see in politics any longer. She changed the role of the First Lady more profoundly than just about any First Lady up to that time. She shared the ups and downs of her life battling breast cancer, dealing with rebellious teenage children, and then her own personal battle with addiction. It is an interesting look at a fascinating an admirable lady.
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It is one thing to work with a President from the other party and be the loyal opposition that is often getting in the news for being opposed to the President. It is another to be your President's leader on the House floor pushing through his agenda, especially when you are in the minority. That is the position that Gerald Ford will be in for much of the Presidency of Richard Nixon. He was the President's lead lieutenant in the House of Representatives.
Richard Nixon assumed the Presidency as the first President since Zachary Taylor, with both houses of Congress in the opposition hands. Somehow , Nixon got a lot of things done, and his domestic record of accomplishments is actually very strong, despite the handicap of being a minority party President and a President often seen as an enemy to the Democratic Party.
Some of that long list of accomplishments can be attributed to the legislative skill of his Minority Leader, Gerald Ford. In this episode we will listen in as the two men work on many things in the first Administration. It was there that Richard Nixon laid the groundwork for his place as one of our five Greatest American Leaders in the history of our country.
It is here that we will get a small dose of the role Gerald Ford played in all that success.
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In this episode you will get to see how the sausage is made. We feature several phone calls between two of the nation's consummate legislators, Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the United States (A Democrat) and Representative Gerald Ford, the House Republican Leader. You will get to see some serious wheeling and dealing on the grandest of stages.
While LBJ had had a long and personally friendly relationship with Republican Senate Leader Senator Everett Dirksen, his relationship with Gerald Ford had been testy at times. Johnson famously had once said "That Gerald Ford had played too many football games without a helmet". But fate had put them together, during a very tumultuous, and important moment in American History. and just like with Dirksen, Johnson needed Ford's help. In this episode you will hear Johnson ask for it and occasionally apply a lot of that famous mixture of charm and personality to the Republican House Leader.
So sit back and enjoy the ride as we listen in on Gerald Ford as he works with Lyndon Johnson.
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In our season premier of Season 9 we begin our look back at "Gerald Ford: The Accidental President" as we look at his overall time as President and his film "A Time To Heal" which was also the name of his book. Then we go back to the beginning of our long look at the 1960's and 1970's to the subject of our first episode on the subject. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford's role in The Warren Commission and its report on what exactly happened on that fateful day in Dallas, Texas.
This episode begins our 14 episode retrospective on the Ford Administration and the career of the former President. We hope to show you his many examples of leadership that helped restore America's faith in its government. We do highlight things in his administration that we had not already covered during our presentation on Richard Nixon. So in a way we will be able to show you things during these episodes that you may have forgotten about his two and one half years in office.
He was a consequential figure, and his impact is still felt today in the many figures who went from his Administration on into the future to hold enormously large places in our history including a United States President (George Bush) , a Vice President (Dick Cheney) , a Senate Majority Leader (Bob Dole) , and numerous cabinet figures (Donald Rumsfeld and James Baker to name two) who would serve in subsequent administrations.
Though his most important contribution may very well be the personal example he set for leaders into the future that the job of President could be conducted in an honest and transparent way with a lot of humility too.
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For all of the folks who have said to me that our long documentary on Watergate and the massive evidence of alleged prosecutorial misconduct just did not seem plausible. This special edition is for you. It is a story I had not heard before until our podcast's friend , Geoff Shepard, sent the story to me and then I proceeded to research it.
It is the story of one of greatest injustices ever perpetuated on a group of our soldiers, accusing three African American fighting men of murder, and causing 47 more, all African Americans, to face trial and court martial for a riot in November of 1944. It would be another 64 years before this injustice was ever set straight. An early investigation had been conducted of the events in question before the Army Prosecutor had been sent to work on the case and that investigation had cleared every single African American soldier involved of any wrong doing.
But the Prosecutor decided to prosecute all of them anyway, even though he knew of the report that said they were all innocent men. He actively hid the report refusing to turn it over to a rushed Defense Team knowing they only had 10 days to prepare their case. It was a travesty of American Justice.
That prosecutor was named Leon Jaworski and the case has many earie similarities to the long national nightmare of Watergate, we just chronicled in our last three season series. This is a sad, sad , story. A story that brings new insight to the massive amount of new evidence that has emerged that shows that Richard Nixon, and many of his top aids, may not have been as guilty as we have all been led to believe for the past half century.
To learn more about the 1944 Fort Lawton riot see these links :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lawton_riot
KCTS 9 Connects: Miscarriage of Justice
https://youtu.be/Nxil2dibqiU
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Our New Sister Podcast, The Randal Wallace Show is up now and you can find it wherever you get your podcast. So please tune in and we hope you will stick around for a lot of good conversation and some shows covering current events too!!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1532626 The Randal Wallace Show Link
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In part three of "The Randal Wallace Show" we bring you the conclusion of the fight for the Speakership of United States House of Representatives. In this episode, we see the negotiations begin to finally bring the debate to a close. Representative Kevin McCarthy gives in to several of the requests of the conservative wing of the Party. But just when you think a deal has been done Representative Matt Goetz throws' a monkey-wrench into the works.
That leads to one of the most dramatic things seen in politics on the House floor in years as one representative has to be physically restrained all while a former President steps in to push the resisters into a final deal. It is high drama on the floor of the House.
Then we bring you the final speeches and draw this extraordinary civic lesson to a close,
(We wish to give full credit for the network news reports used through out to the media outlets we used audio from, CBS News, WBTW - News 13 in Myrtle Beach/Florence S.C., CNN, the PBS NewsHour, and ABC News. )
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, Royalty free song link https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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In part two of our introductory podcast series for "The Randal Wallace Show" we let the leading news outlets of the day cover the fight for the Speakership of the 118th Congress. You will get to sit through all the twists and turns of the middle days of the open rebellion of conservative firebrand congressmen who tried to block Representative Kevin McCarthy from becoming the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
You will hear the speeches from the floor and listen in on the coverage of the maneuverings behind the scenes of the Republican House Leadership as it struggles to survive, and take control of the Chamber. It would be one of the great civic lessons that our country has had in a long, long, time.
And we will let you listen in on it all in days two and three......
(We wish to give full credit for the network news reports used through out to the media outlets we used audio from, CBS News, WBTW - News 13 in Myrtle Beach/Florence S.C., CNN, the PBS NewsHour, and ABC News. )
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, Royalty free song link https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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Exclusive first episode of our new sister podcast "The Randal Wallace Show"
This is the first of three episodes we will release this week on our site to introduce the show. In it we will take you on a tour of Washington D.C. during the first week of January as we were in Washington to celebrate and witness the swearing in ceremony for the 118th Congress and the new South Carolina Congressman Russell Fry.
Things did not go as planned.
Instead we got to witness the longest fight for Speaker of the House in nearly 100 years. This show will take you from playing tourist around Washington D. C. , to being there as the four day fight for the Speakership began. In the next couple of episodes we will chronicle that fight up to the moment the 118th Congress was finally able to be sworn in.
We hope you enjoy the new podcast and will join us wherever you get your podcast in the weeks to come at "The Randal Wallace Show" Podcast
Theme song is Produced by Danya Vodovoz, link to my song https://youtu.be/NRxduUMZcdw
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Coming on February 20, 2023, The "Randal Wallace Presents Podcast" begins our 9th season with a very special look back at Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States. He was the only man in the history of the Presidency that was never elected to either the Presidency nor the Vice Presidency. He was the Accidental President.
Over 11 episodes we'll look back at his time in office that has proven to have been a time of enormous consequence. He was more than just a caretaker President. He restored people's trust in government, pardoned his predecessor, presided over the final days of the Vietnam War, tried to get our economic house in order, and finally fought and almost pulled off one of the great political "come from behind" campaigns in all of American History.
He was a good and decent man, and a perfect example of the qualities we should all look for in a leader. You will get to see it in full display right here in the the first 11 episodes of our 9th season as we tackle the extraordinary life, career, and Presidency of Gerald Ford.
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Welcome to
The Revealing Documents from the Watergate Prosecutions featuring :
• Prof. Stephen Saltzburg, Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law; Co-director of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program, The George Washington University Law School
• Geoff Shepard, Author of The Nixon Conspiracy (2021) and The Real Watergate Scandal (2015)
• Hon. Laurence Silberman, United States Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Moderator: Hon. Paul S. Diamond, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
If you would like to watch the entire symposium on You Tube it is available at the following link :
https://youtu.be/_x8_xnwZxow
We are very appreciative and want to say thank you to The Federalist Society for allowing us to use the symposium in its entirety and again we want to thank Geoff Shepard for the use of all of his materials from his three books which are available at his website ShepardonWatergate.com
This episode is the fourth 45 minutes of the event and it will cover the partisan choice of defendants where they indicted prominent Republicans , Chuck Colson, who were arguably not that involved and decided not to indict prominent Democrats, like Howard Hunt's Lawyer William Bittman.
This will also be the final episode in our long series on the tumultuous era of the 1960's and early 1970s including the assassination of a President, the Civil Rights Movement, The Vietnam War, the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson, the Presidency of Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal.
This is a great companion to and a much more succinct presentation of the materials we covered throughout our podcast documentary.
Just an FYI there are moments when a CLE code is played and it sounds like an Emergency broadcast test.
We appreciate all of you who have tuned in throughout the past five seasons and we especially want to thank Geoff Shepard for all of his help in putting this entire series on Watergate together. It has been a pleasure and an honor to have played a small part in teaching the public the true facts about a great man who served as our 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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Welcome to
The Revealing Documents from the Watergate Prosecutions featuring :
• Prof. Stephen Saltzburg, Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law; Co-director of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program, The George Washington University Law School
• Geoff Shepard, Author of The Nixon Conspiracy (2021) and The Real Watergate Scandal (2015)
• Hon. Laurence Silberman, United States Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Moderator: Hon. Paul S. Diamond, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
If you would like to watch the entire symposium on You Tube it is available at the following link :
https://youtu.be/_x8_xnwZxow
We are very appreciative and want to say thank you to The Federalist Society for allowing us to use the symposium in its entirety and again we want to thank Geoff Shepard for the use of all of his materials from his three books which are available at his website ShepardonWatergate.com
This episode is the third 45 minutes of the event and it will cover a bombshell circumstantial witness in the form of panelist and legal giant Judge Laurence Silberman for the charge of a rigged appellate court " en banc" hearing of cases during the Watergate Scandal , plus abuses of evidence in defiance of the Brady requirements including the star witness John Dean's story changes all hidden from the Defense Attorneys in the case.
This is a great companion to and a much more succinct presentation of the materials we covered throughout our podcast documentary.
Just an FYI there are moments when a CLE code is played and it sounds like an Emergency broadcast test.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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FYI: There is a 30 second break between what was a 10 minute break, please stay tuned in
Welcome to
The Revealing Documents from the Watergate Prosecutions featuring :
• Prof. Stephen Saltzburg, Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law; Co-director of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program, The George Washington University Law School
• Geoff Shepard, Author of The Nixon Conspiracy (2021) and The Real Watergate Scandal (2015)
• Hon. Laurence Silberman, United States Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Moderator: Hon. Paul S. Diamond, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
If you would like to watch the entire symposium on You Tube it is available at the following link :
https://youtu.be/_x8_xnwZxow
We are very appreciative and want to say thank you to The Federalist Society for allowing us to use the symposium in its entirety and again we want to thank Geoff Shepard for the use of all of his materials from his three books which are available at his website ShepardonWatergate.com
This episode is the second 45 minutes of the event and it will cover the ex-parte meetings between Judge Sirica and the Special Prosecutor's Office. There is also a 30 second break (which in real time was 10 minutes) so please stay tuned. This is a great companion to and a much more succinct presentation of the materials we covered throughout our podcast documentary.
Just an FYI there are moments when a CLE code is played and it sounds like an Emergency broadcast test.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
Welcome to
The Revealing Documents from the Watergate Prosecutions featuring :
• Prof. Stephen Saltzburg, Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law; Co-director of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program, The George Washington University Law School
• Geoff Shepard, Author of The Nixon Conspiracy (2021) and The Real Watergate Scandal (2015)
• Hon. Laurence Silberman, United States Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Moderator: Hon. Paul S. Diamond, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
If you would like to watch the entire symposium on You Tube it is available at the following link :
https://youtu.be/_x8_xnwZxow
We are very appreciative and want to say thank you to The Federalist Society for allowing us to use the symposium in its entirety and again we want to thank Geoff Shepard for the use of all of his materials from his three books which are available at his website ShepardonWatergate.com
This episode is the first 45 minutes of the event and it will cover Mr. Shepard's opening presentation and a discussion of the actions of Judge John Sirica who was the presiding Judge of most of the Watergate cases. This is a great companion to and a much more succinct presentation of the materials we covered throughout our podcast documentary.
Just an FYI there are moments when a CLE code is played and it sounds like an Emergency broadcast test.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcasts
Thanks for listening!!
In this special edition we look back at a giant of the American Justice System. Laurence Silberman is a man most people, including me, had probably never heard of unless you were knowledgeable about the law. I was introduced to him because he was on a panel examining the massive evidence of prosecutorial misconduct that the 2013 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Geoff Shepard had uncovered. It was a symposium on the papers of Watergate hosted by The Federalist Society.
That Symposium will be featured on our podcast all next week. The legal experts that are participating in that symposium are impressive to say the least. we are honored that The Federalist Society has granted our show permission to share the event with you.
Sadly, just over two weeks after the symposium Judge Silberman passed away at age 86. The suddenness of his passing had me curious to learn more about him, when I did , I realized that this man was an impressive one.
In this episode, we will hear from Judge Laurence Silberman on a range of topics including, his role in protecting the second amendment in a ruling that struck down the Washington D.C. gun policy, his thoughts on free speech in this modern age, the Rowe v Wade decision, His thoughts on the court system, the number of lawyers in the United States, and his role as a co-chair on the special committee that looked into the second Gulf War and how we got involved in it.
This is one fascinating episode about one of the most fascinating individuals in modern American History and a man that almost no one in the general public has even heard of, until now.
It is a tribute to a giant.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In this episode I thought it would be interesting to go back and listen to the other Presidents who have made recordings during the history of Presidential recordings. It wasn't just Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon that took advantage of the new technology of the 20th century.
Here you will get to have a window on history as we listen in on a couple of the great crisis of the 20th century, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty negotiations, plus briefing the former Presidents on policy as well. It is a window on the Presidency itself. We will hear from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and Herbert Hoover. We will also get to hear Presidents performing the ceremonial parts of the job as Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan make calls to outer space and, in the case of LBJ, we will get to hear him talk to a man who had been underwater for nearly a month.
Plus we will get to eavesdrop on the Secret Service while they deal with the scariest of moments for anyone in security, the attempted assassination of a President. I thought this was an interesting an enlightening show and thought you would enjoy it as well.
For it was not just Nixon who recorded himself doing the job of President.
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In Former President Richard Nixon's final book "Beyond Peace" he often wrote like a psychic of some kind. He wrote:
“The United States must lead. We must lead to open the eyes of those still blinded by despotism, to emboldened those who remain oppressed, and bring out from the dungeons of tyranny those who still live in darkness. The question remains whether the United States will meet its responsibilities of leadership beyond peace as it did to defeat the communists in the Cold War. History thrusts certain powers at certain times on to center stage. In this era, the spotlight shines on the United States. How long it stays with us – – and how brightly it shines – – will be determined by us alone.
*“Peace demands more, not less, from a people. Peace lacks the clarity of purpose in the cadence of war…. Our contact at home and abroad will determine how well we improvise beyond peace.”
"*The failure of freedom would also have a profoundly negative global impact. The reestablishment of a dictatorship and a command economy in Russia would give encouragement to every dictator and would-be dictator in the world. Since an authoritarian Russia would be far more likely to adopt an aggressive foreign policy than a democratic Russia, freedom’s failure would threaten peace and stability in Europe and around the world. If Russia turns away from democracy and economic freedom and we have not done everything possible to prevent it, we will bear a large measure of responsibility for the ominous consequences."
Page 40
"at the same time, the West must take note of warning signs on the horizon. Russian military thinking is becoming more nationalistic and more assertive in defense of Russia’s interests in the other former Soviet states bordering on Russia, and more supportive of the use of military force as an instrument of foreign policy. Russian policy toward other post-Soviet nations represents the greatest dilemma for the United States. A new attempt by Moscow to rebuild its empire would be a tragedy for Russia and its neighbors alike. In view of the Russian-Soviet historical legacy, it is understandable that Russia’s neighbors are sensitive to any signs of new assertiveness on Moscow’s part."
Page 61
"I am convinced that the Russian people will not turn back to communism. But if they have no choice, they will turn to some kind of political dictatorship, which will at least promise the safety-net guarantees that were supposed to have been delivered by the communist regime."
Page 81
It seems he wrote about how to help Russia enter the 21st century and he wrote about what could happen if we failed to help them. What he described on page 81 of his book sounds almost exactly like a perfect description of what did eventually happen in Russia and the rise of Vladamir Putin. In this episode we will listen to a casual interview President Nixon had on Russia, the old Soviet Union, and how to deal with them in the post Cold War, and it sounds like a lesson that can still be applied today.
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In this episode we look back on President Nixon's relationships with three world leaders who were very important to the United States during his administration. No world leader in history was as well traveled as President Richard Nixon and few, if any, knew the world better. During President Nixon's retirement years Nixon was often called upon to comment upon the passing of several World Leaders and their impact on the world stage. You will hear some of those comments here in this episode.
In one case, it was Richard Nixon who wanted to send a message to the current American President , Jimmy Carter, and the rest of the western world, that we should never forget our friends in their time of need. This was very much true in the case of the Shah of Iran. The Shah was deposed in January of 1979, and the region he had helped stabilize was thrown into chaos. Carter's treatment of the Shah was in a word, shameful , and Richard Nixon held his feet to the fire. It was only after the Shah was diagnosed with cancer that he was allowed to seek refuge here for treatment, which led to the Embassy in Tehran being overrun by militant Islamic terrorists and our diplomats being taken as hostages.
It was Richard Nixon that went to Mexico to see the Shah and then went personally to his funeral in Egypt to say to the world that America never forgets a friend. It was Richard Nixon showing the foreign policy leadership lacking by the then current occupant in the White House.
Then after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Richard Nixon was called on again by the new President Ronald Reagan to represent the United States to the world. Reagan tapped all three former living Presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter to attend the Sadat funeral, but it was clearly Nixon that was the towering figure to the world. It marked Nixon's return to the world stage and he was greeted by a grateful world that had always revered him, and marveled at just how the United States could have ever deposed such an extraordinary leader.
Finally we will take a look at the man who was on the other side of the Cold War for much of the most important years of the struggle. For two decades the Soviet Union and the entire Communist World was dominated by Leonid Brezhnev. Here we will look back at him, his leadership, and his impact on the world stage. We will hear from President Richard Nixon on Nightline the night the Soviet leader died and listen to his thoughts on this formidable leader who represented the other side of the Cold War for so long.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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This is the first episode in our series of bonus materials. This is a listen at the news coverage from President Nixon's last day in office. During our regular series I chose to use the coverage from CBS News because it is more recognizable to the public. The familiar voices of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather are what I chose to put in the documentary but I actually prefer the coverage of ABC News which was the last place network at the time of the events of Watergate.
I have found ABC News, consistently, for over a half century, to be a much fairer broadcast than any of the other networks of the time period or , frankly, than any of the networks today as well. They have the highest standards of fairness of any of the networks or cable channels. Even though they have their moments too, and the political arm is currently run by a Democratic operative that worked for Bill Clinton.
Still it is hard to understand how Walter Cronkite came to be known as the most trusted man in America when the title really should have been given to Howard K. Smith. In this episode, we will let you listen to the coverage from ABC News of the events of the final day. Plus, once again, you will get to hear the President's rather magnificent speech given at his lowest moment.
An episode that showcases the end of the Nixon era and just before the start of the era of Gerald Ford.
Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/
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In our second part of our two part series in honor of Barbara Walters we look back at her great partnership with 20/20 co-host the legendary Hugh Downs. It was Hugh Downs who as a host on the NBC Show "Today" pointed out Barbara Walters as a talent that needed to be given an opportunity on the air. It was a partnership that lasted for five decades off and on, first at NBC and then for a quarter century on ABC's 20/20.
They were one of televisions great teams. so for those of you with only vague memories of these two television icons together we present you the two of them at the top of their game in 1996.
The campaign of 1996. was the campaign of my lifetime that featured my political hero Bob Dole challenging Bill Clinton for the Presidency of the United States. It was just six weeks out from the November election. 20/20 decided to profile them both on two Fridays during the general election. i could think of no better example of all the things I have tried to stress as to why Barbara Walters was simply the best journalist in the business.
It shows her fairness to one Republican and one Democrat, it shows her skill at asking tough questions in a way nobody found offensive, it showed her ability to humanize her subjects instead of playing to any caricatures the public might have had about them, and finally it shows just how well the team of Walters and Hugh Downs worked together in these two examples from the show they hosted.
It is is a great look back at these icons of journalistic and presidential history from the most important year of my life, 1996.
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The first of two very special editions in honor of ABC News journalist Barbara Walters. This show looks back at her career and it showcases her fairness. She covered countless entertainers, sports figures, and leaders at home and abroad. Some of them incredibly controversial. She treated all of them with remarkable fairness even a few who were routinely treated horribly unfairly by her colleagues.
Two that come to mind immediately were Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
We will look back at examples of her time covering them and a list of other Presidential figures. Plus we will see her rise to network anchor at ABC News, that was nearly derailed by an angry collogue and fellow anchor Harry Reasoner. In the end, she overcame it, shattering the glass ceiling for women in journalism, and ended up having had one of the great careers in the history of television.
She was an icon, and one of, if not certainly, my favorite journalist of all time.
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This is an introduction for the episodes we will be sharing during the month of January. It is a lot of informative material that we either could not incorporate into our storyline due to time or we had issues with storyline constraints. We also had some materials that we gained access to that we received to late to maneuver into the story we were telling.
But we thought you would enjoy it and find it as fascinating as we did, and so this month we decided to share it with you before we move on to our next season.
PLUS WE HAVE. A TWO EPISODE TRIBUTE TO BARBARA WALTERS ALSO COMING OUT NEXT WEEK!!
ENJOY!!
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Dear Listeners,
I cannot say thank you enough. You have taken our little history podcast to an entirely new an unexpected level. We grew over leaps and bounds this year in our second year on the air. We have had nearly 14,000 downloads and have had them from 79 countries. There is no way for us to express our gratitude and say thank you enough. We hope you have gotten something out of each and every episode.
We have already put together several episodes for next year. Including a great collection of "DVD Extras - Special Features" type shows for January. They will mostly be material from our podcasts that we could not use or that we got our hands on to late to incorporate into our broadcasts. But we thought you would enjoy listening to them too.
We have also included previews for coming attractions for 2023. We will be looking back at the Presidency and life of Gerald Ford, the controversial career of our former 6th District of South Carolina Congressman John Jenrette, the only man to serve in Congress that was a native of Horry County until Russell Fry was elected this past November, and then we will begin a multiple season look at the Leadership of George H. W. Bush and his Presidency that saw the Gulf War, the fall of Communism around the world, and marked the end of the World War 2 generation of leaders on the world stage.
I think we have an exciting new year planned and we will also take a few minutes to honor three figures we lost this past year, Representative Don Young of Alaska, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and from across the pond Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2.
We hope you enjoy the show and plan to join us in 2023 as we chronicle the leadership of what Tom Brokaw of NBC News labeled "The Greatest Generation" and again thank you so much for tuning in.
Sincerely,
Randal Wallace
Host of "Randal Wallace Presents" Podcast
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Boulineau, Former Assistant City Manager for the City of Myrtle Beach S.C., who served with our host during his 16 years on the City Council of Myrtle Beach.
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This episode is one of final thoughts on Richard Nixon.
Our thoughts cover a number of areas. We start with the shameful treatment he received from the national news media and how they have actively worked to keep the public in the dark on the facts of Watergate. This was a problem both when it occurred and even today as an enormous amount of easily verifiable documentation has come to light that has exposed misconduct across the board by just about every entity involved in the Watergate story.
We will look at the current status of the prosecutorial misconduct complaint that was received last year at the United States Justice Department and continue to encourage you to weigh in on the case so it is not swept under the rug.
We also examine, as best we could, the one lingering question that we felt we never fully resolved from our 144 episode examination of this historic period of American History. Why did a man as revered as John Doar, Chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, decide not to investigate on his own the material provided to him by the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office? It appears to be an elusive question if you believe as I do that people do not suddenly become dishonest. There is no history of John Doar being anything other than an honorable man. So we asked six experts on Watergate, who either lived through it, or studied it extensively as historians:
Bob Bostock, writer of much of the exhibits located at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library,
Dwight Chapin, President Richard Nixon's right hand man and appointments Secretary during most of his Presidency,
Geoff Shepard, the author of three outstanding books on Watergate and widely recognized as the World's leading expert on it,
and three historians
Michael Koncewicz , of NYU and author of "They Said No to Nixon"
Kevin Kruse, of Princeton University currently working on a biography of John Doar,
Tim Naftali, the former Director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and a CNN Contributor.
All six of them were gracious enough to either answer me directly or pointed me to material that would be of assistance.
Then we move on to open ended mysteries, like the involvement of the intelligence agencies in the overall story of Watergate, and the exculpatory nature of the actual tapes that are now far more readily available to the public in places like Nixontapes.org run by historian Luke Nichter or his two outstanding books on the subject matter. ( The Nixon Tapes 1971 - 1972 and The Nixon Tapes 1973 http://lukenichter.com )
Finally we will look back on this greatest of World Leaders who so fundamentally changed the world we live in today. As we recount his many achievements including the most important one. An effort, that has probably touched the lives of everyone on Earth in one way or the other. For it was Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, that poured billions of dollars into Cancer Research that has changed the diagnosis of this deadly set of diseases from a death sentence into a chance for life.
It is here at the end of this epic five season podcast documentary, that we make our final case that Richard Nixon belongs among the pantheon of our greatest leaders alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
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This is the finale of our look at Richard Nixon, and our 145 episode look back at the most divisive era in American history other than the American Civil War, the Vietnam War and Watergate.
It all began with the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the President of South Vietnam , followed three weeks later by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (episode 29) and ends with this look back at the passing of President Richard Nixon. It encompasses three of the biggest traumas ever experienced by our nation, the assassination of a President, the war in Vietnam, and the removal of a President in a scandal. A scandal whose origins came as an outgrowth of a President trying to figure a way out of a war that was destroying the bonds of affection that held our nation together.
Richard Nixon left office in disgrace. His enemies in the Democratic Party and National Media still firmly in place and who have tried to make sure his legacy is held in contempt by the American people. But that failed during President Nixon's lifetime because the American people are a lot smarter than they are given credit, and they are also an understanding and forgiving people. As time marched on, the wisdom of the policies Richard Nixon championed became clearer as did the benefits of his extraordinary accomplishments.
Richard Nixon was one of us, a biographer once wrote, he did not come from privilege, or wealth, he came from the small town of Yorba Linda, California and he brought with him the hard work ethic of a depression era hardscrabble childhood followed up by the agonies of fighting a World War. He championed the values of America's common people, generous in spirit, but tempering their generosity with common sense. They understood Richard Nixon and when he fell they were still there to catch him and open the door back. When he passed away in April of 1994, they came by the the tens of thousands to pay their respects, as Bob Dole said "No longer silent in their grief"
This is that story. As we close the door to our epic look at Richard Nixon it is important for those among us who have only faint memories of this giant in the history of the World. That they see him as his contemporaries did and not as his enemies have tried to portray him . He was simply the largest figure of his age, the Age of Nixon.
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In this episode, we listen to Richard Nixon's thoughts on the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union may be gone but the nation that succeeded it, Russia, is now under the leadership of an old KGB Agent, Vladimir Putin. A Russian strongman, leading a resurgence of Russian Nationalism and Russian despotism just as President Nixon had predicted way back in the early 1990s. So President Nixon's thoughts on the subject are just as relevant now as they were at the end of the Cold War.
Richard Nixon also developed a strange relationship near the end of his life with a brand new President. A man from the other party, married to a woman who served on the House Judiciary Committee staff that had voted to impeach him nearly two decades before. But in Bill Clinton he found a willing student of unparalleled intellectual capability and the two men became friends. In this episode we will learn that story and much, much more in part two of our listen to the Wisdom of Richard Nixon.
This episode also has several points made by author Kasey Pipes throughout, Mr. Pipes wrote the book "After the Fall" about Richard Nixon's post Presidency. We highly recommend that book and provide you a link here.
https://a.co/d/cygMZIN
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In this episode we listen to Richard Nixon's thoughts on a wide variety of issues that still exist today, plus his advice at how to deal with problems in our lives that apply to everyone. He tells stories from his time in public office as a Congressman, Senator, Vice-President and President. You will hear some of the legendary journalists he was interviewed by in his later career as well, from Barbara Walters, Hugh Sidey and Larry King.
There is a lot to learn and a lot we can all be thankful he shared with us through his writings and interviews. This is part one of Richard Nixon unfiltered, with little commentary, in his own words.
It was a remarkable life, extraordinarily well lived.
This episode also has several points made by author Kasey Pipes throughout, Mr. Pipes wrote the book "After the Fall" about Richard Nixon's post Presidency. We highly recommend that book and provide you a link here.
https://a.co/d/cygMZIN
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This was an extraordinary moment. It marks the beginning of Richard Nixon's long, and remarkable journey to the status of beloved elder statesman. Richard Nixon walked into the room a hated, disgraced, much maligned, but still historic figure, and he walked out having won the respect of everyone who witnessed his performance.
As he stood an answered questions on every subject imaginable he had to endure the verbal abuse of a huge throng of protesters chanting "No more Nixon" so loudly it is audible in the background of this video. Yet, Richard Nixon was unflappable, thoughtfully answering question after question about world affairs, American domestic affairs, the relationship between the United States and Europe and even questions about Watergate itself.
He answered them all.
It is an extraordinary performance. In which Richard Nixon offered a rare moment of acknowledgement that he had not handled Watergate as it should have been handled, saying "They were right I screwed it up and I paid the price."
That simple statement, in a lot of ways to a lot of people around the world, closed one era in the history of the life of Richard Nixon and opened what would eventually be seen as arguably the greatest and happiest era in the life and career of Richard Nixon.
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Finally the end of the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon had negotiated an honorable peace with the assurances that we would continue to help the South Vietnamese to be able to defend themselves from any aggression from the North. When that aggression came President Gerald Ford did all he could to honor that pledge but the Congress cut off all funding and disallowed our President to even provide arial support for the South Vietnamese.
On April, 30, 1975, the North Vietnamese Communist troops rolled into Saigon and the American Embassy was evacuated. The military did all they could to get our friends out of the country, for 14 hours it airlifted thousands of Vietnamese to safety out of the country before our Ambassador flew out on a helicopter. The Marines then locked the place up and left the American Embassy to the communist forces that from the air could be seen in the streets of Saigon. It was finally over, and the peace Richard Nixon had worked so hard to attain, that Lyndon Johnson had sacrificed his career to attain, and more importantly, over 58,000 Americans had died for, was lost.
It was a shameful hour in American history. Though I believe that we bought the time for the rest of Southeast Asia to gather the strength to fend off Communism's high tide. A belief shared with former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
Then the episode moves on to the next chapter in the life of Richard Nixon. He re-emerges in 1978 with a 28 hour interview with TV Host David Frost. It would be the one and only time Richard Nixon would be cross examined about his time in office and his role in Watergate. It was an extraordinary set of interviews in which the President held his own. He was asked tough questions and explained himself just fine. He also gave the American People his own apology for the way he dealt with the scandal. It is an amazing set of interviews and I invite you all to tune in for yourselves, many are available on YOUTUBE for viewing, or you can buy the DVD box set here:
https://www.amazon.com/Frost-Nixon-Watergate-Interviews-Remastered/dp/B001GZ6Q1K
Finally we take you to the tiny town of Hyden, Kentucky, where a community from the heartland of America decided to honor the President that was "One of Us" , not an elitist, not a Washington Insider, but a man who as a national leader had championed the forgotten Americans, the non shouters, the non demonstrators, the great silent majority of Americans that , as President, Richard Nixon had never forgotten and always looked out to protect, and now it was they who were opening the door for him to return to the national stage again.
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This episode opens with the new President Gerald R. Ford addressing a joint session of Congress. He is there laying out his agenda for his new administration. The problems that he felt needed immediate addressing and where he intended to continue the policies of the man he had just replaced as President. Unfortunately for Ford every question he got in his first press conference had to do with Richard Nixon. He was spending a disproportionate amount of his time dealing with the problems of his predecessor.
So Gerald Ford decided to put an end to the issues once and for all. He granted a full an absolute pardon on to Richard Nixon thusly clearing the deck and allowing the country to move forward and leave Watergate behind. It would however, stir up a hornets nest among the rabid Nixon haters, and much of the country who had no idea of the alleged massive misconduct of the Watergate Special Prosecution force.
Here in this episode we will hear from Representative Elizabeth Holtzman who would get a chance to question President Ford during his historic testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee. You will hear President Ford in an interview with NBC "Later" host Bob Costas discuss the decision to grant the Nixon pardon.
You will also hear about his visit with President Nixon when he was near death in California during the month of October 1974.
Then we switch gears to the attempt by the
Special Prosecutor's to get Grand Jury testimony from the former President despite his weakened condition. In hopes, many thought, of entrapping the former President in a perjury wrap, which would not have been covered by the Presidential Pardon. However, they never laid a glove on the former leader of the free world.
In this episode we cover these days during the time Richard Nixon was at his lowest.
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This episode is a preview of our final series on Richard Nixon. Here we begin with Gerald Ford becoming President of the United States and former President Richard Nixon heading off into exile and most likely into oblivion. It appeared he was to be sidelined and treated as a failure.
With Richard Nixon gone South Vietnam was cast aside and collapsed into a Communist hell. The Watergate Defendants were convicted and Nixon himself was saved from prison by a pardon. It appeared the Special Prosecutor's and the Nixon haters had won, proving their point that Nixon was little more than a criminal and horrible failure as President.
As we have shown, time has not been kind to that storyline of the Watergate Scandal. But long before that fact became as clear as it is today, the grateful American people of the era were ready to forgive Richard Nixon for his perceived crimes, his efforts on our nation's behalf became more and more appreciated, and he was welcomed back to the national scene in the final 17 years of his life. His image even received an ovation at the 1992 Republican National Convention.
By the time of Richard Nixon's death in April of 1994, he bore the distinction of being seen by the American people as a beloved elder statesman whose opinions about the world were sought out everywhere. This is that story as we share with you those moments that changed people's opinion of President Richard Nixon, from a blockbuster interview, to the welcome of a small town in Kentucky, to the Oxford Student Union, to being welcome wherever in the world he chose to go. It was yet another remarkable rise from the ashes for a President who deserves to be ranked as one of the greatest to ever hold the office.
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This episode covers the last day of the administration of Richard Nixon. It begins with the arrogant Special Prosecutors as they reminisce about their plans to figure out a way to get Richard Nixon indicted knowing they had him at his weakest moment. Host Randal Wallace will discuss the fairness of that attempt, the stealing of the President's records and tapes even as he was having them packed to be shipped to San Clemente, and several other of the indignities thrust on him as his power slipped away on that August day.
Then we travel back in time and hear from the oral histories of three men intimately involved with the events of that day, President Richard Nixon, Vice President Gerald Ford and speechwriter Ray Price. It was a day of high drama an extreme emotion as the power of the Presidency moved smoothly in the orderly transfer of power that has been the hallmark of our national history.
You will also get to hear one of the most inspirational speeches ever given by an American President as Richard Nixon addresses his White House Staff from the East Room just before he leaves to go back to San Clemente, California. Then you will listen in as Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the nations 38th President and delivers his own Inaugural Address.
As we close out our three season look at the Watergate Scandal, if you agree with our presentation we hope you will consider contacting the United States Justice Department and let them know that you would like to see a resolution to the current complaint registered there by Geoff Shepard of Prosecutorial Misconduct by the Watergate Special Prosecutors Office. You can do that by writing to:
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20530
or calling the Department comment line at 202-353-1555
Let's get Justice for Richard Nixon and allow him to take his rightful place in American History. It is after all long overdue.
Stay tuned for our Epilogue series on the Re-Rise of Richard Nixon and our special bonus episodes too!!
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If you have never read the book "In the Arena" by President Richard Nixon let me assure you that it is a must read book. It was the most personal of his books and it is written farther down the road from his Presidency than his Memoirs were and therefore provides a lot more perspective on the events that ended his Presidency.
Late into the process of putting this series together I was given the cassette audiobook of "In the Arena" and I went through to find the sections the President read personally on the Watergate Scandal. They are, I thought, the best defense available coming directly from the former President himself.
So in this episode we let President Nixon address the many myths of Watergate, in person, in his own words, narrated personally. It is a fascinating tape to listen too for anyone who has studied Watergate. Also we read a section from the book "The Nixon Tapes" by the premier historians on the subject of Richard Nixon, as they lay out their thoughts on why a trial of Richard Nixon would certainly have never happened.
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In this episode we examine the Legacy of Watergate. It was the one question everyone was asked by historian Timothy Naftali and the answers were fascinating. This is a study of what each person thought the lesson of Watergate is for history. The one that caught the most interest from me was that of Bernard Nussbaum, who was the second in command on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee. He calls the Special Prosecutor's Office " a dangerous, dangerous office."
He runs through all the ways this office can be abused and how President Nixon and his friend President Bill Clinton should never have allowed the office to have been created in either of their cases.
While Nussbaum pays token defenses of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office it is clear that he holds the institution in fairly low regard and in every point he makes we are in agreement. His warning is one every President and leader needs to heed. There is no reason the office should ever exist again, in my opinion.
Former Senator Trent Lott also makes a valid point too about what happens when a person gets in trouble and how the price they pay can be very different depending on which political party they are a member of when it happens.
Here is the Legacy of Watergate, including my opinion, which is its unfairness to President Nixon and the battles over the war in Vietnam planted the seeds of the disfunction in politics we see today
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In this episode we simply relive this unfathomable moment in history. Not only the resignation of an elected President of the United States, but the resignation of arguably one of the greatest in the history of the country.
In this episode we tune in to the live coverage of the time from the three networks then in existence, CBS News, ABC News, and NBC News. They will interview many of the common everyday Americans so shell shocked by the events of the past year, some of the political figures of the era, and let some of their own talking heads analyze the historic moment.
Then at 9pm on August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon addresses the nation. You will witness it all here, on "Nixon and Watergate" , just like you were flipping through the dial as it was occuring that fateful day.
A day when we overthrew the President that had gotten us out of Vietnam, saved the nation of Israel, sensibly protected the environment, desegregated the southern school system, opened up China, thawed the Cold War with the Soviet Union and brought peace and stability to a very troubled and divided world.
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In this episode, the Smoking Gun Tape has pulled the rug out from under President Nixon and now he is being urged to resign by even his most loyal defenders. However, his family unanimously urged him to fight on. It is in this final emotional week that President Nixon goes back and forth about what to do. The President himself seems to have already come to the decision to resign, while at the same time hoping to find a glimmer of hope from somewhere.
Three leaders from congress, John Rhodes, the Republican House Minority Leader, Hugh Scott, the Senate Minority Leader and Senator Barry Goldwater , the 1964 Republican Presidential Nominee, all come down to the White House for a fateful meeting to tell him that his support in Congress had totally evaporated. It was then that Richard Nixon moved forward with his decision to resign the Presidency.
He would enlist his main speech writer Ray Price to help him put together the words for an address to the nation and his Chief of Staff Alexander Haig would reach out to the Vice President and the Congress people who had fought so hard and valiantly on President Nixon's behalf, men like Representatives Charlie Wiggins of California and Charlie Sandman of New Jersey. In order to prepare them for the momentous decision now just hours away.
Then the President would meet with the Congressional Leadership and have a moment with his old friend from Oklahoma, a man who had come to the House in the same class as Nixon, and who had risen to the position of Democratic Speaker of the House, but Carl Albert had not been able to tame his out of control caucus and in one of the most telling moments of the entire Watergate Scandal says what sounds like a sad admission of guilt, that he knew what had happened was totally unfair.
Speaker Carl Albert says as he was leaving the meeting, with the President's last remaining ally in leadership , Senator James Eastland D- Mississippi , by his side " Dick, I hope you don't blame me for this....."
This is that story and will lead you right up to the moments just before Richard Nixon would address the nation.
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Here is a preview of an extraordinary week of shows that will bring us to the end of the Administration of Richard Nixon. Over this five days we will relive the emotional week between the the time the Smoking Gun becomes public and the President's resignation. You will be able to relive through news coverage and oral histories the emotions of the historic week that will end with the resignation of arguably one of the four greatest American Presidents in the entire history of our great nation.
Dec 5 The Emotional Final Week
Dec 6 The Resignation of a President
Dec 7 The Legacy of Watergate
Dec 8 In the Arena: Dispelling the Myths of Watergate from Richard Nixon himself
Dec 9 The Last Day
Then please stay with us as we return with
"The Epilogue : The Re-Rise of Richard Nixon " throughout the rest of December and the bonus episodes including a tribute to the late United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge Lawrence Silberman and the Watergate Symposium courtesy of the Federalist Society. As we close out our 5 season look back at Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Vietnam, and Watergate.
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Finally, the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee cast its vote on the Articles of Impeachment. It is an emotional vote for the congressmen who were thrust into history and totally unprepared for the experience. They did their best they felt, and cast the vote they had to cast.
It was strangely an unemotional moment for the President himself. Richard Nixon, worn out by two years of public assault, had prepared himself for the moment, and ever since his talk with Governor George Wallace had felt the vote was coming and it would be bad. He talks about his own emotions in this episode.
Then a tape emerges in the subpoenaed 64 conversations that would totally devastate President Nixon's defense. We will let you hear the portion of the tape in question. We will also hear the part of the story that no one in the country knew at the time it was released.
Ironically, this conversation and its actual meaning, not the meaning assigned to it by conventional wisdom, the media, and the President's lawyers at the time. But its actual meaning is one of the few things that Geoff Shepard, the President's last defense team member, and John Dean, the main witness against President Nixon, then and now, actually agree about.
and you will hear them both in this episode of "Nixon and Watergate".
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This episode opens with President Richard Nixon's March 1974 visit to the Grand Ole Opry. Nixon was there to open the brand new Opry House on its first night after moving from downtown Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. It is a symbol of the one section of the country that never wavered, as President Nixon's problems mounted. In the South, we don't cut and run, especially when it is a President that stood strong during war time as this President had done.
Unfortunately, the public support was not translating to the Judiciary Committee's three influential Democratic Congressmen Representatives Walter Flowers of Alabama, Ray Thornton of Arkansas, and Jim Mann of my home state of South Carolina. They were moving toward impeachment, undercutting the President's support in their states delegations. President Nixon sensing the momentum shifting away from him, reached out to Governor George Wallace of Alabama to see if he could not help him sway Walter Flowers, when Wallace refused, it was the moment President Nixon knew this fight was lost. He would lose the southern firewall that stood between himself and Impeachment.
The President was also having trouble holding his Republicans together as Representatives William Cohen, Tom Railsback, W. Caldwell Butler, and Lawrence Hogan had decided to side with the democrats. As we listen in on the debate in this episode, you will hear these men, as some struggle to vote their conscience, and some make their decision in matter of fact fashion. You will get to hear the moments of high drama and one speech that has been an enormous part of the history of the moment from Representative Barbara Jordan of Texas. Jordan's speech contained many charges, most notably was that of Howard Hunt faking cables to embarrass the Kennedy Administration and involvement in the overthrow of the South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.
While that charge of Hunt faking cables tying Kennedy personally to the assassination of Diem was faked, it was faked by a man who, as a member of the CIA, had seen the real ones that had tied Kennedy to the overthrow of the Diem Government. A fact hidden from the public and Barbara Jorden for years afterwards. This is but one of many examples of charges made that with time, unsealed documents, and an explosive set of Church Hearings in the United States Senate would later be proven untrue.
All to late for Watergate and Richard Nixon.
But the President did have defenders, Representatives Charlie Wiggins of California and Charlie Sandman of New Jersey. The case they made has, in reality, stood the test of time and you will hear it in this episode too. Plus we will dismantle the mythology of the Watergate debate that the defense case was dismantled by a hearing full of specific accusations concerning the President that overwhelmed his defenders and that President Nixon's attorney, James St. Claire, was actually able to perform a real defense of the President.
Neither was true and you will hear it here for yourself.
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This episode is an in-depth look at the House Judiciary committee itself as they went through the work of deciding whether or not they should impeach a President of the United States for high crimes and misdemeanors for the first time in 106 years.
In this show you will hear the memories of each of the members and staffers of the committee we selected. They will go in-depth to recall the procedures they followed, their own feelings upon hearing the tapes, their own judgements, the work ethic of the staff and members and their thoughts about Watergate all these many years later.
Of particular interests will be the oral history segments of Bernard Nussbaum and his assessment of both John Dean, the star witness and the former Counsel to the President , and of John Mitchell the former Attorney General and head of the Re-Election campaign for President Nixon. He says at one point that he found John Dean "the perfect Nazi corporal" who would mirror the opinion and thoughts of the person who had power over him at any given point. It is a startling revelation as to what this member of the staff thought of the main witness against the sitting President. Nussbaum also says that this issue of mirrorring the powerful person in the room made him watch what he said "out of fear of putting words in his mouth" and " while some prosecutors will do that , that is not what I do".
It will make your jaw drop.
We also will hear from President Richard Nixon, in an interview conducted by his former aid Frank Gannon from 1983, in which the President will lay out his version of several of the lesser remembered accusations of the Watergate years: his taxes, the improvements to his homes, the accusations of enriching himself etc.. If you listen with an open mind it will certainly cause you to question a lot of the claims made by his accusers.
Then we let Geoff Shepard lay out the articles of impeachment that are to be drafted by the House Committee after they had reviewed the overwhelming evidence they had in their hands. Evidence, in our opinion, tainted by the decision of John Doar, the lead House Staffer, to only collate the evidence provided by the Watergate Special Prosecution Task Force and the Watergate Senate Committee.
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In this second edition of our look at the relationship Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon had with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin , we take a little detour to listen to some of the current thoughts of Dr. Henry Kissinger, who is now 99 years old and out with yet another book. This time a book that chronicles the great examples of leadership he has seen up-close. The book is titled "Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategies"
"In Leadership, Kissinger analyses the lives of six extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft, which he believes they embodied. After the Second World War, Konrad Adenauer brought defeated and morally bankrupt Germany back into the community of nations by what Kissinger calls “the strategy of humility.” Charles de Gaulle set France beside the victorious Allies and renewed its historic grandeur by “the strategy of will.” During the Cold War, Richard Nixon gave geostrategic advantage to the United States by “the strategy of equilibrium.” After twenty-five years of conflict, Anwar Sadat brought a vision of peace to the Middle East by a “strategy of transcendence.” Against the odds, Lee Kuan Yew created a powerhouse city-state, Singapore, by “the strategy of excellence.” And, though Britain was known as “the sick man of Europe” when Margaret Thatcher came to power, she renewed her country’s morale and international position by “the strategy of conviction.” " - From the book description for "Leadership" Here is a link
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0593587065/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_04W7PHVB27WHRSESNDP1
Then we get to hear both Dr Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon working with Ambassador Dobrynin in an example of the very leadership in which Dr. Kissinger chronicled in his new , outstanding book. Two calls during the final days of the Vietnam War in 1972 - 1973.
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From Wikipedia:
" Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin (Russian: Анато́лий Фёдорович Добры́нин, 16 November 1919 – 6 April 2010) was a Soviet statesman, diplomat, and politician. He was the Soviet ambassador to the United States for more than two decades, from 1962 to 1986.
He attracted notoriety among the American public during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis at the beginning of his ambassadorship, when he denied the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. However, he did not know until days later that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had already sent the missiles and that the Americans already had photographs of them. Between 1968 and 1974, he was known as the Soviet end of the Kissinger–Dobrynin direct communication and negotiation link between the Nixon administration and the Soviet Politburo. "
Dobrynin served as the Soviet Ambassador throughout the height of the Cold War during the terms of six American Presidents, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. He served under Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, and Mikhail Gorbachev. He was an instrumental figure in the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States during all of that time but never more so than during the Nixon years. He was a direct line to the Kremlin and that line helped get us out of Vietnam.
In this episode we look back at the relationship between Anatoly Dobrynin and Henry Kissinger during the Presidency of Richard Nixon. We see diplomacy practiced with extraordinary expertise, and candor, as both sides work to ease the tensions of the Cold War, and find an exit for America from Vietnam. Much of what these two episodes present come from the writings of Dr. Luke Nichter, America's leading expert on the Richard Nixon Administration, as he leads us through this treasure of phone calls and meetings at a particularly important moments of the era.
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In this episode we travel the world with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. Here we see one last triumph for the President who brought peace to millions. He first visits France to restore good relations in Europe which had felt long neglected by its American ally as we had been bogged down in Vietnam for over a decade.
While President Nixon was busy there his confidant , Dr. Henry Kissinger, was shuttling through out the Middle East working to bring a stalemated conflict between Israel and two of its Arab neighbors to an end. It was called shuttle diplomacy and it was during this time that the term peace process was coined. We will tune in to the era with contemporary news reports from the time and we will hear from several of those intimately involved in these moments of high drama.
Then we will join Richard Nixon in his final triumphant visits to a Middle East he had brought balance and peace to in this tumultuous era. He was greeted, much to the shock of the American press corp, to a heroes welcome everywhere he went from a train ride across Egypt, to Saudi Arabia, and Syria to a thanks filled event in Israel as he was proclaimed the statesman of the age and thanked for his role in saving the nation by the leader of Israel himself.
Then after a brief stay at home, Richard Nixon took off again to meet Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow. There they would sign an economic agreement, limit missile sights, and lower the number of nuclear missiles, but as the effort to topple the administration at home was gaining momentum, the Soviets decided to play hard ball as they sensed Nixon's power was fading.
So while the summit was a success it would also become the first "What might have been" of what would become long list of them, as the United States would force the greatest leader it had produced so far in the last half of the 20th century from office.
And this show will leave you with a question for the ages......
The Caniac Report
Hello Bunch of Jerks! Welcome to the Caniac Report as your hosts Sam Wallace and Sam...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Fritz Kraemer, was a mysterious figure, here described in Wikipedia
"He was always flamboyant and eccentric. Kraemer wore a monocle and it became his trademark"
" Kraemer was described as the father of the neo-conservative movement in US foreign policy.[6] Kraemer was unswerving in his contempt for “provocative weakness,” warning that U.S. military weakness invites aggression by America’s enemies. He also railed against forsaking one’s principles through compromise or conciliation.[7] "
He was the mentor of Henry Kissinger, who turned on his student due to his belief that the policy of Detente was wrong , and that our departure from Vietnam showed weakness.
That rift, represented by the Kissinger and Kraemer wings of conservative foreign policy thought, has shown itself in the conservative movement, again and again, for over a half century. It was never healed when Kraemer died at age 95 in 2003.
In this episode , thanks to the scholarly work of Dr. Luke Nichter, we will get a full look at who Fritz Kraemer was, his influence which is still felt today, and finally we will hear him in a half hour meeting with President Richard Nixon as the two men talk about the foreign policy that Nixon was creating in the 1970's. It is a fascinating meeting.
Let's get to know him, shall we..
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Welcome to the fourth edition of our podcast presentation of the entire arguments in front of the Supreme Court in the case of the United States vs Richard Nixon.
This episode will conclude the arguments by both sides to the Supreme Court in the historic case of Watergate.
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Welcome to the third edition of our podcast presentation of the entire arguments in front of the Supreme Court in the case of the United States vs Richard Nixon.
This episode will conclude President Nixon's attorney James St. Clair's presentation and include the Special Prosecutor's Office Counsel Phil Lacavara's presentation. He had worked in the Solicitor General's Office during the previous Democratic Administration but claims to have voted for Richard Nixon twice. Mr. Lacavara was featured in our previous episode titled "The Battle Lines are drawn" from a presentation he did at Rutgers University.
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Welcome to the second edition of our podcast presentation of the entire arguments in front of the Supreme Court in the case of the United States vs Richard Nixon.
This episode will conclude Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski's presentation and begin most of President Nixon's attorney James St. Clair's presentation.
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Welcome to the first of four episodes that will make up our podcast rebroadcast of the entire oral arguments of the case of The United States of America vs Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America.
When people usually see the Youtube video of these arguments the first thing they notice is that they are three hours long. Way to long for most people to even want to listen to them. We have broken them apart into roughly four 45 minute, give or take, segments for you to enjoy over the next four days.
If you have never heard them, or not ever heard an argument of any case in front of the United States Supreme Court, I think you will find the next few episodes educational. You will see how the court works and the types of questions the Supreme Court Justices ask when hearing a case.
No matter whether you agree with our editorial opinion of the case of Richard Nixon in Watergate or not, you will find these episodes, offered without anything other than a brief introduction during this first episode, absolutely fascinating. Enjoy!
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This is a brief introduction to our format for the next two weeks of podcast episodes. We had a story telling issue because the events covered were things that occurred simultaneously on opposite sides of the world. We broke them apart in order to not leave you confused as these events unfolded. We also decided to change the order which led to a small error in a show that aired earlier this week concerning President Nixon's overseas trip. That episode will air next week.
As important as President Nixon's mission was in his final overseas trips in 1974 , I actually found finding material on the trips fairly difficult. So to supplement that episode we thought we would also examine two people who have had an enormous impact on the world, Fritz Kraemer and Anatoly Dobrynan. One has impacted conservative thought in foreign policy for a half century and counting, and the other was a vitally important figure in Soviet Union - American relations for nearly two decades of the Cold War.
We will cover this and the Supreme Court arguments in the case of the United States vs Richard Nixon over the next two weeks. We hope it will give you a sense of the gravity of this time period and its events on both world events and the history of our nation here at home.
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INFLATION!! That is a word Americans are hearing a lot lately. A word that had all but slipped from memory as it has been nearly four decades since it haunted the very soul of America in the decade after the horrific war that so dominated our consciousness in South East Asia had ended.
President Lyndon Johnson had tried to deliver "Guns and Butter" , trying to have it all as he fought a war in Vietnam, trying to stop the high water mark of Communism around the globe, while at the same time trying to build his "Great Society" here at home. The results were a decade of runaway inflation that four successive United States Presidents tried to tamp down with varied degree of success. Though success is probably not the correct description.
It would take the appointment of one man, Paul Volker, to lead the Federal Reserve to finally create a strategy that would break the back of the inflation monster crippling the American Economy. However, his solution would end up breaking one American President and , while testing the faith of another, finally get inflation under control and lead to "Morning in America" and an unprecedented boom in our economy that may very well have been the foundation for a victory in the Cold War.
This is that story and it carries with it a warning of what could lay in store for America in 2023 if the Biden Administration does not figure out a way to stop the reckless spending it, and the previous administration, has so far embraced.
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In this episode we examine the events that led to the Supreme Court Case of The United States of America vs Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America.
We examine the wrangling over just how many tapes the Special Prosecutor would ask for and his attempt to blackmail the President into backing off of his claim of Executive Privilege. We will take both a scholarly look at the actual doctrine of Executive Privilege with Dr. Noah Zerbe, and listen to those who were involved on both sides of the issue in 1974, we will look at what the settled law had been up to the point the case went to the Supreme Court, and a look at the timeline in which the leadership of the House Judiciary staff, mainly John Doar, had been secretly working with Hank Ruth to design a pathway for the Special Prosecutor's case to be made by his staff to the House Committee.
In fact, the word "secret" is one you will see a lot over these final days of the legal case mounting against the President of the United States. Secret meetings, secret files, secret namings of people as conspirators, secret files being taken with Special Prosecutors and then sealed for years after the case was closed, files secretly sealed, it is secret, secret, secret, and when this much stuff is kept secret there must be a secret nobody wants the public to ever actually see and hear.
Well it is all not a secret any longer, as we will hear in this episode.
We will also hear from a Special Prosecutor we have not heard from until now, Phil Lacavara. We have read several of his memos but this is the first time we will hear from him as he addresses the case of the United States vs Richard Nixon in "An Evening with Phil Lacavara" at Rutgers University. These segments will set the stage for the oral arguments in front of the United States Supreme Court we are about to replay for you in their entirety.
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Our Buzzsprout ad for the rest of the series. Enjoy!!
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In this episode we cover the opening day of the Impeachment Hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. We listen to staffers of the committee and a couple of the committee members as they discuss the way the committee operated and the issues they faced as they moved forward to really look at the events. You will also hear from the members of a quiet coalition of southern Democrats all of whom are struggling between their feelings of loyalty to both a President and a constituency that is counting on them to do the right thing, and the overwhelming nature of the evidence that is in front of them. This evidence totally coming from two sources, the Senate Watergate Committee staffed with partisan Democrats put together by Senator Ted Kennedy's office, and the Rabid Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office.
None of those facts was known at the time this debate raged by this set of politicians tasked with making the final judgement as to whether to impeach the President
As all of this pressure continues to build we will look into the toll it is taking on the President's mental health. Just how well was Richard Nixon coping with the disintegration of his Administration. There are various rumors circulating that it was not to well. Yet, other staffers such as Alexander Haig and Ray Price take issue with those reports. We will hear from various people who witnessed the President up-close as all of this was unfolding.
Then we close out the episode hearing from the man himself, President Richard Nixon. In 1983, just nine years after these events transpired, then Former President Richard Nixon sat down with his former staffer Frank Gannon for an in-depth, non adversarial, much more relaxed, set of interviews. We will be sharing portions from those interviews in our remaining broadcasts. They will provide you with some extraordinary insights from what the President was thinking in these final months of his administration.
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In this episode we listen as the House Judiciary Committee sets up shop to start their look into the impeachment of Richard Nixon. You will hear from Bernard Nussbaum as he talks about the decision by John Doar not to aggressively investigate the facts of the case instead deciding they would collate the evidence already gathered by the Senate Watergate Committee and the Special Prosecutor's office. A decision that Nussbaum violently opposed at the time but in these interviews tries to put the best face on for the oral history he is providing. He even goes so far as to say it was most likely the biggest factor in getting to the result that eventually happened.
You will hear Hillary Rodham Clinton discuss the system for organizing material they came up with based on how Doar ran his law practice. The three areas that they all worked on included just trying to figure out how an impeachment would work, what were the grounds for determining a high crime and misdemeanor, and just what exactly were the facts as they knew them. It is a fascinating look at how the committee was run and you will hear how the congressmen were babysat through the process, with little black books, kept under lock and key, that staffers would go through the evidence with the congressmen, given to them by the WSPF, let them ask questions and go through books only under the direct supervision of staff with all the materials going safely back into custody after they were done researching it all for the current session.
It was all a very controlled environment, for secrecy's sake, or at least that is what we have been led to believe.
Then we go through the scenario that led to the request by the Special Prosecutor's office for 64 more taped conversations. The President refused to hand them over, deciding instead to give edited transcripts, to be released simultaneously, to the Prosecutors, the House Committee and the public. That decision would eventually lead to the legal fight in the Supreme Court known as the United States vs Richard Nixon.
Then the President addressed the nation.
If ever a case of being caught telling the truth has existed then this speech by President Nixon is it. We just did not have any way of knowing it then, but we do now. If you go back to our first four tape series episodes and listen to the "Cancer on the Presidency" conversation with
John Dean, the White House Counsel, ( episode 137 - Tape series part 1) or the conversations with Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen ( episode 139 - Tape series part 3) every single assertion in his defense made by President Nixon in this April 1974 speech turned out to be true.
Go listen to it all for yourself.
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In this episode we are going to introduce you to a new set of players in the saga of the fall of Richard Nixon. These are the members of the House Judiciary Committee and its staff. We chose five of them.
Representatives Elizabeth Holtzman D-New York and Trent Lott R-Mississippi, two people at the very start of their long and illustrious careers. We also chose three members of the staff, Hillary Rodham Clinton and William Weld, who were young staffers and the number two man on the staff Bernard Nussbaum.
It is Bernard Nussbaum whose oral history is of the most interest throughout the rest of our series. He is blunt in his assessment of the office of Special Prosecutor even as he attempts to defend the job that they all did in 1974. He calls it a dangerous office. He also points out often that Doar overruled him in his view that a thorough investigation needed to be conducted by their office rather than just relying on the information and evidence gathered by the Senate Watergate Committee and the Watergate Special Prosecutor's office.
However, in this episode, we will just introduce them all to you and how they got in the places they were when the scandal landed on their doorstep in March of 1974.
I will tell you that of all the various entities involved in the horrible travesty of justice known as Watergate (Here I am editorializing again) my opinion of these people, with the exception of William Weld, changed the most dramatically for the better of any of the research I conducted.
This is their story with a few funny side stories too. Like how sliming salmon prepared Hillary Rodham Clinton for her long career in politics.
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In this , the season premier or our final season on "Richard Nixon and Watergate 1974 - 1994 The Fall and Re-Rise of Richard Nixon" we take a thorough examination of the actual crime that our President had been accused of by the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. It was that he authorized the payment of $75,000 in hush money to Howard Hunt. They laid out a convincing case. They met in secret with John Doar, the House Judiciary Committee's lead legal staffer. They met in ex parte meetings with Judge John Sirica, to insure that all the accumulated evidence they had was going to be moved over to the Judiciary Committee, Grand Jury secrecy rules be damned. It all went down flawlessly when the indictments were handed down on March 1, 1974.
There was just one problem. They had a gargantuan hole in the story.
There was even more than a small possibility that the money had been paid outside of a window of time when President Nixon could have even known about the blackmail threat made by Hunt.
Now that's a problem.
But you got to give it to Leon Jaworski, Henry Ruth, and the Special Prosecutor's for coming up with a creative way around it.
They met with John Doar late at night and over dinner at Henry Ruth's house and made a case to him.
Then somebody, be it Doar on his own, or from the advice of his friend Henry Ruth, decided to go against the advice of his top advisors, Bernard Nussbaum and Hillary Rodham, and not investigate anything on their own. He would ,collate the evidence, given to him from the Grand Jury. by way of the Watergate Special Prosecutors and follow their road map. A road map with only one goal in mind; take down the President of the United States of America.
The President they could not defeat at the ballot box.
It's all here and you will hear it in their own words, and in one case, when asked a direct question by Historian & CNN contributor Tim Naftali, you will even hear one prosecutor, Jill Wine Banks, attempt the artful dodge rather than answer the question "How did you know for sure Richard Nixon authorized the payment to Howard Hunt?"
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I told you it was a barn burner of a debate didn't I, and it lived up to the billing!!
Now if you have not seen it here is the link:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?521064-5/washington-journal-jill-wine-banks-geoff-shepard-discuss-watergate-50th-anniversary
In this episode we go through many of the exchanges and provide you with the facts of the case.
We will go back through:
-
Who hired G. Gordon Liddy to run the campaign intelligence plan
-
The Bombshell phone call between President Nixon and Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen = Big time exculpatory
-
Were the Shepard Documents Debunked?
-
The Giant Credibility Gap of Richard Ben Veniste
-
Whose idea was third party verification
-
The real relevance of the Smoking Gun Tape
-
Elizabeth Holtzman will talk about the road map provided by the WSPF
-
Bernard Nussbaum, of the House Judiciary Committee staff, talks about not being allowed to actually investigate the case, and only collating the information to show the congressmen on the committee.
-
Henry Ruth talks about his secret meetings after hours with John Doar, head of the House Judiciary committee's investigation staff, both at the office and over at his house for dinner to allegedly plot Watergate strategy, even using babysitters to pass information
It is all here and it will shock you!! This is one great hour, and it sets the stage for the story to come and the fall of Richard Nixon.
But, also, as we shall see, you can't keep a good man down, and before we are through you will also witness the re-rise and enormous impact Richard Nixon was still to play in the history of our World.
So tune in to Season 8 of "Randal Wallace Presents: Richard Nixon and Watergate 1974 - 1994 The Fall and Re-Rise of Richard Nixon" it starts back on October 16, 2022
** The crowd noise was added for dramatic effect, these shows were not taped in front of an audience nor at the C-Span event
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WELCOME TO OUR FIRST EVER SPECIAL EVENT!!!!!
We are so excited to put this event together to kick off the final season of our look back at, not only Watergate, but at our five season look back at the most controversial period in American History, the Vietnam War Era .
This episode is an attempt to introduce you to the two historic figures, Jill Wine Banks and Geoff Shepard, who will face off on the episode of The Washington Journal from C-Span. The link to the debate is here
https://www.c-span.org/video/?521064-5/washington-journal-jill-wine-banks-geoff-shepard-discuss-watergate-50th-anniversary
So after this podcast episode is finished head on over to the link and watch this unbelievable debate. Then come on back for a post debate show where we go through the debate, fact check it all, provide some analysis, and introduce some material that we will be showing you over this our final season looking back at Richard Nixon.
This show is a lot of fun, enjoy!!!
Thanks again for tuning into our show too, we are closing in on 10,000 Downloads and that is because of you and we appreciate it!!
Randal Wallace
** The crowd noise was added for dramatic effect, these shows were not taped in front of an audience nor at the C-Span event
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Here are the instructions to fully enjoy our Podcast Special Event tomorrow night.
Our first post of the pre debate show will post at 8 PM (Sorry for saying in the broadcast 8:30 but it won't let me post in the half hour)
Our second post for the post Debate show will post at 10 pm
Both shows will be shared on Facebook and Twitter at those times as well.
In the hour provided between the shows, we suggest going to the link below which will take you to the You Tube video of the entire episode of C-Span's Washington Journal. The debate between Jill Wine Banks and Geoff Shepard aired on June 17, 2022. We look forward to spending the evening with you tomorrow night!!!
https://www.c-span.org/video/?521064-5/washington-journal-jill-wine-banks-geoff-shepard-discuss-watergate-50th-anniversary
Get Ready for an event like no other in the past half century. Finally Richard Nixon will get his day. It is a podcast event that we guarantee you will change everything you thought you knew about Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal.
As Finally, The Special Prosecutors, Jill Wine Banks, have to face the Nixon Defense team, Geoff Shepard, on live television.
We will go over all of it here on "Randal Wallace Presents: Nixon and Watergate" October 12, 2022 at 8 pm Pre- Debate, and 10 pm Post Debate shows, with a link provided for the actual debate for you to plug in and watch it all for yourself.
Finally, we have arrived at the end of the Richard Nixon and Watergate story. Here we prepare you for the final chapters of the story of Richard Nixon's fall. His futile fight to save his Presidency in these final 5 months of his tenure.
But first we will fast forward a half Century for a special event of monumental proportions provided by the good folks at C-Span to kick off the season.
When the prosecutors finally have to share the stage with Richard Nixon's last living Defense team member, Geoff Shepard. Jill Wine Banks and Geoff Shepard talk Watergate and we will go back through the debate with highlights, analysis, and a lot of fact checking too.
It should be an ending to our series that will change everything you ever thought you knew about Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal.
In our Richard Nixon and Watergate, 1974 Through the Fire , season 7 finale, all the plotting and planning bares fruit as the Special Prosecutor's get both their indictments and they are able to assist their favorite Judge John J. Sirica into maneuvering himself in as the presiding Judge for most of the big cases on Watergate.
He, in turn, helps the Special Prosecutors, in a series of ex parte meetings, maneuver sealed Grand Jury evidence over to the House Judiciary Committee in order to insure what the congressman see as they move forward with a look at impeaching the duly elected President of the United States. It is all here in plain sight, you just had to wait nearly. a half century to have the documents in hand to know what you were looking for rather than flying blind.
Here you will hear the plan executed flawlessly, structured in a way preventing the Presidents defense team from ever knowing exactly what crime was he was actually accused of committing and its all covered by a very compliant national press corp, in the form of CBS News.
All of this is happening while off camera, as we have discussed and shown you, Henry Ruth, the second in command at the WSPF, is busy with secret dinners at his home, and also extending special invitations to his old friend, John Doar, to hop on over to the office after hours to get a look at all their secret evidence for himself. While also allegedly coming up with a plan to get his hands on it all, keep his staff, and the Congressmen on his committee from ever seeing anything other than what the Special Prosecutor's want them to see.
And that is what we will be sharing with you in our final season of Richard Nixon and Watergate.
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This is our fifth in our series of shows based on the tapes. This one is a taped conversation between President Richard Nixon and one of his top political advisors Harry Dent Sr of my home state of South Carolina. Mr. Dent is revered here in my state for all the work he did to build the Republican Party of South Carolina. While I did not know Mr. Dent I did meet him many years ago.
This episode showcases a call on Election eve in which the President and Mr. Dent have a candid call analyzing the election returns and the congressional situation that the President will be facing in his second term as a result of the night. It is a fascinating call as they go race by race and state by state across the country. You will hear a lot of things but none of it will involve racist strategy.
Harry Dent has often been unfairly tagged as a master mind of the Southern Strategy, supposedly used by Richard Nixon to grab up the "racist Southern white vote" . It is an unfair accusation and in my opinion little more than a smear against both men.
In fact, what little truth there is to the infamous Southern Strategy can be tied to another Republican that has become the darling of the Washington press corp and D.C. elite. Somehow this group of elitist have tried to collectively erase his role in it all from his record and place the blame on Richard Nixon. Who was that man? It was Barry Goldwater, the 1964 nominee for President, who turned on Nixon during Watergate ingratiating himself to a generation of liberals who had mocked him as crazy just a decade before.. If Nixon was guilty of anything at all it was in holding the coalition built in 1964's debacle together with his own in order to barely win in 1968.
This episode will go through the facts of the South's conversion to the Republican Party, Richard Nixon/s real role in it, and Barry Goldwater's role as well. Then we listen in on a call that , if you are a political junkie like me, you will listen to with total fascination. From a man, Harry Dent Sr, who later pled guilty to breaking a campaign finance law . To his dying day Mr
Dent claimed he only pled because it was crystal clear to all that there would be no fair trials for any Watergate defendants in the super charged atmosphere of the era. As we are seeing the newly released evidenced exposed by Geoff Shepard is proving more and more everyday the he was right.
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The House Judiciary Committee is about to take center stage. In February 1974, the House votes to start the inquiry on Impeachment in ernest. They assign the task to the House Judiciary Committee under its new Chairman Peter Rodino, a little known New Jersey Democrat from Jersey City. He had assumed the position out of seniority after Elizabeth Holtzman's upset victory had unseated Chairman Emanuel Celler, who had served 50 years in the House and was a friend and supporter of President Nixon.
Most of the committee was made up of lesser known political figures, some at the very start of their political careers like Holtzman and Mississippi Republican Congressman Trent Lott. They would be assigned the enormous and volatile task of investigating the President of the United States for High Crimes and Misdemeanors. The spotlight would fall to them. Would they be fair? Would they be bi-partisan? Could they meet the test?
Here we examine the committee and their efforts to staff up to look at the evidence. We will also look at a major decision made by the lead staff person they hired, John Doar. Mr. Doar was himself a former Justice Department lawyer who had been heavily involved in civil rights work. He had lived in New York City at an early point in his career and then worked in the South. At several points along the way he had become friends and maintained a friendship with Henry Ruth, now serving as the number 2 man in the Special Prosecutor's Office.
In this episode you will hear from Henry Ruth himself at just how close that relationship was and how it played to the advantage of his staff and their efforts to get all the evidence they had over to the House Committee, all while circumventing all the due process procedures that normally protect a defendant in any criminal proceeding. In this case, against a President of the United States of America, you will see every effort made that could be, to render the leader of the free world defenseless before an unsuspecting committee of lesser known political figures.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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An energy crisis, inflation crisis, problems in the Middle East & with Russia and a growing scandal. Sounds like headlines from today doesn't it?
Over the years there have been countless stories of the out of control Nixon. That as the pressure mounted President Nixon was not in control of his mental faculties nor his Administration. One such fanciful claim has been repeated about Richard Nixon's decision making during the Yom Kippur War, a full 5 months prior to the events in this episode.
However, the documentation backs none of that up and while we don't have the tapes after July 1973, most of the eye witness accounts don't back those rumors up either. While Richard Nixon may have had issues in the very final week before the resignation, no evidence exists of any of it in the time before. All the stories of his abuse of alcohol are not sustained by any real listening of the tapes. Most of the examples of it come from phone calls on one, count them, one night, when he called people after announcing the firing of his closest aids. given the circumstances, I am willing to spot him that one, given the miserable situation he faced.
So I thought I would provide you with proof that President Nixon possessed an amazing grasp of the issues he faced even during the highest of stressful moments, none more so than as events were unfolding in late February 1974. Richard Nixon was well aware that the Special Prosecutor's Office were on the verge of delivering indictments of several of his closest former aids. That there were even rumors that he would be named a co-conspirator and possibly in open court. (which did not happen on March 1)
It is with this background that I present to you this special edition. It is a press conference President Richard Nixon held on February 25, 1974, at the height of Watergate. In it he answers questions for over a half hour on a wide variety of subjects, not just Watergate. He cracks a joke or two, he answers all questions, dodging none, and put on an extraordinary performance that I doubt could be matched by any political figure even today.
Here is the real Richard Nixon, on full display, the brilliant Richard Nixon, the open Richard Nixon, and the Richard Nixon that can rightfully claim his place among the greatest political figures in our national history.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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Arguably, the most famous story of Watergate, save Richard Nixon's resignation itself, is that of the famous Washington Post secret source, My Friend, Mr. X, or better known thanks to the movie and book "All the President's Men" as Deep Throat. He turned out to be the number 2 man at the FBI, W. Mark Felt. Felt denied it for decades even though he was among the list of suspects and he only came forward due to his family pushing him for what appears to be a payday long after Felt himself was capable of making the decision on his own.
But the decision of Mark Felt and his family to step forward also flushed out another man, also in his advanced years, near death due to pancreatic cancer, who had paid a horrible price for a role in Watergate that he had not asked for, nor deserved to have played. L. Patrick Gray was the Acting Director of the FBI following the death of J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover had led the Bureau for nearly a half century and as his health began to fade a power struggle for who would replace him had emerged. When Hoover died, just a month before the break in, Richard Nixon seized the moment to reign in the Bureau that under Hoover had become a power source for its director.
It was in making that play that Nixon turned to Pat Gray so that a new leader, without a dog in the fight for control of the Bureau, could take control and clean house. Gray however soon found himself not only dealing with intrigue within the FBI but intrigue outside of it as well. He was barely on the job a month before he was mislead by the White House Counsel to the President and was being spied on and undermined by his number 2 man at the Bureau.
In this episode we look at both men and how their stories are intertwined, and also how aggrandizing one man's role in Watergate led to the destruction of the other man. Gray has seen his name sullied as an untrustworthy pawn of the White House, who destroyed important Watergate investigation files by throwing them in the Potomac River.
In reality, Gray was an honest man whose only real crime was in believing in the people around him. He was mislead into destroying documents that were found in Howard Hunt's safe, but the materials were both not related to Watergate , and while forged, had content in them that was actually true. All of this cost Gray his chance to be the Director of the FBI, a job he had done well, and wanted to continue serve in. It was certainly a high price for him to pay.
L. Patrick Gray was, in the end, the truly innocent man of Watergate. In this episode we look at both the story of Mark Felt and Patrick Gray.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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"A small Justice Department unit of lawyers and investigators, informally known as the "Get-Hoffa Squad," was assembled to uncover and prosecute any unlawful activity within organized labor.'....
Yet Robert Kennedy's campaign against union corruption, and Hoffa in particular, raised questions about the role of an attorney general in prosecuting crimes. The constant investigations resembled a vendetta to those who suspected Kennedy's motives. Some thought the Attorney General was dogging Hoffa out of personal spite. Others questioned the ethics of the nation's chief law enforcement officer aggressively investigating an individual before evidence of wrongdoing presented itself." --- Law Library - American Law and Legal Information
Read more: Law Library - American Law and Legal Information - JRank Articles https://law.jrank.org/#ixzz7e7ijWCVX
This was the type of Justice practiced by the Kennedy - Johnson Justice Department under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy. They felt Jimmy Hoffa was likely a criminal and they intended to prove it and put him in jail. Perhaps with an enormous amount of justification in that belief but the method developed certainly bordered on harassment. They decided that Hoffa was their target and they would keep on investigating him, from every angle, even when no real evidence of a crime was present, until they found something to hang their hat on.
So What? You may be asking.
An extraordinary number of people involved in the "Get Hoffa Squad" and the Kennedy - Johnson Justice Department, who had been relieved of their duties when Richard Nixon was elected to the Presidency in 1968, would be chosen to serve as members of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office or in other strategic positions in the legal fights that made up the Watergate Scandal. This show examines this fact and puts together how important this set of facts is to the overall outcome of the Watergate Scandal.
By the time this simple , third rate burglary, and campaign screw up case had run its course the prosecutors were investigating every possible angle they could think of on Richard Nixon personally, and on his administration. They investigated potential Presidential candidates, Vice Presidential candidates, staffers, contributors, friends of Richard Nixon, at the rate of secret files being discovered it would not even surprise me if an investigation of Vicky, Pasha, and King Timahoe won't someday surface. (the President's dogs)
This story looks into the overwhelming use of the unlimited powers of the Special Prosecutor's Office, an office we soon hear described by House Judiciary staffer and future aid to Bill Clinton, Bernard Nussbaum as "A dangerous, dangerous office"
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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American Bar Association Rulebook defines the rules on ex parte meetings
"Rule 2.9: Ex Parte Communications:
(A) A judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications, or consider other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers, concerning a pending or impending matter, except as follows:
(1) When circumstances require it, ex parte communication for scheduling, administrative, or emergency purposes, which does not address substantive matters, is permitted, provided:
(a) the judge reasonably believes that no party will gain a procedural, substantive, or tactical advantage as a result of the ex parte communication; and
(b) the judge makes provision promptly to notify all other parties of the substance of the ex parte communication, and gives the parties an opportunity to respond."
In what can only be described as absolutely stunning, ex parte meetings between the Special Prosecutor's Office and Judge John Sirica did not just happen once or twice, they occurred so often there are actual memos where staffers are asking for a couple in what appears to be almost routine practice.
This is more than just frowned upon in the law, if it had been known at the time a number of these people, including the vaunted Judge Sirica, would no longer have been practicing law after it made the news. It so frowned upon you actually have to wonder if the record of these meetings was intentionally sealed and hidden from public view in the hopes that it would never see the light of day. But, thankfully, it has now seen the light of day sadly four decades to late.
Geoff Shepard, one of the Nixon Defense team lawyers, sued the National Archives to get access to these records and a court agreed with him and released it all in 2013. It is the equivalent of more than just a bombshell, but more like a guided nuclear missile, to the credibility of any of the convictions in any case in the Watergate Scandal. None of these defendants received a fair trial, in my opinion, when you examine a record of almost routine secret meetings between prosecutors and the Judge who was supposed to be impartially sitting in judgement in their cases. Even the ACLU stepped up and sided with former Attorney General John Mitchell to no avail at the time of his trial.
To make matters even worse there is more than just little bit of hearsay evidence that prosecutors had met with Judge David L. Brazelon of the Appellate Court to insure that Judge Sirica, often seen as one of the worst Judges on the entire Federal Bench , would never be overturned on Appeal. It is just staggering that all of this could happen in a case that would eventually lead up to a sitting President of the United States.
Yes, there is corruption everywhere you look , ironically, none of it is coming from the place most of the historical record has claimed it came from. You see for a half century it seems that when it comes to the Watergate Scandal, that the narrative was in place, and the FIX was in, and there was no interest from anyone in real justice as long as Richard Nixon could be brought to his knees.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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On this day when the world says farewell to Queen Elizabeth 2nd, we thought we would pay tribute to her in a uniquely focused way. We will look back fondly on her relationship with the United States of America.
Queen Elizabeth has been the one constant in an ever changing world. Through all of that change, and 14 American Presidents, Queen Elizabeth has reigned with desire to maintain a good relationship with the United States. In so doing, she became as beloved in America as she was in her own country and commonwealth. , even though America is a country that 200 years before had a revolution to get away from a Monarchy. The Founding Fathers would probably be shocked.
So today, as she is laid to rest, we honor her with a look back at how often she took the time to honor us in the United States, from visits, and meetings with our Presidents, to remembering our nation at its lowest moment, to even one of the funniest stories about the Queen and two hapless American tourists that will leave you laughing.
God Save the Queen!!
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This is our fourth episode looking back on the calls and meetings of April and May of 1973. It is the heart of the Prosecution case against our 37th President. When you listen to these calls , in there entirety, not just snippets, or fragments but all of them. You cannot help but come away realizing just how weak the case against the President and his upper staff really was.
It was a case totally dependent on the testimony and words of one man, John Dean, the White House Counsel. All trails, all stories, and all actions, seem to lead right back to him.
In these meetings, and calls, we listen in as John Ehrlichman briefs the President on the status of the case and it appears he is finally piecing together the situation John Dean has created for them all. That instead of protecting the President and being honest with him , Dean has been blocking for John Mitchell and it appears getting all of them deeper into a hole. A hole only John Dean found an escape route out of as the month of May 1973 comes to an end.
We also listen in as Attorney General Richard Kleindienst informs the President about L. Patrick Gray destroying files based on the advice of John Dean. It is the results of advice we heard in our last episode where John Ehrlichman, so often vilified by the media, liberal historians, and the special prosecutors, actually made it a point to advise his collogue to tell the truth and not get dragged into the mess engulfing the White House at the time. That advise probably saved Gray an indictment.
Then we listen as President Nixon talks with his new Chief of Staff and his Assistant Chief of Staff in calls that have also been questioned over wiretaps and the investigation of Watergate,
Then after we listen to all of this material we will return to 1974 in our next episode as the Special Prosecutor's prepare to indict the Watergate Cover up Defendants and move Grand Jury information over to one of their leaders, Special Prosecutor's second in command Henry Ruth's " old across the fence" neighbor John Doar, who was in charge of the House Judiciary Committee staff.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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The Lowcountry Gullah Podcast
Theculture, history and traditions podcast where Gullah Geechee culture lives!
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In our third special tapes series episode we look at various meetings and calls between the President and his staff. Some of these tapes have been spun to make the President look as bad as possible by liberal historians, Special Prosecutors, and liberal media personalities. However, when you listen to these tapes in there entirety I would argue they paint an entirely different picture for anyone listening with an open mind.
So we are sharing these conversations as we did the two earlier meetings in there entirety, or as close to that as we could put together.
They include a meeting with Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman, phone calls with Domestic Policy Advisor John Ehrlichman, White House Counsel John Dean and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.
We listen as John Ehrlichman reaches out to L. Patrick Gray to warn him of John Dean's duplicity. Ehrlichman who has been often vilified for years, also makes a second call to Gray to urge him to just tell the truth on the secret files Gray had destroyed based on the advice given to him by John Dean, the White House Counsel. ( A case we will look at in-depth in a later episode) This single act of kindness toward L. Patrick Gray most likely saved Gray from being indicted. Gray followed the advice Ehrlichman gave him as we will see later.
However, it is three calls with Assistant Attorney General Henry Petersen that are of the most interest in these calls. Henry Petersen was investigated for his role in the early investigation of the Watergate Scandal because he had kept the President up to date on what the status was of the investigation. Everything that could be done by Prosecutors was done to paint this situation as sinister, as Nixon guiding the investigation away from the targets for a suspicious public. But listen to these three calls yourself and make up your own mind as to what President Nixon was doing in them.
He is clear, he gives direct orders as to what he wants to happen, and he instructs the most important of all the witnesses in the case, G. Gordon Liddy, to talk. It is in these calls you walk away realizing that for 5 decades you may not have been told anything close to the truth.
You cannot listen to them and come away believing anything other than Richard Nixon was as determined as anyone else in America to know what the truth was in the scandal of Watergate.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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The New Arab Voice
A podcast from The New Arab, a leading English-language website based in London...
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The Lowcountry Gullah Podcast
Theculture, history and traditions podcast where Gullah Geechee culture lives!
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The second in our tape series is another meeting held on April 26, 1973 between the President, Richard Nixon, and his then Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman. In it they try and reconstruct what was discussed in the earlier meeting between themselves and John Dean.
The You Tube page "I Tape You Bored" describes this meeting this way
"A conversation between Nixon and his top aide which might deserve the overused tag of "meta". John Dean has now defected, and is helping the prosecutors; the discussion here centers on the long and involved conversation of March 21, 1973, the famous "cancer on the presidency" session, and what Nixon said there that could be used against them. The two men go over the conversation detail by detail on what makes them legally vulnerable, and what defense they might erect. This long session contains no new revelations, but makes clear how deliberate and involved Nixon was in the cover-up of the scandal. Again and again, the excuse of national security is invoked."
However, what is forgotten by this writer and often most everyone else is that up until the March 21, 1973 meeting, President Nixon had been following the advice of his attorney. While he may have had other sources of information, Nixon's main source was his attorney, the White House Counsel to the President. That Counsel had been asked to commit to writing exactly what had gone on. President Nixon was counting on that document, and he had up to that moment been reliant on his counsel. Who was his counsel, his lawyer, the man he had relied on to guide himself and his Administration through this mess, that he, Richard Nixon, had not created.? The man's name was John Dean.
John Dean was the hub that connects the issues at the campaign to the staff at the White House. He had gone to the prosecutor's office to get a deal by the time of this meeting. At that point, President Nixon a
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With this episode we will be introducing our tapes series, this is the first of four such episodes in a row. These will be episodes that center on tapes from either meetings or phone calls involving the President and the various Watergate defendants and other Nixon Administration players. These first four episodes center on the most damning of the Watergate tapes involving the President and used by the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office. Again, no defense attorney was ever given a chance to defend the President nor make his case, nor, most importantly, point out the exculpatory portions of the very tapes the Prosecutor's were only using snippets and sections of in order to derail the President.
Here on our show, unlike the situation our President faced in 1974, we believe in FAIRNESS!!
So we have provided as much of the tape, or the entire tape available, for you to listen to and make up your own mind about. In some of the episodes we also read to you introductions of the tapes by a Liberal Website called "Itapeyoubored" , in which we allow the common interpretation promoted by Nixon's most ardent detractors to be heard, and then I give my own analysis of what you are about to listen too. In these episodes, we want to go ahead and make you aware that whenever it is a tape of a meeting rather than a phone call, President Nixon himself can be hard to hear. This is especially true in our first two tapes in our series. These are also two of the most damning of the tapes used against the President. They are the infamous "Cancer on the Presidency" conversation involving President Nixon and John Dean with Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman joining the meeting and a later meeting in which Bob Haldeman and President Richard Nixon meet later to try and reconstruct the earlier meeting.
This entire first episode in our tapes series is the "Cancer on the Presidency" meeting with John Dean. You will hear the famous line about coming up with money to pay Howard Hunt. You will also hear the President advising both Haldeman and Dean on how to avoid answering questions and not get a perjury charge leveled at them when in front of a Grand Jury where no defense attorney would be allowed to be present. It was the most sensational of all the tapes used to force the President to resign, save the smoking gun tape.
However, as we have seen before when dealing with evidence handled by the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office (the Sinister Force) things are not always what they seem. This tape is over an hour and a half long and what you won't hear is an order to pay Howard Hunt, and what you will hear, more than once, is a President who thinks those on his staff that may have been involved in a criminal act need to step forward and "come clean".
Another case of things not always being what they seem, nor history being correctly written.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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There was absolutely no one else on Earth with the stature, respect, influence, and as beloved as Queen Elizabeth 2nd. She was the last major figure left who had served in some capacity during World War 2. She had been on the thrown of Great Britain for 70 years. To put that into some perspective when she became the Monarch of England and the Commonwealth of nations, Harry Truman was President of the United States, Winston Churchill was residing at 10 Downing Street, and Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union. In most of the World, only one in ten women worked outside the home, America had 48 States, Cary Grant was one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Richard Nixon was not yet Vice President, and Strom Thurmond had not yet been elected to the United States Senate.
Through all the years, all the advances in technology, all the changes on the political map around the world, an almost entirely different world had emerged, but she had never gone away. Queen Elizabeth 2nd was the one constant through it all. The very foundation of her nation and the steadfast symbol of stability in an ever changing World. She was to so many of us what appeared to be the last adult on the world stage.
In this special episode, we look back over the life of the only Monarch of Great Britain 80% of her countrymen has ever known. 14 United States Presidents, 15 British Prime Ministers, the age of radio, television, the internet, and social media have all come, and in some cases gone, under her reign. She has somehow figured out a way to steer her nation and commonwealth of nations through all of that dynamic, cultural, and ethnic change, and she has done it all while becoming the World's most beloved public figure. No easy feet for any one, in any office, to have achieved.
Here you will hear her speech as a 14 year old child, requested by Winston Churchill, with the hope of swaying public sentiment in the United States during the early days of World War 2, her speech at age 21 pledging to serve her country with dedication and loyalty for the rest of her life, her Speech after the horrific death of Princess Diana, her inspirational Christmas messages in 2016 and 2021, and, finally, her message of instruction to Parliament on its opening day of 2021. We will also hear the first words from King Charles 3rd as he becomes the new Monarch of the nation of Great Britain.
It is a thank you to a Queen who gave all for 70 years, as the great children's character Paddington said, "thank you for everything"
God Save the King!!
"Charles W. Colson, the Republican political operative who boasted that he would “walk over my own grandmother” to ensure the reelection of President Richard M. Nixon and went on to found a worldwide prison fellowship ministry after his conversion to evangelical Christianity, .......
Mr. Colson’s reputation as a “dirty tricks artist” overshadowed his achievements as a darkly brilliant political strategist. He helped lay the groundwork for the Nixon landslide of November 1972 by appealing to disgruntled Democrats and blue-collar minority voters.
A self-described “hatchet man” for Nixon, Mr. Colson compiled the notorious “enemies list” of politicians, journalists and activists perceived as threats to the White House. And most fatefully, he helped orchestrate illegal activities to discredit former Pentagon official Daniel Ellsberg, who was suspected of leaking a top-secret history of the Vietnam War to the New York Times and The Washington Post. " ------ Washington Post Obituary written by Michael Dobbs
This is what most everyone thinks they know about Chuck Colson. What has been the most stunning thing I have learned about the Watergate Scandal has been how little the Prosecutor's actually had to make a case on Chuck Colson. The case was weak and they all knew it. But Leon Jaworski, while simultaneously working to protect William Bittman from an alleged overwhelming case of guilt, was determined to see Chuck Colson imprisoned.
In this episode we will let you listen in on how the case was maneuvered, and how Chuck Colson was scared into a plea deal. We will also introduce you to Chuck Colson, what his role was in the Nixon White House, and finally you will hear his own opinion on what happened to him at the hands of the Sinister Force of Watergate. A Sinister Force who literally stole a portion of this man's life and destroyed his reputation too.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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It's February of 1974 and the Special Prosecutor's Office, the Sinister Force of Watergate, has gone to work to lay down their indictments of those accused of orchestrating the cover up of the Watergate burglary. But they also have fanned out into other areas of interest and zeroed in on targets for no other reason than for the effective leadership they have provided for the President they loathed.
Here you will listen in as a Grand Juror talks about the reaction of his fellow Grand Jurors to being told they could not indict the President. Hear as the Prosecutor's develop a plan to move the evidence they have gathered, without a Defense Attorney ever being present, from the Grand Jury to the Watergate Judge, an on to the Judiciary Committee of the Congress. The Committee investigation was then just forming and its lead staffer, John Doar, was an old friend of the Prosecutor's second in command, Henry Ruth.
This episode also zeroes in on another potential target. That of E. Howard Hunt's Attorney, William Bittman. An old Washington hand and protector of former President Lyndon Johnson. He had aided his client in shaking down the White House for more and more money to pay for legitimate expenses and enormous legal bills too, some of it owed to.... William Bittman. The entire Special Prosecutor's Staff wanted to indict Bittman but another old LBJ protector stepped in to protect him.
His name was Leon Jaworski, The Special Prosecutor himself. A determined friend for William Bittman, no matter what the staff said, and a determined enemy of Chuck Colson, no matter what the staff said.
No one would care enough about Justice nor the long term destruction to the reputation of Chuck Colson to protect him, even though he had barely if at all been involved in any of what the office was supposed to be investigating. We will be telling that story in our next episode of Richard Nixon and Watergate.
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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This episode begins with a simple statement that says it all about the Watergate Scandal from Nixon Speech Writer Ray Price "We screwed up so badly because we really never knew what we were being accused of"
And that was by design.
In this episode we look at the radicalization of Leon Jaworski, made largely possible by a tape of President Nixon giving advice to Bob Haldeman and John Dean on how to answer questions in a way that would not allow them to be charged with perjury. Now as bad as that may sound on face value it is routine advice that every lawyer in America gives to clients. You see you have to be able to recall things precisely and if you can't it can be used against you later. You need only ask Dwight Chapin the price of not recalling details of events when asked (he was convicted of giving misleading statements to the Grand Jury for statements that may not have been precisely correct)
What we also learn, and was hidden from the public for nearly a half century, is that Leon Jaworski was having issues controlling his rabid staff even as he came to believe in the President's guilt. After a press conference in which Press Secretary Ron Ziegler expressed his view that the Prosecutor's Staff was out of control, and out to get the President, a rebuttal came flying out of the office now headed by Leon Jaworski.
Jaworski in an open letter to Ron Ziegler professed his total faith in the honesty , integrity, and fairness of his new found colleagues, all of whom he had inherited from his predecessor, Archibald Cox. But newly uncovered memos show a totally different story brewing in the background that begs the question did Leon Jaworski even write the very letter that glossed over the growing belief that Richard Nixon had, that the staff of that office intended to do whatever it took to get him.
The media embraced Jaworski and touted to an interested public that he had vouched for the Special Prosecutor's staff as honest and ethical investigators of the truth. They pounded the wounded President every day driving his once lofty approval numbers down to record lows. All setting the stage to undo an unprecedented mandate of the people the previous November.
All of this as Jaworski in private did battle with his own lead staffers about inventive ways to stack the deck on Richard Nixon, using secret meetings with the trial Judge, John Sirica, sleight of hand to the Grand Jury, and taking advantage of a long friendship between John Doar, now the lead staffer on the House Judiciary Committee looking into impeachment, and Henry Ruth that stretched back to the days they were neighbors in New York. They did it all with one goal in mind;
How do we nail Richard Nixon.
It appears very early on in the tenure of Leon Jaworski, that things are not always what they seem.....
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In this special edition we lay the foundation for much of the story to come. At various times we will be listening in on history and truly examining the tapes of the Richard Nixon Administration. We will be focusing on the time period in which the most question has been raised about President Nixon's personal involvement in the cover up of the Watergate burglary. After his "Cancer on the Presidency" conversation with John Dean and subsequent conversations into late May of 1973.
We have made this special edition in order to explain what we are doing and to help not confuse our listeners because we will be bouncing back and forth between the events unfolding in 1974 and the fact that almost all the evidence and focus will be on events that occured after March 21, 1973. that is the universally accepted time that both President Nixon and his chief accuser, John Dean , agree that he had set down to inform the President fully as to what had been going on. A little later we will be hearing the entire Cancer on the Presidency conversation.
This episode will explain what we are doing, and also focus on a figure who is leaving the scene just as we begin the tale end of 1973 and entering 1974, Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Our assessments of him will probably surprise you, and in telling his final story as Special Prosecutor we will begin to show the little details that point to the manipulative powers of the partisan staff he has assembled. How he personally had come to the conclusion that the one person who needed to pay for the criminality of Watergate was, John Dean, and how the staff he put together was more concerned with destroying Richard Nixon than actually finding justice in the case of Watergate.
Finally, we thought it only fair to take a second to let John Dean tell his version of the story and what he felt he himself was trying to achieve by the actions he took that helped bring down the Nixon Administration. What we found was a fascinating interview on the ABC News program "Nightline with Ted Koppel" from January 2000. It was just after the National Archives started releasing the Nixon tapes for the public to hear. It is an opportunity for John Dean to give his defense of Watergate, The Dean Defense.
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In our third episode in our look at the various people whose oral histories we will be focusing on during our next two seasons of shows, we leave behind the events of October 1973, and look back on who these people are, and how they got to be players in the Watergate Scandal. This episode will concentrate on five people, Henry Ruth, Jill Wine Banks, Richard Ben Veniste , Alexander Haig and Ray Price.
Three of them are Special Prosecutors and two worked for President Nixon. One other person who worked for President Nixon, Geoff Shepard , we have devoted an earlier entire show into profiling. This show will allow you to listen in on their earlier careers and how they came to have the positions they held. It is a fascinating look at how people build their careers and what influences their decision making during a historic moment in our nation's history.
You will also very subtly learn tidbits of information that will come to be very important later. The most important is the long standing relationship between Henry Ruth , the second in command at the Special Prosecutor's office, and John Doar, the lead lawyer and staffer for the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives for the inquiry into the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.
It is a relationship that will grow to be of monumental importance, and may be the key to how secret Grand Jury evidence, normally sealed, gathered without defense attorneys' being present, in which only the Prosecutors control access to the Grand Jury members, could be moved to the committee inquiring as to whether there would be grounds to impeach a duly elected President of the United States. All of which was done without the benefit of a Defense Attorney having so much as the ability to raise an objection or ask a question.
This is the first layer of a foundation of alleged misconduct that will stagger you, subtly hidden in this oral history of Henry Ruth.
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In this second episode re-chronicling the Saturday Night Massacre a very disturbing picture will begin to emerge about the Watergate Special Prosecutor's office. You will begin to see a pattern of behaviour where paranoia, arrogance, and an overall belief in the correctness of their cause emerges. That latter shows itself in decisions that get made where they themselves are willing to take matters into their own hands, without even consulting the very person who is supposed to be in charge of their office.
Listen as they proudly discuss removing evidence from the office, weeks before the showdown that led to Archibald Cox's termination. The belief that they could defy the Federal Bureau of Investigation officers who had been sent to the office, even threatening violence at one point at the officers. They admit to sneaking more evidence out in the underwear of one of the staffers wives, they imply that they believe the FBI would ransack their files even though they later have to admit that at no time did that ever occur.
They also openly discuss the contempt they held the Solicitor General, Robert Bork, even as he assumed the awesome responsibility of acting Attorney General and worked diligently to protect their jobs, even as he had to carry out the order from the President to fire the Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox. The picture that emerges is one of an out of control office, with no respect for any person of authority over them, whether it be a President they had targeted as a criminal, the former Attorney General that they accused of not acting in good faith, the new Acting Attorney General who protected their jobs, or even the man they were supposed to be working for who they lectured on how to conduct a criminal investigation and hid actions they took upon themselves , by removing evidence from the office weeks before a confrontation with the President had even occurred.
And it will get worse from here.
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In this episode we are going to step back to October of 1973. The singular event that changes everything in Watergate was the Saturday Night Massacre. When we originally told the story we did so from the overall perspective of the Nixon White House and the news media that covered it. We travel back in this episode and let you hear the story from the oral histories of the members of the Special Prosecutor's office whose boss was fired.
It is, we thought, the best way to introduce you to several people whose oral histories will take you to the very end of our Podcast Documentary look at Richard Nixon. While this episode centers more on the Special Prosecutors you will hear from two top level Nixon staffers, Ray Price and an oral history of Alexander Haig, read by me. You will also hear from Elliot Richardson, William Ruckelshaus, and Robert Bork.
But at the end you will get a play by play from three members of the special prosecutor's office we have only brushed upon in our earlier episodes. They are the number two man in the office, Henry Ruth, who will one day become the Special Prosecutor, along with Richard Ben Veniste, and Jill Wine Banks. It will give you some insight as to what it was like for those in the office on the night of the firing of Archibald Cox.
This is the first of three episodes centered on the people of the Watergate Scandal and their roles in it.
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It is January 1974, and the nation is all a buzz over two missing conversations and an 18 and a half minute gap on subpoenaed tapes from the White House. Judge Sirica has demanded that the tapes all be turned over to him. It is a no win scenario for the White House and for the first time they are losing the public relations war. The gap would be one of the enduring mysteries of Watergate.
Years later a couple of investigators would attempt to resolve the mystery of "who done it?" with , in my opinion, a less than satisfying answer complete with lots of unprovable innuendo. The National Archives too would attempt to figure out if there was more to the notes that Bob Haldeman left behind that may give a clue about what was discussed in the famous meeting. It seems it was a mystery the public never tired of trying to resolve.
In the end, the more likely and plausible answer is offered up by Geoff Shepard, who was there, a member of the White House staff who dealt directly with the tapes and the people transcribing the tapes. The machine in question, the Uher 5000, had a history of various recording issues and there is some evidence of a faulty plug in the wall of Rose Mary Woods' small working office. Here in this episode you will get to hear every version of what could of happened that I could find, but if you are a believer in the old adage the most likely version is the least complicated one, you will probably be right. However, this is one mystery we will likely never know the answer too.
There are also other issues on the front burner in January of 1974. One of them is a growing Energy Crisis, that grew to a serious crisis over the winter of 1974. In this episode we revisit a symposium with the major players as they remember the crisis and how the President dealt with it. We also feature an oral history with James Schlesinger , the cabinet member who had to help develop the strategy to combat the issue. In it he talks about the environmental President who is so responsible for how clean our air and water is today as he sought solutions to those problems and he moved us closer towards energy independence as well.
We also hear how Watergate began to hamper every other initiatives the administration was working on as 1974 began and President Nixon once again took to the stage for his State of the Union address. He was under siege over a scandal that was crippling his administration even as our Union was the strongest it had ever been in its nearly 200 year history under the leadership Richard Nixon had provided.
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This is our second episode where we listen to lectures from Geoff Shepard that deals directly with two of the most important, and frankly, sinister factors that led to the downfall of Richard Nixon.
Judge John Sirica, often portrayed as the hero of Watergate, was in fact a known attention seeker with one of the worst records of any Judge on the D.C. Court. He was famous for disregarding the rights of defendants. It is combination of these weaknesses and his desire to play the hero, all fed to him by private, ex parte, meetings he was having with those interested in seeing that Richard Nixon would eventually be politically hurt by the case. It is a damning indictment of his alleged behavior on the Bench, that if it had been known at the time would have led to his disbarment.
Then we get a look at the Watergate Special Prosecutors Task Force, a team of lawyers we have labeled the Sinister Force of Watergate. They were formed with only one target in mind and they never hid it. That target was Richard Nixon, and over these lectures you will see a case form that should scare any person who has ever thought that somehow they could end up in the crosshairs of the criminal justice system.
This is an excellent overview of the way things unfolded that led to the resignation of President Nixon. It is following this road map, complete with historical documents and various news reports from the time period that our podcast will soon begin to move you through the events of early 1974 that would lead to indictments of the President's top aids and the naming of President Nixon as an unindicted Co-Conspirator on March 1, 1974.
Links to lectures and Website below:
-
https://youtu.be/hZIF0oSXBJE Mysteries of Watergate Lecture Nixon Library May 29, 2010
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https://youtu.be/qXA2T23yoFU Geoff Sheppard lecture Richard Nixon Library August 11, 2015
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https://youtu.be/9EPgLIWpFKA Geoff Shepard - Special Prosecutors: Yesterday and Today
November 21, 2018 St. Vicente College -
https://youtu.be/gHRv7WG7yTM Watergate lecture at Hillsdale College November 6, 2018
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
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If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and friends about " Randal Wallace Presents : Nixon and Watergate " too
In this first of two episodes, we have culled several important points on the case that Geoff Shepard has laid out in his three books from several lectures he has made that are available on the internet and at his site. The links to which are below.
This episode centers on various theories of Watergate that have been out there for a number of years, the role of Senator Ted Kennedy and his various staffers, and finally a focus on the role of former White House Counsel to the President, John Dean.
This is an excellent overview of the way things unfolded that led to the resignation of President Nixon. It is following this road map, complete with historical documents and various news reports from the time period that our podcast will soon begin to move you through the events of early 1974 that would lead to indictments of the President's top aids and the naming of President Nixon as an unindicted Co-Conspirator on March 1, 1974.
Links to lectures and Website below:
-
https://youtu.be/hZIF0oSXBJE Mysteries of Watergate Lecture Nixon Library May 29, 2010
-
https://youtu.be/qXA2T23yoFU Geoff Sheppard lecture Richard Nixon Library August 11, 2015
-
https://youtu.be/9EPgLIWpFKA Geoff Shepard - Special Prosecutors: Yesterday and Today
November 21, 2018 St. Vicente College -
https://youtu.be/gHRv7WG7yTM Watergate lecture at Hillsdale College November 6, 2018
*** For more information please go to the following website ShepardonWatergate,com
Support My Work
If you love the show, the easiest way to show your support is by leaving us a positive rating with a review. You can also tell your family and friends about " Randal Wallace Presents : Nixon and Watergate " too
Who in the World is Geoff Shepard?
This show is an attempt to introduce you to him and get to know exactly who he is. We have discussed him at various times in our 1973 episodes but this as an in-depth look at who he is and why he is a man of unquestioned stature.
I also wanted to put this show together because of my own experience with coming to learn about this man and his work , a chance to address the usually skillful way the other side undermines everyone with a different viewpoint in the eyes of the public. It's also a way to keep a skillful eye on current events too.
The first time I had ever heard of Geoff Shepard I was arguing with a former anchor at my local television station over drinks. Since the advent of social media I have developed a reputation as a rabid Nixon defender. My friend, who was on WPDE - TV 15 in Myrtle Beach, was not a Nixon fan. Over the course of our argument he said something along the lines of me believing looney conspiracy theories, and through out Geoff Shepard's name. I had never heard of him but was aware that a little cottage industry of hairbrained conspiracy theories had cropped up over Watergate and various other historic events from the Lincoln Assassination to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to the Bermuda Triangle for that matter. But for me after the back and forth with the anchorman, I mostly forgot about it.
A while later I got to talking with a friend of mine who was the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Myrtle Beach. He was the young man who had broken up the fist fight years before between our Mayor Mark McBride and a City Councilman Wayne Gray in executive session. That fight had made national news at the time. The Assistant City Attorney had since moved on before I was elected, but we became friendly acquaintances. He had seen some of my posts on Facebook about President Nixon and had told me about his own legal work with Geoff Shepard and how Shepard had told him all about his time working with Richard Nixon. Then he sent me an article that had been in The Atlantic Magazine.
It was a fascinating look at what had really happened in Watergate. That is when I realized that there may be more to this man than what the anchorman had portrayed to me earlier. When Geoff Shepard's second book came out "The Real Watergate Scandal (Collusion , Conspiracy and the plot that brought down Nixon) " I went out and bought a copy. It was a stunning, shocking, mesmerizing book that I almost highlighted from cover to cover. It was one of the best books on Richard Nixon and Watergate I had ever read. So I did some research on the author.
What I discovered was he is a very serious man, and more importantly, a very credible one with a long resume of experience both as part of the Nixon Administration an after. So with this episode I want to establish with you, our audience, that Geoff Shepard is not a conspiracy theorist, not a person pedaling a story of a vast intricate plot of espionage designed to destroy a President, but a serious man who has uncovered a rather simple case of Prosecutorial Misconduct that has sadly occurred in far less dramatic fashion in courtrooms and legal cases all over America.
It is a simple case of partisans in a political scandal who took control of the wheels of justice, with no real supervision, with over 100 of the best partisan lawyers and investigators in America, and a willing press covering it all, and then made a case up out of a mountain of materials and tapes they were able to force the President to turn over to them in an unprecedented way , with massive historical consequences for the country and the President it had overwhelmingly elected to office.
*** You can look at the documents we use at ShepardonWatergate.com
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Our Season 7 story opens with a look at the conventional wisdom most of America, and the world holds on Watergate. It is the story of the heroic Special Prosecutors who investigated the heinous crimes of Watergate. The story of a Washington Press Corp determined not to let the sly , crooked , Richard Nixon get away with running his, as Dan Rather called it, "crime syndicate" from the White House.
It is the story of the heroic Democrats in Congress who continued to push for more and more information in order to protect the country from a President determined to undermine our constitutional democracy and trample over the American Criminal Justice System. It is the story of those brave, unselfish, upstanding, righteous Republicans who finally said enough. It was nothing less than saving our democracy itself and stopping fascism from reigning over our mighty and free land.
I don't know about you, but I ain't never bought that line of happy Horse manure!!
But I also never had anything but a feeling that "something was not right in Denmark". I had studied the career of Richard Nixon most of my life. What I had found was if you really looked at it almost none of the accusations, other than those of Watergate, ever stood up.
He had in fact exposed a real communist spy in Alger Hiss. He had defeated Helen Cahagan Douglas for the U.S. Senate in a nasty race where most of the nastiness had been provoked by her not him. He had had a special fund to help with legitimate expenses related to his political career but he had been able to account for every dime spent from the fund, something the 1952 Democratic Nominee for President, Alai Stevenson, who also had a similar fund could not do for himself. The 1960 election for President had been arguably stolen from Richard Nixon and Nixon had had his taxes audited by the IRS and his airplane and phone lines bugged by the FBI during the subsequent Kennedy and Johnson years.
It just seemed that every time you really looked at it, except for Watergate, Richard Nixon was actually not at all what he was constantly being presented to the public as having been. So you just always had this feeling that maybe Richard Nixon's claim that he would one day be vindicated, yet again, would prove true. But like most Americans, while sympathetic, I guess I kind of doubted that it could actually be possible.
Until I read three riveting books by a lawyer, former Nixon staffer, and a man whose own credibility is unquestioned. That man's name was Geoff Shepard, and starting with this episode we are going to do a deep dive into documents he has unearthed over the past nearly two decades. I think what you will see us lay out is an absolutely shocking and overwhelming story of alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct.
And it will change everything you thought you knew about Richard Nixon.
*** If you would like to see the documents they are available at ShepardonWatergate.com
Link to the Geoff Shepard Book Launch event on You Tube
https://youtu.be/LZre5OZ8IOs
THE TRUTH HAS FINALLY COME HOME!!
Season 7 Richard Nixon and Watergate, 1974 Through the Fire will take you from the start of the New Year in 1974 through the March 1, 1974 indictments against the defendants in the Watergate Case. One of the 19 people named as an unindicted Co-Conspirator was President Richard Nixon.
This is the story of how the President was named, how the defendants were indicted, and the ways those decisions were made. Using oral histories and newly released documents made available to us from the National Archives and organized in three extraordinary books written by Geoff Shepard. Our show will attempt to lay out the case of alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct so extreme that it was hidden from the public for nearly five decades.
In this introduction to our season we want to explain how this season will be different than how our other episodes have been constructed. We chose several players in the events of the period that would eventually lead to the fall of President Nixon. Here we introduce you to those players, who they were and what their role was in the events of 1974.
We will be listening to oral histories from:
The Special Prosecutors Jill Wine Banks, Richard Ben Veniste , and Henry Ruth. The Nixon Administration figures Alexander Haig, Ray Price, and Geoff Shepard. The House Judiciary Committee Members Trent Lott and Elizabeth Holtzman. House Judiciary Staff members Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernard Nussbaum, and William Weld. Plus interviews with President Richard Nixon himself. All are discussed and introduced to you here in this introduction of Season 7, Richard Nixon and Watergate 1974 Through the Fire.
By the time our story is through, It will change everything you thought you knew about the fall of President Richard Nixon
*** To read the documents we will be using you can go to the following website
ShepardonWatergate.com
For Immediate release:
We here at the Podcast " Bridging the Political Gap" are proud to announce the changing of our name from " Bridging the Political Gap" to " Randal Wallace Presents" with each season being the name of our moniker.
As we begin Season 7 , " Richard Nixon and Watergate 1974: Through the Fire" we thought it the perfect time to announce the new name, unveil the new cover art, and move forward with a name more suitable to the given subject matter we are covering at any given moment.
We hope you like the new name and look.
**** The press Conference feel to the announcement is for dramatic effect and we did not actually have a major press announcement :)
( You know you got to have fun and be able to shamelessly plug your book, "Always Vote Your Conscience", your website RandalWallace.com, and your back log of episodes too!!! )
"As the Watergate era passes into history, the voices of most of the key players now stilled, Dwight Chapin -- a loyal and discreet member of Richard Nixon's inner circle before and after he captured the White House -- emerges with an intimate and insightful memoir that students of the era never imagined we would see. With its eyewitness account of critical events, many previously undisclosed, "The President's Man" brings to life the extraordinary cast of characters of that tumultuous time: Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Kissinger, John and Martha Mitchell, and, of course, the late President himself. Dwight Chapin's unsparing recollections make a significant addition to the literature of the Nixon Administration and the annals of the postwar presidency" --- James Rosen, author of The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate
That is one of many powerful reviews for one of the most important books written on Richard Nixon over the past half century. It was authored by a man who can genuinely claim to be "The President's Man", Dwight Chapin. If you have followed our podcast it often seems that everywhere you look you will see Dwight Chapin.
On our shows about President Nixon's remarkable run and the 1968 campaign, it was Dwight Chapin that got President Lyndon Johnson on the phone, that went with Nixon to Martin Luther King's funeral, that helped arrange the meeting with Hubert Humphrey at the elections end. He was there for the "Silent Majority Speech" and he was the man who helped put together every aspect of the trip to China that shook the World. No one was more intricately involved at every turn of the remarkable Presidency of Richard Nixon than Dwight Chapin.
This episode is a brief look at this remarkable person entrusted to be at the side of one of our nation's greatest leaders. Dwight Chapin has recently written an outstanding book that we highly recommend, "The President's Man", and here we have compiled some of the interviews, panel discussion, and a few added insights and materials we thought would compliment the material he has provided as he conducted his recent book tour. It will give you some insight into the greatest of American Presidents on the eve of our podcasts deep dive into the scandal that ended Richard Nixon's Presidency.
For more information on Dwight Chapin's new book and materials here is his website
ThePresidentsMan.com
During our hiatus and just after the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break in we were invited to do an interview on the New York City based talk show podcast "The Alex Garret Show" where for the first time we were interviewed basically just on our podcast show.
In it we discuss Richard Nixon , Watergate, how we put the show together, researching the material, our thoughts on the current state of politics, and what we have in store for our viewers over the next season or two as we cover the end of the Watergate scandal and the life of Richard Nixon,
We thought it would be fun to rebroadcast the interview here on our own show in a special edition. We did have some technical issues with moving their show over so they were kind enough to send us the raw file of the interview and that is what we will be sharing with you, including a little bit of the chatter we had at the start that was not on the actual broadcast
We hope you will like the show.
We have also included links to the "Alex Garret Show" in which we were interviewed and to the page if you would like to start listening in to the "Alex Garret Podcast" itself on a regular basis.
Enjoy!!
Our interview:
https://soundcloud.com/alex-garrett-podcasting/talkng-watergate50-with-randal?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
The Alex Garret Podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/alex-garrett-podcasting?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
THE TRUTH HAS FINALLY COME HOME!!
Season 7 Richard Nixon and Watergate, 1974 Through the Fire will take you from the start of the New Year in 1974 through the March 1, 1974 indictments against the defendants in the Watergate Case. One of the 19 people named as an unindicted Co-Conspirator was President Richard Nixon. He had been the target of the Watergate Special Prosecutors Task Force from the start.
This is the story of how the President was named, how the defendants were indicted, and the ways those decisions were made. Using oral histories and newly released documents made available to us from the National Archives and organized in three extraordinary books written by Geoff Shepard. Our show will attempt to lay out the case of alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct so extreme that it was hidden from the public by Prosecutors, in various ways for nearly five decades.
Here you will hear the documents, listen to the stories , and finally catch the prosecutors continuing to present a case, that at least on face value, appears to be untrue, and the documents they had sealed, or took with them, that were unknown for years, will show it.
It is not some grand conspiracy, as we so often feel we need to make up to explain such enormous , monumentally, historical events, like the removal of a President who had just won a 49 State landslide. Instead what it appears we have here is a basic case of alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct just like has happened in courtrooms and legal cases all across America.
By the time our story is through, It will change everything you thought you knew about the fall of President Richard Nixon.
We start the season August 9, and we have two special editions: an interview with our host on Watergate on August 4, and a special on "The President's Man Dwight Chapin" on August 7
*** To see the documents we are using we invite you to go to the following website
ShepardonWatergate.com
Campaign 1996
For me it was the campaign of my lifetime. No race ever equaled the life altering impact of that year in my life. This was the year that I got to see up-close two of the political figures I most admired, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and Strom Thurmond. The South Carolina Presidential Primary turned out to be the most important of all the primaries that year as Bob Dole was in a fight for his political Presidential survival and two Governors and Strom Thurmond stepped in to help him win it.
Then that same organization stepped up to insure that Strom Thurmond was re-elected to a 8th term. I was a tiny little cog as a volunteer and College Republican Chairman at Lander University in Greenwood S.C. and after graduating I helped out in my hometown of Myrtle Beach. I had been around politics all my life but it was 1996 that I got to be right there, for the first time, at the feet of two of the political figures I most admired as they campaigned across South Carolina, first in the upstate for Dole and then for Thurmond in the Low Country.
In the Thurmond race there really was only one issue and that was the Senator's age. National publications were trying to cast doubt on the Senator's mental fitness ( a totally bogus charge, I was there and the man was amazing) , the Democrats from Washington D.C. had recruited a billionaire member of the Springs Mills family, a huge textile company, in Elliot Close, and finally there had begun an influx of new residents into the state that were not as familiar with Thurmond's actual record of constituent service as the native Carolinians had been. If ever Senator Thurmond appeared to be vulnerable in his 74 year career, this was it.
But D.C. just did not know S.C. as well as it thought it did.
Thurmond put together an incredible team to shore up his political defenses. He had two governors, Carroll Campbell and David Beasley working on his behalf, arguably one of the best Republican Party Chairmen in the nation in Henry McMaster working for him, and three legendary political campaign people working on his behalf in Manager Tony Denny, and consultants Cindy Carter Thompson and a very young Robert Cahaly (The Trafalgar Group) all on the team. Not only that, he had the State's Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler and its Speaker of the House David Wilkins on Board and Myrtle Beach's famous State Representative Mark Kelly all working overtime to insure Thurmond won.
And let's not forget, the two day - 10 county nonstop bus trip across the state, known as "The Thurmondator Bus Tour" where Strom Thurmond himself barnstormed the state, courthouse to courthouse, festival to festival, just like a campaign of old.
Elliot Close did not know what hit him.
This episode is that story and you will be able to relive as much of it as I was able to save.
By the time this show is over you will be quoting the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, "I feel Good!!!" As Mr. Brown makes an appearance to help Senator Thurmond celebrate this final election victory to capstone his incredible life and career.
** I wish to acknowledge the fine work of WIS TV 10, SC ETV, and CNN for their news broadcasts that we used in putting these three podcasts together, much of which was aired over a three day period when the senator passed away.
In our second episode on the life of Senator Strom Thurmond we center on his impact personally on his constituents and his career as a United States Senator, as SC ETV referred to it, as his time "At the Seat of Power".
In this episode you will hear stories of the Senator's remarkable life and career and how he constantly worked to help the average everyday South Carolinian who counted on and trusted him. You will hear from Congressman Joe Wilson, Congressman Gresham Barrett, and State Senator John Courson. You will also hear from an array of national figures who talk about the Senator's work and influence in Washington D.C. itself.
This episode includes my all time favorite story about Senator Thurmond, that I have featured more than once in my book and this podcast. It is a story told by Utah Senator Bob Bennett about a passport for a 19 year old newlywed, Secretary of State George Shultz, and quieting some doubts about the Senator's chances of winning the 1996 Senate race at the age of 94. It is a story that will make you grin from ear to ear.
And it is a story that shows why Strom Thurmond is widely seen as the most effective political figure that has ever sat in congress when it comes to helping others.
** I wish to acknowledge the fine work of WIS TV 10, SC ETV, and CNN for their news broadcasts that we used in putting these three podcasts together, much of which was aired over a three day period when the senator passed away.
Strom Thurmond, A LIFE in Full, is our special three part look at the life of Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Senator Thurmond is actually the person we focused our very first episode on when we started this podcast. It was the first in our 11 part series that put a spotlight on the leadership lessons we could learn from the World War 2 Generation and how we could apply those lessons to today's issues. The lessons I chose to focus on in that episode was his conscious decision to change and his decision not to fight the same old battles over and over again after it was clear that he had lost. Don't you wish today's leaders would pay attention to those two lessons?
Strom Thurmond bares the distinction of being the one historical figure out of all that our show has covered that I actually knew. While we were not friends he was someone I dealt with fairly often between 1991 and 1997 and met with again in 2000 and as a freshman city council member in my first three months in office while he was serving his final year in March of 2002, when the Senator was 99 years old.
I was , however, able to get to know his sister Mrs. Martha Bishop of Greenwood S.C. fairly well and years later I helped Senator Thurmond's son, Paul Thurmond, in his bid to run for the United States Congress from a District that ran between Myrtle Beach and Charleston , South Carolina. I came away from these encounters with an extraordinarily high regard for the entire Thurmond Family. It is from that viewpoint that I have put together all of the shows that have focused either entirely or partially on Senator Strom Thurmond. I honestly feel that those listeners who did not know or remember Senator Thurmond could benefit from hearing more about the man who served our state for a remarkable 74 years.
Due to the Senator's more ancient past, when he was involved in leading the fight against the civil rights movement, much of what most people know or remember, is that era, and only that era, of his career. They ignore his early career when he was actually viewed as progressive for a Southern political figure, and his later career when he shifted on the issue of civil rights and helped lead not just South Carolina but the entire South away from its past on the subject of race.
This episode starts a three part look at his life and it covers his overall entire biography, and a focused look at this personal relationship with his daughter Essie Mae Washington Williams, and his change on civil rights, a change that was widely noted at the time of his death in June of 2003., but largely ignored today.
Then we will move on in our second and third episodes to looking at his life as a Senator and his impact both big and small on his constituents, and finally a look back at his final campaign for re-election to the United States Senate against Democratic businessman Elliot Close. A campaign in which I volunteered and had the extraordinary experience to get to be up-close on a few occasions to the largest political figure South Carolina produced in the 20th century. For me, it was one of the most important experiences of my lifetime.
** I wish to acknowledge the fine work of WIS TV 10, SC ETV, and CNN for their news broadcasts that we used in putting these three podcasts together, much of which was aired over a three day period when the senator passed away.
Our new ad for the podcast , that will air on other podcasts on Buzzsprout. This is the second ad and advertises for our current 5 season series on Vietnam. Let us know what you think!!
Buzzsprout has started letting our podcasts produce ads, We put together two of them. This ad is for our entire Podcast series of shows. Let us know what you think!!
In our 1973 Enemies at the Gate season finale, we look at the explosive circumstances around the 2 missing calls and an 18 1/2 minute gap on one conversation in the tapes requested by the prosecutor's office. It sets the prosecutors off and the Judge does it all with the maximum of theatrics to insure the spotlight shines brightly on him, John J. Sirica. It will all set the stage for the contentious year to come in 1974.
At the sametime the appointment to the Vice Presidency sails through the Senate with a 97 - 3 vote to make Gerald R. Ford the 40th Vice President of the United States. We will sit in for the vote and hear the new Vice President address the nation. It is in this address he very humbly says to the nation "I am a Ford not a Lincoln". It is that humbleness that will serve Ford well over the next year as it becomes increasingly certain that he will end up President of the United States.
We wrap up 1973 with an address by President Richard Nixon as he lights the Washington D.C. christmas tree and tries once again to put the nation back on track. But 1973 turns out not to be the year the nation had hoped for after the long protracted war in Vietnam. The divisions caused by that war are now breaking apart the very administration that had been able to set us free from its poisonous effect.
But it appears that in 1974, Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, may end up its final casualty.
FYI - Our next season will begin in August with 1974 Through the Fire.
Next week join us for a special three part series on South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond.
As the year winds down several things are happening at once. Representative Gerald R. Ford begins the process of being confirmed for Vice President. The entire procedure is a first under the new 25th amendment to the Constitution. Ironically, it would be used again in 1974 to confirm Nelson Rockefeller. The process was about the only easy thing confronting Nixon at the moment as he has two other major things to contend with at the same time.
The OPEC Arab nations in retaliation for our helping Israel order an oil embargo which causes an energy crisis in the United States. In yet another moment of crisis President Nixon goes right to work to come up with a plan that would have made our nation energy independent by 1980. It was not implemented due to the growing crisis over Watergate. Another of his brilliant plans thwarted by the desire of democrats to remove him from office.
Then there is the selection and arrival of a new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski. He was selected by the White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig along with Robert Bork, the acting Attorney General. Jaworski was a seasoned prosecutor who had actually prosecuted war criminals in Germany after World War 2 and turned down a chance to prosecute criminals at Nuremberg. He was renown in legal circles and was by reputation a very formidable man. When he arrives you will see the Watergate investigation pick up speed. However, he was not the only new arrival. President Nixon hired his own lawyer, James St. Clair, and this will also change the ballgame as the prosecutors and the Judge find that this formidable man is someone they can't jerk around as they had been doing the Nixon team.
Still the rabid partisans at the Watergate Special Prosecutor's office are determined to run over Jaworski if necessary to get at their target, Richard Nixon, and as the end of the year approached you will see it is an uneasy relationship between the new prosecutor and the staff his predecessor had assembled.
In this episode we bring this historic month to an end. The Israeli's agree to a ceasefire with Egypt and Syria at the behest of our government and negotiated by Henry Kissinger. The ending of the war where it was, would eventually help lead to the Camp David Accords between two of the three countries involved, that would come to fruition years later by President Jimmy Carter. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat probably lost his life for his willingness to reach out for peace with Israel as well.
The aftermath of the Saturday Night Massacre also weakened President Nixon's position and was the catalyst for the first real push to move toward impeachment against him. In my opinion, one clear hero of the events emerged, Robert Bork the Solicitor General. It would come at a price a decade later when Ted Kennedy mauled him and worked to steal his dream of becoming a Supreme Court Justice. No matter those events, Robert Bork would become and continue to be a hero to the conservatives of America and his mistreatment at the hands of Ted Kennedy was the single event that galvanized a movement that would eventually succeed in getting six conservative justices on today's Supreme Court.
We end this show with a long segment that dealt with two of the historic events of October 1973 with the only real heroic figure to emerge from these events, Robert Bork.
SHOWDOWN!!
There was no question that after a junior officer of the Federal Government faced down the President of the United States on National Television that that junior officer was not going to have his job long and Archibald Cox didn't. Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire him. Richardson refused, as did his next in line William Ruckelshaus before finally the true hero of the night stepped up and did the deed. Robert Bork, the Solicitor General, fired Cox and then held the Justice Department together for two and a half months all while being under attack for having done the right thing, Richard Nixon was , contrary to popular belief, justified in that decision.
We were dangerously close to a war with the Soviet Union as both sides sat on the sidelines helping the two sides of a conflict in the Middle East. In fact, this was the closest the two nations had come since the Cuban Missile Crisis a decade before. There was no way that Richard Nixon was going to let Archibald Cox, nor his Special Prosecution Force, get away with such insubordination at such a moment. I would dare say that the history you have read about would have looked totally different had it involved any other President other than Richard Nixon. That is how egregious this act by Cox was no matter how avuncular he appeared that night on television.
The chain of events this situation set off changed everything for President Nixon and it was largely in my opinion unfair. Archibald Cox should never have been appointed in the first place. He was a known Nixon hater, puppet of the Kennedy family, and he loaded up his staff with rabid partisans that either came from the Kennedy-Johnson Administrations or were prosecutors who had spent years chasing gangsters and treated the Nixon staffers as though they were members of a crime family.
From this point on Richard Nixon was at war with a prosecution staff , who in my opinion, was willing to do , say, and perform any sleight of hand necessary to get the only target they were actually focused on, the facts be damned. And that target was Richard Nixon, and they cared not who all's lives they had to ruin to do it.
FYI - We will be returning to this event in next seasons shows,
Spiro Agnew resigns on October 10, 1973, the Arab Forces go on another offensive on October 11, 1973 all the while the Special Prosecutor's continue to push forward trying to get their hands on the Presidential recordings. Tom Brokaw of NBC News is right to describe the situation as "Richard Nixon was a President under siege." He seemed to be facing historic level crisis everywhere he looked.
Nixon went right to work to insure the Israeli government would have everything they needed to defend themselves and he was given some hope by his Attorney General that finally a deal could be struck not to hand over the tapes. He was determined not to give in to the mounting pressure of allowing the prosecutor's free run over the Nixon White House. That hope would turn out to be false.
Attorney General Elliot Richardson would waffle around on a proposal for third party verification of the tapes, in a compromise originally proposed by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox himself. But when it was originally proposed Richard Nixon had turned the idea down and pursued his options in court. The court would rule against him 5 -2 but add that they wanted the party's to find a deal themselves. So Richardson took the initiative to re propose the compromise that had been earlier rejected. It is a little murky as to what exactly happened or if it was all a misunderstanding but an idea was proposed that a prominent, well respected Senator, John Stennis, a Democrat from Mississippi would listen to the tapes and verify what he heard on them.
Stennis was a man of unquestioned character, (though he was a southerner and a segregationist) , he was also elderly, hard of hearing, and a huge supporter of the Republican President. The Prosecutors wanted no part of this deal and I actually can understand the reasoning on this point. However, it was Archibald Cox's idea, and though he now had a court decision saying he should get the tapes he had asked for, it could reasonably be argued that in good faith he should have honored his original proposal. But either way he chose to hold a press conference and face down the President of the United States while the President was dealing with an enormous crisis in Israel and for that a showdown became inevitable.
This episode takes you right up to that moment just before the most famous of showdowns happened and it includes Archibald Cox's press conference.
In our second episode centered on Vice President Spiro Agnew we cover his fall from power. Here we listen as President Richard Nixon describes the events that took Agnew down from his perspective from his interviews with reporter David Frost. We hear from a BBC Documentary the events as they unfolded that led to Agnew's resignation and the maneuvering he did to try and preserve his Vice Presidency and then to prevent himself from receiving a jail term.
Then we listen in on CBS News coverage of the events of October 10, 1973 as Spiro Agnew showed up at a Baltimore Courthouse to plead Nolo Contendere to one count of Federal Income tax evasion after resigning the Vice Presidency. Then he exits the stage only to return for a brief moment to sell his Memoirs in which he claimed he feared for his life after a visit from Nixon Chief of Staff Alexander Haig who had been tasked with pushing the Vice President to resign by the Administration.
It was the second of three major events that would grip the country in October 1973 as Richard Nixon found himself at war at home and abroad.
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States of America. Today the average person knows almost nothing about him. His only real vague claim to fame is that he was forced to resign the Vice Presidency in a long forgotten, unrelated to Watergate, scandal in 1973.
Only recently was he attacked by MSNBC Host Rachel Maddow in her book " Bag Man, the Wild Crimes, audacious cover up and Spectacular downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House"
Well anyone who is familiar with our podcast knows we don't think much of Miss Maddow, nor her far left opinions and predilection for exaggeration and sharing of nonfactual material.
Not that we believe that Vice President Agnew was anywhere near as innocent as we believe President Nixon was of the smears against him. Because we don't. However, there is some level of unfairness in the way his case was portrayed from the very start, and we believe it is fair to say that he fell victim to the age old bug of having risen to far to fast at his given profession.
In just 11 years, Spiro Agnew rose from being an attorney for a Union and serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals, to being elected Baltimore County Executive, and after taking advantage of a feud with in the Democratic Party, finding himself elected Governor of the State of Maryland. Richard Nixon in need of a running mate that did not drag down his poll numbers, turned to the unknown Agnew to be his running mate in 1968 for Vice President of the United States. An amazing rise for anyone to have come so far so fast.
The State of Maryland had a very unusual way of doing business that apparently everyone was aware of and no one really talked about. It involved people looking to do work with various local governments subsidizing the decision making office holders income. Now today that would be considered illegal, and it is rather shocking to me that it was not considered illegal then, but the truth is it wasn't. That basic fact is a part of the story rarely if ever discussed and it is about the only defense available for not only a Vice President forced to give up his office but for the rather large list of other public figures this scandal involved in the state of Maryland.
Over the next two episodes we are going to introduce you to the man, Spiro T. Agnew, who had risen so quickly from obscurity, the intricacies of the scandal that brought him down, and the story of his fall. A fall that was only made possible not because he had continued to take as Governor and Vice President what appears to be kickbacks involving projects he oversaw as a County Executive, but because he, like the gangster Al Capone, had not reported any of it on his Federal Income Tax.
From the very start of my keeping archival copies of political and news events on video tape, political commentator Mark Shields has been a constant presence on any number of the materials I have saved. He was a pundit I really enjoyed, and in whose thoughts I always wanted to hear whether he was at CNN or PBS. Ironically, he had opinions I rarely shared when it came to the issues of the day but his analysis and his understanding of history were always where he shined when he was covering live events like major party conventions or election night coverage.
Mark Shields just seemed to be a joyful person, with a great sense of humor, that never took himself to seriously, and, like me, a person who shared an admiration for the art of politics and the people who practice it regardless of political party or philosophy. In a political era where those opposing your side are looked upon as the enemy he was , like me, a throw back to the era when the combatants were often referred to as happy warriors. Mark Shields seemed always to be a happy warrior.
That trait was on full display often as he clashed with analyst Robert Novak on CNN's "The Capital Gang" , along with the rest of the regulars who sat around the table and discussed all the various issues of the day. Several of those figures are gone now and in this look back at Mark Shields we have also attempted to remember that classic program and its regular participants and guests too. It is now a bygone era in politics and media, where after an hour of clashing the regulars would leave each week with "an outrage of the week" but they could still be laughing on camera after they delivered it.
So enjoy this hour in honor of a true American original, a happy warrior, a man who will be missed by all who have enjoyed his contribution's to the coverage of American politics. Here is our tribute to CNN and PBS Analyst Mark Shields, with a hat tip too, to one of our favorite shows of yesteryear, Mark Shield's show, "The Capital Gang" with its cast of regulars like Al Hunt, Robert Novak, Margaret Carlson, and Kato Bourne, with Gary Bauer and Bob Dole making an appearance too.
Senator Strom Thurmond was a symbol of the Old South and an icon of the New South. Coming at the end of this month, on July 25, 28, and 31st, is a three part special look back at Strom Thurmond's life in full. A giant of South Carolina history his impact through out the southern United States cannot be overstated, especially in South Carolina.
His legacy, however, is dominated by his early career and his two decade stance fighting civil rights. But he served from 1928 until his retirement in January 2003 at age 100. In our three part series we look over his entire life, from the first rally he attended for a Governor's race in 1912, to his time as war hero in World War 2, to his extraordinary, hidden relationship with his daughter, to his courageous support of our Nation's military, to his tenure as President Pro-Tem of the United States Senate, and finally to the news coverage of his passing in June of 2003.
In the final episode we look back at his final campaign in 1996. A campaign, our host Randal Wallace, was lucky enough to get to play a tiny role in, as a volunteer in both Greenwood and Myrtle Beach , South Carolina.
Here is a preview of our look at this giant figure of South Carolina History, a man who had the courage to change and as symbol of his beloved Old South he helped usher in the modern era of a New South as he set the example for his region.
In this special edition of Bridging the Political Gap we travel back in time to our host's time as a city councilman in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Prior to his last election in 2017, Mr. Wallace did an interview for the podcast City Council Chronicles. It was the first and only experience at that point Mr. Wallace had had with podcasting and he enjoyed the show a lot.
So now that he hosts our podcast on American History and learning ways to bring the country together from studying the World War 2 Generation we thought we might look at how his ideas worked on a small scale when he was still on the city council of Myrtle Beach.
This episode is also a special treat for Mr. Wallace because it features a fun story about his Mother Gloria Bulmer, who moved to Myrtle Beach when she semi retired in 2004. That was a little over midway through Councilman Wallace's first term. Now Mrs. Bulmer was not as used to the rough and tumble of politics but she always tuned in to the council meetings and it provided for some funny moments almost as soon as the cameras turned off, and on a few occasions when they were still running too.
Mrs, Bulmer passed away in March of 2021, so this interview has a special place in our host's heart. Enjoy!!
Did you know that one man in World History bares the distinction of not only saving one nation but actually saving two!!
That man, was Richard Nixon.
Like his 19th century predecessor, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon would save our Union from self destruction. Then Richard Nixon would step up, in October of 1973, with the coalition of Arab Nations poised to wipe out the nation of Israel in retaliation for their humiliating defeat in 1967 . The Arab States, led by Egypt and Syria, had Israel with its back to the wall and forced them to call out for help, it was then that Richard Nixon saved them as well.
The coalition of Arab Nations attempted to invade Israel on two sides with the goal of gaining control of the East Bank of the Suez Canal. They stunned the Israeli forces and started backing them off the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The Israeli's were clearly being outgunned. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was desperate and her cries were falling on deaf ears within the American Government.
President Nixon was under siege here at home as the Democrats marched on with the aid of their media elite allies and the rabid staff of the Special Prosecutor's office, trying to over step constitutional authority and the division of government by extending the Legislative and Judicial Branches' power and interfere with the running of the Executive Branch of Government by the overwhelmingly elected President .
President Nixon was doing all he could do just to keep his administration from coming off track.
It was at exactly this moment that Golda Meir took matters into her own hands and called Richard Nixon, in the middle of the night, for help . It could only be described in the history of the nation of Israel, as a Yom Kippur miracle.
Richard Nixon let his recalcitrant government and Defense Department know, in no uncertain terms, that the time of letting Israel bleed was over. His exact order was "You will send them everything we have, everything that will fly"
and It would do far more than change everything for Israel it would save the nation of Israel from certain destruction ..
Another of the unfair accusations often heralded against President Richard Nixon and his assistant Dr. Henry Kissinger is that they overthrew the government of Salvador Allende in Chile and allowed him to be murdered on September 11, 1973. Literally, every bit of that accusation is a total falsehood.
The facts are that Salvador Allende , the world's only elected Marxist-socialist leader, was a devout communist. His government confiscated industry, land, and shut down freedom of the press over its brief three year run. His Communist policies led to massive inflation and total unrest so bad in the nation of Chile that its own Parliament passed a resolution asking the military to seize power and topple the Allende regime. Which it did on September 11, 1973.
The Chilean leader was given countless opportunities to flee his country before holding himself up inside the Presidential Palace. As the Army was starting its final assault on the Palace Salvador Allende took to the airwaves in a final defiant address to his nation and then shot himself, rather than be captured as the coup entered its final stage. None of this was a good way for the regime to fall, but none of it was Richard Nixon or Henry Kissinger's fault either.
President Nixon did pull American investment out of the country. Nixon did work against the Allende Government. But Richard Nixon did not OK the military coup that toppled Allende and he certainly had nothing to do with the death of Allende. Which after a nearly three decade mystery was finally proven to have been self inflicted.
Here again, is the amazing double standard of the liberal left in the United States, when a coup was given approval personally in South Vietnam by John F. Kennedy , it led to the violent overthrow of our ally President Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam and his death , by assassins as he waited in the backseat of his car to flee the country. Not a word has been spoken about it in the mainstream media all the while President Nixon has been trashed as trampling human rights and disregarding a democratically elected regime for three decades.
Occasionally whataboutism does matter!!
BOMBSHELL!!!
Assistant to the President for Special Files, Alexander Porter Butterfield would be questioned by lawyers for the Ervin Committee and while being asked questions he was directly asked if there were recording devices in the White House. His answer to that question changed everything about the Watergate Scandal. It laid the groundwork for the downfall of the Nixon Administration.
Years later, when asked if he should have burned the White House tapes Richard Nixon would answer " Yes, I should have because they were open to misinterpretation as we have seen." He was very correct. To this day people think that the tapes proved Nixon's guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. But in reality they don't.
They do prove he cursed a lot, said the word "God Damn" a lot, made anti-semetic remarks , racist remarks, and he would fly off the handle saying things in anger that he should not have said, and he was a President who thought out loud, mulling over every angle of an issue, legal and illegal, moral an immoral, until a workable solution was determined. For an American people who had never heard a President talk in private before it was a shocking thing to hear. But what you did not hear, was a President committing an actual impeachable offense.
But as in all situations in life it is often far more complicated than can be explained in a simple sentence and a lie, as the old saying goes, can be half way around the world before the truth can get out of bed. This series is dedicated to the truth, the ugly, complicated truth. The truth is Richard Nixon is no angel, but he faced some sinister forces in American Government determined to bring him down during the second most divided era in all of our history.
This podcast documentary series is dedicated to showing you the facts about the scandal that derailed a presidency. We don't delve into conspiracy theories or guesswork as to the involvement of CIA connections, or secret plotters with innuendos. As this Podcast moves forward we will document everything we talk about and give you source material where you can read and look it up for yourself.
Is there more to the story than what we will cover from this point on?
Most likely.
But what we will show you we can provide a paper or electronic trail for and it is not a pretty sight. What we can also show you is that Richard Nixon's claim about the misinterpretation of conversations made to fit a certain narrative is in fact very real. We hope you will listen for yourself and be able to differentiate between things said in private, in different contexts, and actual criminal intent. Then you may come away with a totally different viewpoint of the events that brought down the President of the United States.
But that is the story we will tell as we travel down the road of Watergate. This episode is the story of how the tapes came to light in the first place and the beginning of the fight that would become the final act of the Nixon Administration.
In this episode we look at the start of the Ervin Committee Hearings as the Congress begins bringing the various players of Watergate out in front of the American people on national television. We listen to the members of the press as they look back at a different era when the news of the day could grab an enormous audience because there were only three networks. Then we learn all about the make up of the committee and how it would structure the hearings. Basically, as a legislative show trial in which the accused had no rights and in which what they said would be used against them later.
Then we move on to the early stages of the hearing itself and listen in to various moments from the testimony of the burglars themselves, the officers that made the arrest, and finally to those in charge of the campaign. Jeb Magruder, Hugh Sloan, Maurice Stans and finally the former Attorney General himself John Mitchell. He will face a barrage of questions from several Senators and he holds his ground fairly well.
Then we turn to the big moment of the Ervin Hearings, the testimony of former White House Counsel John Dean. This is where you will see the extreme partisanship that had begun to grip the investigative process. John Dean is protected by the Democratic staffers by being allowed to keep his testimony and written statement private until literally he walked out in front of the cameras forcing the Republicans to study all of the written material as they listened to the testimony as it was televised. They literally had no time to plan out or even think about questions to ask.
It does not get any better over at Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox's office as he begins to staff up for his investigation. He is hiring nothing but the most partisan and most determined lawyers he can find, all alumni of the Kennedy - Johnson Justice Department and Administration. The very failed Administrations Richard Nixon had swept from power.
In June of 1973, The leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev arrived in the United States and for ten days even the Watergate investigation stopped as Richard Nixon finished an agreement that called for the prevention of Nuclear War. It read:
“The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, hereinafter referred to as the Parties…
Guided by the objectives of strengthening world peace and international security; conscious that nuclear war would have devastating consequences for mankind; proceeding from the desire to bring about conditions in which the danger of an outbreak of nuclear war anywhere in the world would be reduced and ultimately eliminated;
Proceeding from their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations regarding the maintenance of peace, refraining from the threat or use of force and the avoidance of war, and in conformity with the agreements to which either Party has subscribed…
Reaffirming that the development of relations between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is not directed against other countries and their interests… have agreed as follows:
Article I. The United States and the Soviet Union agree that an objective of their policies is to remove the danger of nuclear war and of the use of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the Parties agree that they will act in such a manner as to prevent the development of situations capable of causing a dangerous exacerbation of their relations, as to avoid military confrontations, and as to exclude the outbreak of nuclear war between them and between either of the Parties and other countries.
Article II. The Parties agree, in accordance with Article I… to proceed from the premise that each Party will refrain from the threat or use of force against the other Party, against the allies of the other Party and against other countries, in circumstances which may endanger international peace and security. The Parties agree that they will be guided by these considerations in the formulation of their foreign policies and in their actions in the field of international relations.
Article III. The Parties undertake to develop their relations with each other and with other countries in a way consistent with the purposes of this Agreement.
Article IV. If at any time relations between the Parties or between either Party and other countries appear to involve the risk of a nuclear conflict, or if relations between countries not parties to this Agreement appear to involve the risk of nuclear war between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or between either Party and other countries, the United States and the Soviet Union, acting in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, shall immediately enter into urgent consultations with each other and make every effort to avert this risk.
Article V. Each Party shall be free to inform the Security Council of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Governments of allied or other countries of the progress and outcome of consultations initiated in accordance with Article IV of this Agreement…” (Courtesy of the website Alpha History)
In this episode we follow the two leaders as they work together to create a much safer World, and we see the developing personal friendship between the two men. A friendship that paid dividends for every living thing on planet Earth.
This show will leave you wondering just what might have been if the Democrats and the media elites plot to remove the greatest strategist of the age from office had not succeeded.
Btw... The guys in the submarine trapped off the Florida Keys were rescued. Just so you know
Even as Watergate begins to dominate the news coverage of the Administration there are still other very important things going on for President Nixon to attend to for the country. Ironically, even though his second term is considered a failure he still was able to accomplish a lot of things that would be listed among the greatest accomplishments of some of our lesser Presidents.
In this episode we will listen in to coverage of his attempt to deal with growing economic problems, leftover issues brewing in South East Asia and as he prepares for yet another historic meeting with the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev.
It is a testament to just what an extraordinarily great leader we were actually blessed to have in the White House at that moment that he was still able to perform his duties with such expertise even as a conglomeration of his enemies were preparing , as Hugh Hewitt once referred to it as, "A D-Day style Landing" with the goal of robbing the American People of a great leader it had overwhelmingly re-elected to the Presidency of the United States.
"The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration.
The Office of Counsel to the President and Vice President was created in 1943, and is responsible for advising on all legal aspects of policy questions; legal issues arising in connection with the President's decision to sign or veto legislation, ethical questions, financial disclosures; and conflicts of interest during employment and post employment. The Counsel's office also helps define the line between official and political activities, oversees executive appointments and judicial selection, handles presidential pardons, reviews legislation and presidential statements, and handles lawsuits against the president in his role as president, as well as serving as the White House contact for the Department of Justice."
(This is the definition provided by the website Wikipedia)
If ever anyone in the history of employment ever failed anymore totally at the job description provided in the hand book than John W. Dean, I would like to know who it was. His entire job description can be summed up in shorthand like this
"Sit there and when you hear something that sounds illegal, say Mr. President, you can't do that"
That is all you have to do, I mean really how hard can it be?
John Dean not only did not do that, he actively made himself the "desk officer of the cover up" , and when he goes up to Camp David to write the report the President has asked him to write, he suddenly realizes all roads filter into one that leads from the Committee to Re-elect the President to the White House Staff itself, like the middle of an hourglass, through one "poison line".....HIM.
So what does he do, he shops a deal, at first to the career prosecutors who want nothing to do with it, and then to the Ervin Committee. That committee totally controlled by the Democratic Party, leap at the chance to embrace "The Chief Desk Officer of the Cover up"
All of this occurs while another force emerges and enters the battlefield. This force more sinister than anything Richard Nixon has had to face since the North Vietnamese gave up in Paris.
A force determined that they would destroy Richard Nixon using any tool, distortion, lie, or sleight of hand they could engineer; they were the partisan lawyers who made up the staff of the Watergate Special Prosecutors Task Force and it is their sinister rise that begins in this episode.
If our last episode was one of the saddest we will ever cover on our podcast, this was one of the happiest.
On May 24, 1973, underneath an enormous tent on the grounds of the White House, the largest state dinner and event ever held occured in honor of the Vietnam Prisoners of War. It was a star-studded event. Bob Hope hosted with guests the New Christy Minstrels, Phyllis Diller, Joey Harrington, Vic Damone, Edgar Bergman, Ricardo Montalban, Jimmy Stewart, Roy Acuff and the Smokey Mountain Boys, Irving Berlin and the Legendary Actor John Wayne. All of whom played tribute to the soldiers of Vietnam.
The event was the visionary idea of one famous entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. , and he will come on and sing a few songs including an incredibly moving moment with Irving Berlin singing his song " God Bless America". It was a night like no other and when it was over we listen in on a call between President Richard Nixon and his new Chief of Staff, a former General and assistant National Security Advisor during the Vietnam War, Alexander Haig. In it they talk about the power of this night and how no matter what was to come, this night and the honoring of our now free, former POW's had made it all worth it.
The call ends with a very powerful moment between the two men as Al Haig ends the call with some powerful words for a discouraged President as Nixon steals himself for the horrible days he knows are sure to be coming at the hands of a rabid conglomeration of enemies.
On a side note, this is so far my favorite episode because it brings so many legendary figures into one episode honoring some of our greatest Americans and we get to see Richard Nixon at his best, in one of his finest hours, as one of our greatest American Leaders.
Have we created Frankenstein's Monster?
FOX News Founder Roger Ailes started with a noble idea. To give conservatives a level playing field in the form of a news network that presented the conservative viewpoint in its editorializing and a fair and balanced network in its reporting. As an advisor to President Richard Nixon he saw the unfairness the President was subject to every day he got up out of bed to fight for the American People. He was also witness to the nullification of Richard Nixon's 49 state win and his forced resignation from the Presidency.
Now you may not agree with that assessment but millions of people through out the land did agree with it and were angry about what they had seen happen to Richard Nixon. Then they sat on the sidelines and watched the Democratic smear machine destroy a nominee for the United States Supreme Court in Robert Bork and later watched the blueprint for taking out a Presidency put to use again and again in an attempt to undermine both President Ronald Reagan and later George H.W. Bush. This included a very convenient October surprise just as President Bush was surging in the polls in 1992. Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh indicted Casper Weinberger and several others and included notes Weinberger had made that made Bush out to have lied about his knowledge of the Iran-Contra Affair. All just 4 days from the Presidential election.
IT was then that a fed up Roger Ailes decided we had to do something to protect conservatives from a media and Democratic Party willing to do and say anything to weaponize government and bring down Republicans. He founded FOX News and in retaliation the Liberal Left founded MSNBC. From there came the rise of Social Media and the ability to spread misinformation all over the society. This all occurring while these cheerleader news networks fanned the flames instead of telling the news. We have ended up with a very divided society with extremists at the wheel stirring up the masses, all while the news networks make billions turning news into entertainment.
It ought to scare everyone in America and I think I speak for millions when I say we are all tired of it. This episode shows you a brief history of how a noble effort to protect future Presidents from the injustice that took out President Nixon has morphed into a society on the brink. And how we need to return to the worthy ideals espoused by the very President whose demise led to our current situation.
I would also remind people of an easy rule of thumb I have followed when evaluating the things I hear on the news and in the rumor mills of politics. "If it sounds stupid, crazy or complicated it usually is" if we would all learn to follow that simple formula a lot of what we see today could be avoided.
What happens to the monster at the end of Frankenstein?
At the end of the novel, Victor dies on Robert Walton's ship in the Arctic Circle. The boat captain finds his body and the monster who mourns Victor's death in the room. The Creature disappears from the boat to kill himself. Victor and the monster die in the end.
In this episode we get to listen in on what was probably the most agonizing and personally painful decisions that President Nixon had to make, save decisions involving the war in Vietnam. It was during these days that Nixon had to finally step up and force the resignations of two of his closest aids and confidantes, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Two men who had been by his side through all the triumphs and tragedies of his entire administration and even stretching back to his wilderness years. They had been known as "The Berlin Wall" and they had protected the President from friend and foe alike.
Now in the chaos of the Watergate Scandal they had been sucked into the events and were going to have to be forced out. Richard Nixon trusted these men, he tried very hard to protect them, and now he was left with no choice but to cut them loose. He would also fire John Dean, a man who had betrayed him to the Prosecutors in his attempts to secure immunity for his own crimes.
This is a painful episode to listen to because you see the emotional toll it takes on the President. Who by all accounts was a man who did not like to have confrontations, or make decisions of this kind. It would be as though he had cut off his arms for him to lose so trusted a pair of assistants.
The toll is even more evident as we listen to the only actual calls that sound as though President Nixon has been drinking in order to emotionally handle the day. (Charges of his drinking being one of the more scurrilous and false of the many targeting the President through the years) We close with his conversations with Bob Haldeman and California Governor Ronald Reagan late in the night after he addresses the nation.
It was a sad day in the life of this truly great American Leader.
In this episode we hear the President on the phone with the Deputy Attorney General, Henry Petersen. Petersen is a man whose name we have heard a lot as the early events unfold. He would come under fire for simply doing his job and informing the President of the United States of events occuring in the scandal as they unfolded. This is one of the calls he made to let President Nixon know what was happening. We thought it would give you some feel for the relationship between the President and this highest career official at the Justice Department. As the head of the Criminal Division he oversaw both the Watergate investigation, early on, and the investigation into Vice President Spiro Agnew which we will be covering in detail in later episodes.
So who was Henry Petersen?
Here is his Justice Department Bio:
Henry E. Petersen (1972-1974)
Early History: Henry E. Petersen was born in 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and served as a U.S. Marine in the South Pacific Theater during World War II. In 1947, while a student at Georgetown University, Mr. Petersen began his 27-year career in federal service as a clerk for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He subsequently received his law degree from Catholic University and joined the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mr. Petersen started in the Antitrust Division and then moved to the Criminal Division. He held a variety of posts including serving as Chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section during the 1960’s, where he created the Division’s Organized Crime Strike Force, which enhanced interagency law enforcement coordination.
Tenure: In 1972, Mr. Petersen was the first career staffer directly appointed to the role of Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division. As Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Petersen supervised investigations involving allegations of vote rigging and fraud, and oversaw the investigation of the burglary at the Democratic National Convention’s Watergate complex in 1972, which he led until the appointment of a special prosecutor by Congress in 1973. Mr. Petersen also supervised an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore that eventually led to the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. In 1974, he retired.
Later Career: Mr. Petersen passed away in 1991 in Sunderland, Maryland. In his honor, the Henry E. Petersen Memorial Award is bestowed on those who have made a lasting contribution to the Criminal Division and exemplify character, diligence, courage, professionalism, and talent. Past recipients include former Attorney General Eric Holder, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jack Keeney of the Criminal Division.
After the pandamonium of the James McCord letter dies down inside the courtroom it becomes very clear that Watergate is now an entirely new ballgame.
In this episode we see events move swiftly as the White House Counsel , John Dean, starts making his overtures to the prosecutors trying to cut a deal that will get him immunity. You can also see how off guard the other players are with in the White House. All of this while President Nixon is busy trying to prepare for the many goals he has set for the country in his second term.
We will hear President Nixon address the nation about all of the things he wants to begin as he has finally been able to free the nation from the divisive war in Vietnam. But even as he speaks it is becoming clearer that the events unfolding over the Watergate scandal are now starting to consume his time, and his focus, as the story of the cover up moves closer and closer up the chain of command and begins to put the spotlight on several of his key advisors.
This is arguably the most important episode of the series and these events we will be revisiting through out the scandal of Watergate. Up to this week, Richard Nixon had never been dealt with completely by anyone who was intimately involved in the Watergate debacle now on the verge of consuming his Presidency. That includes his Counsel to the President, John Dean.
It is in the events of this week that a storyline would later develop implicating the President of the United States in a criminal act, which was the payment of hush money to E. Howard Hunt. The problem as we will learn as we go along is there is a gaping hole in the timeline of events and everything that could be done, would be done, to obscure that fact from the public, the President, the Grand Jury and House Judiciary Committee.
Here we will listen in on the taped conversations themselves as compiled by Historian Luke Nichter for his website Nixontapes.org. The article used was written 12 years ago and we read it verbatim and then play the tape for you. We would like to note that the tapes of conversations that are not on the phone are often hard to hear, especially President Nixon who was often sitting away from the microphone. We chose to follow the historians article script and play the corresponding tape so that everything is as clear as we can keep it for this podcasting format. We did not change any of his script. We begin at the March 13 dated conversation from http://nixontapes.org/passport.html
In the script Mr. Nichter uses the word "Falsified Document" and we read it in as written. Our understanding is that word choice was due to the impression from the tapes that Dean was being asked to write something comprehensive at Camp David. The President planned to take the report he asked his White House Counsel to write and then call on another review or investigation as to what had occurred. The President does ask that the report be vague as to protect the staff who have already been named or testified. But he states that he would be waiving executive privilege later. It is important to remember that this is , after all, the first time Richard Nixon had had as full a picture of what had happened since the break in, some 9 months earlier, in June of 1972.
John Dean while working on the report seems to have realized at Camp David there was no way he could be fully truthful, and that all roads would lead to him, as he says "I was all over this thing like a blanket" , John Dean seems to have seen this request as being asked to write a falsified report. But that doesn’t at all mean the others were asking Dean to write something untruthful.
The point being that whatever Dean would have written could not have been the whole truth, if for no other reason because it would have been damaging to Dean.
In the end, and after about five days of trying, he was recalled by Haldeman without producing a report at all – and decided instead to retain criminal defense counsel, who sought out the career prosecutors, offering testimony against his colleagues in pursuit of personal immunity (which they declined due to his leadership role throughout the scandal) and that is what our next episode will be about.
Now we move back to February 1973. Judge Sirica, always trying to insure his place in the sun, asks the Congress to investigate. The Senate happily complies, originally under the guidance of an enthusiastic Senator, named Ted Kennedy. There would be a fight about how the investigation would be handled, and what they would be looking into, and a partisan nearly straight party 77 - 0 vote. (Republicans decided not to vote) and a committee is formed.
That committee would only look into the campaign shenanigans of the 1972 election. The Democrats had thwarted an attempt to include investigations that would have effected their former Presidents and the actions they took in 1968, 1964 and 1960. I am guessing they already knew the games they had played and wanted to insure nobody else would find out, while they worked to expose the Nixon campaign.
Here we will go through the actual debates, from a well written article by former CNN analyst Jeffrey Lord, and we will hear from Geoff Shepard about the actions that led to the committee formation. It was also decided because of the blatant partisanship so far shown, that Ted Kennedy needed not be front and center and so a North Carolina Senator was chosen to lead the effort.
Sam Ervin, one of the authors of the famous Southern Manifesto , an ardent supporter of segregation and foe to every Civil Rights Bill that had been offered up for the previous decade, but now , because of his role in Watergate, has had that part of his long and colorful history erased, as the left has canonized him as "The Senate's Greatest Constitutional Authority" and as the man who saved the nation from Richard Nixon. that Senator, Sam Ervin , would take over the committee and yet he would keep most of the Kennedy team in place to control the narrative they would develop over a ratings bonanza summer.
You will see that narrative no longer holds water.
Then we will hear President Nixon on the phone with his White House Counsel John Dean, as they discuss dealing with the Grand Jury and the Senate and as March rolls through Nixon will ask Dean to come to see him to discuss the matters brewing on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue.
On May 27, 1922, in Furth, Germany, a child was born who would grow up to be one of, if not the most important diplomats in the history of the planet.
Heinz Alfred Kissinger, who today turns 99 years old, an immigrant who would grow up to be an American citizen, who would get America, his adopted land, out of one of the most protracted, divisive, wars in our history, who would also open Communist China from diplomatic Isolation, who would broker peace in the Middle East that would lead to the successes of Jimmy Carter in the late 1970's, who would also begin a process that would thaw the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and who after leaving office would provide guidance that would help direct American Foreign Policy for the next half century and counting.
It can be said without hesitation that Dr. Henry Kissinger has led a truly amazing an inspirational life.
If Richard Nixon should be considered one of the greatest leaders our country has ever produced their is no question that Dr. Henry Kissinger deserves an enormous amount of credit for skillfully carrying out the policy that made it all possible. Kissinger's impact on the world is incalculable. We here at "Bridging the Political Gap" think its high time that someone recognizes both men for their roles in making a safer world and we are thankful that Henry Kissinger is still living to see us say thank you.
In this special edition of our show we celebrate the life, the impact, and the wisdom of Dr. Henry Kissinger, America's National Living Treasure and we wish Dr. Kissinger a happy birthday and many, many more moments in which we can share his wise, and thoughtful advice.
In this episode we step back to the events in question. The actual burglary on June 17, 1972. You will get to hear oral histories from G. Gordon Liddy, John Dean and several other players in the events of that night and days afterword.
We will also use footage from a nearly 30 year old BBC documentary that has interviews with all the major players as they discuss the events in a sequence that will bring you right inside the operation. It will include the Cubans in the room when the lights came on and a very excited, somewhat frightened, set of policeman busted the burglars, all dressed in suits and ties, inside the Democratic National Headquarters.
One of the burglars described the scene perfectly; " You could see the excited looks on their faces as, one by one, we came out from behind the desk, all dressed up, you could see that they did not know what they had but it was clear we did not look like the average burglar."
And so we begin an ordeal that would dominate the World news for the remaining 18 months of the Nixon Administration.
In this episode we start introducing you to the major characters of the Watergate scandal at its roots. We start with the guy who masterminded it all, though mastermind may not be the correct description.
G. Gordon Liddy was a former FBI agent, a lawyer, and it seems fantasy espionage agent. He somehow seems to have bungled his way upwards from a job in the Treasury Department to the Nixon White House and finally on to the Nixon Campaign Staff. He originally was in charge of the efforts to plug leaks at the White House after the Pentagon Papers were released to the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers. He ran the Plumbers Unit as its on the ground operations guy. If a decision needed to be made and it fell to G. Gordon Liddy to make it, it appears Liddy constantly made the wrong one.
We also reintroduce Geoff Shepard, then a policy guy in the Nixon White House he moved over from the Treasury Department just before Gordon Liddy did. He knew Liddy from his days in the Treasury Department and his warnings to his immediate supervisor Egil "Bud " Krogh got largely ignored. In a bit of my own short hand he told Krogh not to walk, but to run, as far away from G. Gordon Liddy as he could and instead Krogh hired Liddy anyway.
And the rest , as we say, is a disproportionate section of every American History book in the land.
In this episode we we will hear the story of how the various characters got where they were and in positions to create the biggest scandal in American History, from Liddy, to E. Howard Hunt, to all the various Cuban burglars who were also later captured in the Watergate. This is the foundation for the disaster to come. At the end, we also will hear from another player, Jeb Magruder, who was supposed to be supervising this train wreck and prevent it from having ever occurred in the first place.
In this our third episode of RICHARD NIXON and WATERGATE, we have our second part of a look at the journalists who covered Watergate in 1973 and 1974. Most of them were truly awful, but not all.
In this episode you will hear from journalists, like Dan Rather and David Brinkley, who show a stunning lack of self awareness, in one case especially where the person actually says they could not stand Richard Nixon and had no respect for him but "I never attacked him on the air, and I always treated him fairly"....No s#&! He actually says that!!! (Tune in to hear it for yourself)
But we do move on to some truly ethical, fair minded, and good people in the media who deserve to be shown for the champions of integrity they actually were in the history of journalism. Many of the journalists featured worked for one major news network , ABC News. We will listen to oral histories of Howard K. Smith, Ted Koppel , Mike Wallace (the one CBS exception) and Barbara Walters as they describe the President they covered and interviewed throughout their careers.
In the end, you will get to hear from President Richard Nixon himself, the victim of arguably the most unfair media coverage in the history of politics, and what he says will shock you!! In his early 1990's interview with Hugh Sidey, he actually defends the importance of protecting the media's right to cover political figures however they see fit.
*** This episode was divided into two episodes, the second will post tomorrow morning
In our second episode of RICHARD NIXON and WATERGATE: 1973 Enemies at the Gate , rather than dive right into our storyline we decided to take an in-depth two-part look at those enemies at the gate, or at least the important ally the Democratic Party could count on in their campaign to undermine President Nixon, THE PRESS, or more specifically The Washington Post.
In this episode, we will look closely at the cozy relationship between Katherine Graham and former President Lyndon Johnson, Sally Quin and Ben Bradlee and the relationship they had to the Kennedy family. The ties between Kennedy and Johnson aid Joe Califano and his client The Washington Post, and on and on.
It will definitely leave you with a sickening feeling about the motivations the paper had to go after the man in the White House who had just won a 49 state landslide and gotten our troops and POW's home from a long protracted war in Southeast Asia.
But , just in case you think we here at "Bridging the Political Gap" are to swayed by our obvious editorially positive opinion of President Nixon, we will be taking a trip back in time to one of the most sickening displays of liberal journalistic arrogance ever recorded and saved for posterity, (and saved by the very rag-sheet whose journalistic integrity is being called into question, The Washington Post, no less.) They actually hosted a 40th anniversary celebratory event with Elizabeth Drew, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Ken Hughes, and Ruth Marcus and when they are done you will be filled with absolute disgust.
It is all here for you to listen too, the mocking of the President, the totally inaccurate claims, the the obvious disdain, and from Ruth Marcus one of the most outrageously laughable claims ever made about comparing the tapes of Richard Nixon to the apparently saintly Lyndon B. Johnson. It will make you sick.
BUT we do invite you to our second part of this analysis of the press, when we look at more of the journalists of the Watergate era, some awful, but not all. The press is after all not a monolithic entity and there are good folks in the media and in the next episode we will introduce you to some of them as well, in part two of "The Press is the Enemy"
Our Season 6 Premier and the first in our NIXON and WATERGATE series:
This season opens just as the Vietnam War ends for America. Even as the treaty is signed there are still last minute maneuverings that President Nixon and Henry Kissinger have to deal with in order to get our Prisoners of War out of Vietnam. You will listen in on the discussions between the President and his speech writer Ray Price and then Dr. Henry Kissinger as the war finally comes to an end.
Then we will listen to the memories of the brave soldiers of that war and the ordeals they suffered through as Prisoners of War in the Hanoi Hilton. The most famous of which, the future Senator from Arizona, John McCain, recounts his years in the prison and the moment that the Vietnamese almost broke his indominable spirit. You will hear several other soldiers tell their stories as well.
Then we will shift gears to the burgeoning scandal that would soon dominate the Nixon Administration, Watergate. You will hear ABC News set the stage for the coming sentencing of the Watergate burglary defendants and we will be introduced to a cast of characters from G. Gordon Liddy, to Judge Sirica to future Chairman of the Watergate Committee in the Senate Sam Irvin of North Carolina.
In this episode we will also meet Geoff Shepard, the last living defense Attorney for Richard Nixon, he had been a mid level employee, and White House Fellow , there working on policy. He would move up to being Nixon Attorney Fred Buzhardt's right hand man. He will play a major role in the telling of our story on "Bridging the Political Gap" over the next three seasons.
You can read up on Mr. Shepard and get copies of his three landmark books at his website:
https://shepardonwatergate.com/
and starting with this episode you will hear excerpts from his extraordinary podcasts with the Nixon Foundation and its then President Hugh Hewitt titled "Known Unknowns" , here is a link to the first episode and you can then go from there to the rest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWxWKSK0cmc
We will be using a lot of these conversations throughout our series on Watergate over the next three seasons
Finally our show will then return to the POW's as they are released and we get to hear their stories of returning, finally, home.
It remains perhaps the true high point of one of the greatest Presidencies in all of American History, the Presidency of Richard Nixon.
Its the Summer of 2022 and we are on the verge of the 50th Anniversary of the Watergate Break in. No better time to look back at the Presidency of Richard Nixon.
So with the help of Hollywood's biggest Summer blockbuster's we thought we would set the stage for our summer to come. As we clear the bar of the shocking untruths, spread by the liberal media elitist sharks, who attempted to reprogram the Justice System and control the narrative for a half century.
But all of that is about to change and we leave you one more question if you are willing to sit, listen and learn,
Can you handle the truth!!!
Tune in this Summer for the podcast Landmark, Blockbuster 3 season series RICHARD NIXON and WATERGATE and see if you can handle it for real!!
Preview for Season 6 , RICHARD NIXON and WATERGATE 1973 Enemies at the Gate
Protests in the streets, an FBI in full investigation mode, massive leaks coming out of the White House, a Press Corp attempting to undermine the policy initiatives of a President and determined to accuse the President of criminal activity, racism, and questioning his mental stability, all while that President is struggling to get us out of a War he inherited and finally an opposition party jumping on a scandal that may or may not be exactly what they are saying it is.
It all sounds familiar doesn't it?
Is it Donald Trump or Richard Nixon?
Or is it all from a playbook, used by a liberal elite, in coordination with an angry bureaucracy, a willing media, and the gaggle of Washington D.C. insiders of both political parties who will not dare to allow their power to be questioned.
It is a plan that worked in 1974, but time has not been kind to the Impeachment attempt of Richard Nixon and the resignation it caused.
Now with an avalanche of new evidence, and a public receptive to knowing the facts with a much more open mind that it had in 1974.
We are going to go back through the era of Watergate.
It is a different world than it was in 1974, we have more than just 5 media sources, and we have a general public that is no longer as trusting of the media as it was in 1974 and who has watched the nonstop attacks on Donald Trump even before he was elected President.
Now it seems time to take another look at Watergate and the President that was destroyed by the scandal.
What we now know will shock you, and we invite you to tune in, and hear it all for yourself. Over the next three seasons we will present a case of facts to you that will change everything you ever thought you knew about Richard Nixon.
And make you better prepared not to let it happen ever again!!
It was 10 years ago that we ran for Congress in South Carolina. At that time we campaigned on three crisis's we felt the nation needed to address. A Jobs crisis, a debt crisis, and a crisis of spirit in the nation. For a little while our campaign shocked the South Carolina establishment and we were doing well despite money issues, and a lack of establishment support from either the business community nor the Republican Party hierarchy in the District. But the race was not to be and as the money poured in for my opponents our "little engine that could" campaign fell by the waist side.
But when I look back at the issues we attempted to address at least two big ones still resonate today. Our nation was around 16 Trillion in debt a decade ago, today it is a staggering 30 Trillion in debt, with no end in sight, and no politicians in either party even seriously trying to get it under control. Today we are on the verge of inflation rising at a rate unseen since the administration of Jimmy Carter in the 1970's. I still believe we must address the debt before it takes our country over a fiscal cliff.
The other crisis that I still feel is relevant is the crisis of spirit in our country. A decade ago I felt like the Doctor trying to tell people you need to address your health issues now before it gets out of control, If I were running today I would be the cancer specialist trying to figure out how to save you from full blown stage 4 cancer. I have never been more discouraged in all my life as I am today by the quality of our leadership on the national level. They are simply a collective national embarrassment and it is largely an issue of both political parties. It is not just in the leadership but in the trenches and in the media too. The mentality is fight to the death, we want it all or nothing, while the media fans the flames of division nonstop.
As best I can tell, only one politician in Congress has been willing to admit that they are even a part of the problem, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware (who while I disagree with him tremendously on policy impresses me every time I hear him talk about divisions in America)
I still believe as I did in 2012, that our country desperately needs to sit down and figure out ways to address the crisis of spirit that is destroying our country. It may also mean going after the social media giants who have allowed their platforms to be the playground of the extremes so determined to undermine every institution from Government, to the police, to the Church. All of which has happened while our nations authority figures refuse to make decisions and say no when necessary, the way a generation of leaders did in the last half of the 20th century. A generation of leadership and authority figures that made America the greatest country in the world, and the beacon of freedom all the world looks to in times of crisis.
We need leadership desperately, and it needs to be real leadership, not people masquerading as leaders but in reality pushing extremist, mean spirited zealotry. In my final interview on this show, it is from 2013, when I am running for reelection for the Myrtle Beach City Council and in that race we talk about a city where leadership worked well together and resolved issues, not every issue, but many in ways that found real, creative solutions for the problems we faced.
The basis of the this podcast when we started it were stories about the relationships of the World War 2 Generation of leaders. The stories of the original podcast episodes were from my book "Always Vote Your Conscience, Don't take it personally and Don't fight the same old battles over and over again". That book was originally going to be a policy book of ideas from my 2012 campaign for the United States Congress South Carolina District 7 seat that I lost, now amazingly a decade ago. Time sure flies. The eventual winner of the seat was Congressman Tom Rice. He has held the seat continuously from its start.
I thought it might be interesting to some folks to replay a few of the moments from that long ago campaign that is sort of the Grandfather of our podcast. So here is an interview taped in 2012, with the nationally broadcast "Exceptional Conservative Show with Ken McClinton". I was honored that he asked me to come on his show for the full 45 minutes. What was even more amazing is we had been at a BBQ in Georgetown County the night of our original call in interview and the reception was so bad that we had to stop and do the show later. The fact he was willing to do it again later and for the full amount of time we agreed to was very gracious I thought by Mr. McClinton and I appreciate it to this day .
I don't know exactly how or why but the show was saved and placed on You Tube, and I stumbled back upon it a few years ago and saved it for my own later enjoyment. So with a few hours of programming to fill I thought our listeners here might enjoy my views on issues of the day in 2012 and by in a large I think many of the issues in the conversation are still relevant today.
I hope you enjoy the talk.
*** Just a housekeeping note we discussed several bonus shows in this episode that were going to run. Due to the passing of Orrin Hatch , the shows mentioned will run later in the year as time allows.
From the Richard Nixon Foundation video collection introduction to this speech:
"On January 14, 1971, President Nixon made an appearance at the University of Nebraska to present its football team with a presidential plaque recognizing them as undisputed national champions. The President also took the opportunity to address some of the problems currently facing the Nation, "common problems, for younger people and older people as well."
The speech is an excellent one with inspiring words for the University full of young people with deeper meaning than just giving an award to the National Championship Football team. I thought it a great speech to share with you. That some hopes and thoughts about our country and its greatness and opportunities, especially for our young people, are timeless no matter how divided we are nor what era we are living in.
Each month on "Bridging the Political Gap" we try to provide up to 12 hours of history for our listeners. This month with season 5 ending a little sooner we ended up with an additional 3 hours and 44 minutes. So we put together a few bonus shows that we thought our listeners would enjoy.
Our first bonus show is this one on Richard Nixon the Sports fan. He loved baseball and football and was actually fairly insightful in both sports. There are countless pictures of Richard Nixon over his long and storied years in the public eye at sporting events. He also made a number of appearances on radio and television shows for the Major League Baseball Teams he loved to watch. We have a few for you here.
In his retirement, he did an interview with the California Angels and then later the New York Mets for their radio broadcasts and while in the White House he talked with a reporter on the White House taping system about his all time all star baseball team. He also talked fondly of the man he considered the most courageous of all athletes, the late Lou Gehrig.
We also will hear President Nixon talk football with the great Head Coach of the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) , George Allen. He once famously sent in a play to the Coach who actually called the play in a game. I understand the Skins lost yardage, but oh well at least he gave it a good try!!
We also will get to hear a few words of inspiration from a speech Richard Nixon gave to the University of Nebraska after he went to the school to help celebrate their winning the National Championship in College Football in 1970.
Senator Orrin Hatch died on April 23, 2022 at the age of 88. He had just retired in 2019. He was a true giant in the history of the United States Senate and in History. He passed more pieces of legislation than any Senator living at the time of death. He reached across the aisle regularly and found workable solutions to problems even while being one of the Senate's most conservative members and he often did those things with Senator Edward Kennedy, no less, one if not the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate.
It was a remarkable record and a remarkable career that stands as an example of what can be accomplished if we will just make the effort. It is also a remarkable testament to the greatness of America. For Orrin Hatch was born in abject poverty, the son of a carpenter in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. It is one of those great examples of someone who lived the American Dream and then left the country far better off than he found it.
Orrin Hatch was also well known as one of the genuine gentlemen of Congress. Our host Randal Wallace met Senator Hatch in 2000 and found him to be a very gracious and thoughtful person during their brief interaction. Orrin Hatch was the real thing and he was without question one of the Giants in the history of the Senate. We were very lucky to have had his caliber of leadership for 42 years.
As we finish the first half of our series on the Nixon Administration and its place in our much longer series of shows that covered the Vietnam Era, we thought we would preview the events on the way over the next 3 seasons of our show. This is the coverage of the fall of Richard Nixon and the scandal known as Watergate.
It would undermine in the eyes of the American People all he had accomplished to bring peace to millions around the world, and to bring peace, prosperity, and a healthier, more equal country, at home.
This preview we hope will leave you asking a simple question about Watergate.
Was it Fair?
Was Richard Nixon and those defendants, tried and convicted of criminal acts in the scandal, really able to receive fair treatment in the eyes of the American people, or in the Federal Court System, and if not, is it now time to change it for the sake of a more truthful and fair assessment for History.
We are about to embark on one of the most comprehensive looks at Watergate ever produced, with new information and insights, and no longer through the eyes of the conventional wisdom that Richard Nixon was somehow the bad actor in the events of the final two years of his administration.
Join us starting May 16, 2022, for the start of this Landmark Podcast Documentary event on Watergate.
It will change everything you thought you knew about President Richard Nixon....
Our Season 5 Finale:
In this episode we listen in as a nation says farewell to one of its most larger than life leaders, the former President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. We tune in at his funeral services in Washington D.C. and in Texas.
Then we travel halfway around the world to hear the signing of the Paris Peace accords that would effectively end the Vietnam War for America after a decade of lost youth and treasure. The South Vietnamese government would sign the agreement and President Nixon would secretly assure the South that if the North moved on them he would return to aid in their defense. We had finally gotten out of the war with honor and our POW's would soon be home.
We end the season " 1972, The Foundation of Peace " with a peace treaty in Vietnam.
Richard Nixon would go to sleep on the night of January 29, 1973, on top of the political world with what he thought was a secure place in history alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of the greatest Presidents in all of American History. He had plans for a second term that while less dramatic would have changed our nation dramatically, foreseeing the many issues we have today, from Healthcare, to the environment, to major welfare reform, to government restructuring, and revenue sharing, by a full half century.
It all seemed to be coming together for this President like no agenda had ever been put together in our history. What could possibly go wrong?
On January 30th, the tenth day in this remarkable run by President Richard Nixon, the defendants in the Watergate trial would be convicted and the unraveling of a cover up by the President's men would lay in motion a set of events that would bring Richard Nixon down and overshadow all that he had achieved for America.
It has been decades since the Watergate Scandal removed Richard Nixon from office, but he always claimed that history would declare him one of our greatest Presidents, and that one day his side of the story would eventually emerge. It never has.
But it will now, starting on May 16, 2022, on our show "Bridging the Political Gap"
and it will change everything you ever thought you knew about Richard Nixon........
Dear Listeners,
I want to take a moment to say a simple thank you for tuning in to our show. This season "Richard Nixon: 1972 The Foundation of Peace" saw our little Podcast recognized as one of the 60 Best American History Podcasts of 2022 by Feedspot.com . We are enormously proud of that designation and very grateful to all of you for making that happen.
https://blog.feedspot.com/american_history_podcasts/
We also hope that you will stay tuned in and enjoy our look at Watergate, it will begin on May 16, 2022 with "Richard Nixon and Watergate 1973, Enemies at the Gate" this will be the first of three seasons that will look in-depth at the Watergate Scandal and other historic events of the last year and eight months of the Nixon Administration.
We believe it will leave you with a lot of questions as to how fair the forced resignation of Richard Nixon was and how fair the convictions of many of his top aids were in an era of extreme upheaval that planted the seeds for much of the division that has grown in to the struggles we are dealing with today, a half century later.
Also , we have a number of bonus episodes that will air in April for your enjoyment, and we hope you will tune in to them as well.
If you have found our podcast informative and enjoyed the show, please share it around, and please leave reviews to help us both grow our audience, give us some advice on what to make better, and hopefully in a small way make a real difference in the public discourse in America.
Again, Thank you so much for tuning in and we hope you will continue to do so.
Sincerely,
Randal Wallace
Host of "Bridging the Political Gap"
Finally, an agreement seems to be at hand and the war in Vietnam can be brought to an end for America.
No one wanted to see this day more than former President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was a man who never wanted to be a wartime President. He had worked to stall making a decision to enter the war on a massive scale, he had tried all he could to find another solution to the growing issues in Vietnam, issues almost all of which had been created by an American decision to remove the leader of South Vietnam just before Johnson had ascended through assassination to the Presidency. Johnson would sacrifice his entire career in a search for an elusive peace in South East Asia.
On the eve of that peace, Lyndon Johnson would die of a heart attack at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas. Fortunately, the Nixon Administration had informed him that a peace agreement was finally at hand.
In this episode, we look straight into the ultimate irony of war. As we listen to the back and forth between President Nixon and his negotiators halfway around the world in Paris and listen to the news coverage of the death of the man who tried so valiantly to find a peace in Vietnam for five years as President.
When the deal finally was done, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation to inform them that our long nightmare was over and to also pay homage to a man who worked so hard to make America a better land for all of its citizens of every race, color, religion, and station in life.
Richard Nixon, at his most triumphant moment as President, made it a point to say of his immediate predecessor, "No one dreamed bigger dreams for America, than did Lyndon Johnson".
Frustrating, frustrating is about the best way to put the ongoing negotiations and often the most frustrating part has been our allies not our enemies.
Here we listen in on conversations between the President and his National Security team, Advisor Henry Kissinger and General Alexander Haig, as they discuss the details of the agreement being negotiated and how to deal with their ally in South Vietnam.
It is an insiders look at how the war was finally brought to an end. It was never easy and these calls show it right up to the last.
We start the ten days that elevated President Nixon to the status as one of the four greatest Presidents in American history with his second Inauguration as President. In this episode we will plug into ABC News coverage of the day in 1973, with anchormen Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner. It will include his entire second Inaugural speech, a real treat if you have never heard the speech before.
President Nixon's speech looks forward to what he thought would be a more peaceful term because peace with honor in Vietnam was now about to be within his grasp. He knew he was only days away from finally having an agreement.
On this January 20th, Richard Nixon had only the slightest of hints that over the next ten days he would see his place in history soar to a status only shared with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and on the last day, there would be a turn that would lead to events that would totally over shadow those tremendous accomplishments in the eyes of the American people for the next half century.
The audio for almost this entire podcast episode comes from the legendary ABC News Network and its extraordinary team of top notch journalists, who were even in this era, the most fair to the figures they covered, in my opinion.
The Bombing of North Vietnam over Christmas 1972 finally has broken the will of the North to keep the fight going. The South Vietnamese will be forced by Nixon to accept a deal not totally to their liking. But finally this horrific War looks like it could be coming to an end.
As we approach the end of the incredible year of 1972, we fast forward to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library , and an event hosted by the Richard Nixon Foundation.
A panel of former members of the National Security staff will examine the chronology, key players, and impact of the Paris Peace Accords. The panel will include Winston Lord, John Negroponte, and Dick Smyser. Fox News national security analyst KT McFarland will moderate in an event on "Vietnam and the Paris Peace Accords" These were the people who negotiated us out of the war in Vietnam under the leadership of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon and their insights are important for anyone wanting to understand that war and the price America and Vietnam paid for the conflict.
Finally, we go back to December 1972, as the year closes out, a year that saw Richard Nixon's greatest triumphs as President, Time Magazine names both President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger as the joint Men of the Year. We end with an interview with Henry Kissinger in more recent times as he recalls the honor and the events of this most important year, 1972.
The Horrors of War cannot be overstated. Here in the final stages of the Vietnam War for America things gets brutal for the people of North Vietnam. In this episode we start with the tragedies that seem to always happen no matter how hard the military tries in war. Civilians die. Here we listen to the Vietnamese people talk about the horrific tragedy of a building bombed by accident, and the wiping out of an entire family. It is all coming from news clips saved for a documentary on the War titled "Vietnam a Television History", episode 10.
Then we move on to sad week here in America for the family of a new 29 year old Senator recently elected from Delaware. Senator- Elect Joe Biden was on Capital Hill, setting up his new office, and meeting with his soon to be new collogues in the United States Senate, when he received a call no husband and father ever wants to receive. His wife and three children were in a horrific car accident while Christmas shopping. His wife Neilia and his 18 month old daughter, Naomi, were killed at the scene and his two sons, Hunter and Beau, were rushed to the hospital. It would change everything for Joe Biden.
Here we will listen in as President Nixon is informed of the tragedy and the President's call to the new Senator - elect to give him heartfelt condolences. A touching moment from the much more senior Nixon to a very young man who has just lost everything.
Then America will learn of the passing of political giant. The blunt speaking, take no prisoners, tell it like it was, give them hell, Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States has died peacefully in his sleep at a hospital in Missouri. Truman was 88 years old. It was the end of an era as Truman was the last of the World War 2 era leaders who had saved the world from tyranny.
And now Richard Nixon would be working to finish his work to stop tyranny in its tracks in South East Asia. It seems his bombing of the north may have finally forced them to the table for a real and lasting peace.
President Theiu of South Vietnam kept stalling and not agreeing with one proposal after another. After the election, it became clear to North Vietnam that the leverage may be about to turn in their favor as it became clear that even though President Richard Nixon had been overwhelmingly re-elected an antiwar congress had also been elected in the United States. Now all they needed to do was stall until January 1973 and they could force a better deal or even just continue their efforts with no deal at all. We had yet another stalemate in the Vietnam War.
Richard Nixon decided it was time to take as drastic an action as he had taken in his time in office to force the war to an end. What became more interesting was that the Chinese, once an enormous worry for both the Johnson and Nixon administrations, were putting pressure on the North Vietnamese to end the war. All the intelligence pointed to that and it freed Richard Nixon to make a major offensive in an effort to break the stalemate.
In this episode we listen as Nixon discusses his next moves with General Alexander Haig and then has a long wide ranging discussions of the situation with Dr. Henry Kissinger before the decision to pull the trigger on a massive bombing of the North Vietnam, including encroaching on Hanoi is decided. It would be known as the Christmas Bombing, or Operation Linebacker 2.
You will get to hear a series of calls from Kissinger telling the President that the raids have begun and what damage has been done and what damage we have sustained. To keep the mission simple we use B-52's for three days to bombard the North Vietnamese and then keep the mission going for 10 days. It will change the direction of the war. Here it will all go down in real time as we listen in.
This episode opens with Henry Kissinger being frustrated with the antics of our ally in South Vietnam. At one point in these final days Kissinger even refused to go back to Vietnam and work with General Thieu. We will listen in to frustrated phone calls between the President and aid to Henry Kissinger , Alexander Haig as they plot the next moves in a frustrating situation.
Then we also listen in on a call that settles another issue on the political front as the leadership of the Republican National Chairmanship is settled with Bob Dole stepping down and George H.W. Bush stepping in to the new role.
Then we move back to Vietnam and General Haig as they move more toward making a decision on how to deal with the growing issues with both our enemy and our ally half way around the world.
Then we switch gears and Presidents. We listen in on Lyndon Johnson as he leaves his retirement home, the LBJ Ranch, and goes to his Library to speak on Civil Rights. On the video, you can literally see him pop a nitroglycerine pill right as he starts his speech and yet he moves through the address flawlessly and inspires the crowd and his nation to continue the efforts to secure civil rights in America.
This speech would be his last major address to the nation and to the world.
The 1972 election is now behind us and Richard Nixon is ready to end this war in Southeast Asia. He is having issues getting an agreement amazingly not from the North Vietnamese but from the South. As General Thieu fears that an agreement that leaves some North Vietnamese troops in his country will spell eventual defeat. An understandable fear.
Nixon begins pushing harder and harder and in this episode you will hear the President and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, discussing how to push an agreement on the two sides. We also look at the slowly growing scandal of Watergate that is beginning to have ripple effects on the administration even though we are still a couple of months out from the trial of the burglars themselves.
Finally President Nixon is planning on making some rather dramatic changes in his Administration, and he is starting at the Republican National Committee. After the enormous 49 state win the current RNC Chair is reluctant to give up the spot but Richard Nixon wants to move his United Nations Ambassador George H. W. Bush over to the job. We will get to listen in as those plans are made between the current President and a man who will one day end up President while they talk about the political fate of a man who will go on to be Senate Majority Leader and the man Bush will defeat for the 1988 Republican nomination, Bob Dole.
It is finally election Day in 1972. We get to relive the news coverage of the big day and election night as Richard Nixon caps off his amazing run with a 49 state landslide victory for re-election as President of the United States of America.
You will get to hear the concession and victory speeches from George McGovern, Sargent Shriver, Spiro Agnew, and Richard Nixon.
Then you can hear a phone call of congratulations between Richard Nixon and the 1968 Democratic Nominee for President Hubert Humphrey. Two men who had a lot of respect for each other even though they had been political adversaries. The respect they had for one another was true in 1968, and in 1972, and again just before Hubert Humphrey passed away in the late 1970's.
We started both our book and this podcast show with a letter that proved it. When Hubert Humphrey , in the throes of his fatal fight with cancer, called Richard Nixon in California and insisted that he sit in a place of honor at his funeral at the Capitol in Washington D.C. , 4 years after Watergate had removed Nixon from office.
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During the time I was a City Councilman in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and was active in the National League of Cities I was befriended by a number of Alaskans. They are great people, who often helped me with issues related to Beach Re-nourishment and in turn I was always a big supporter of their issues mainly oil drilling in ANWR, the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. I was no where near as successful in helping them as they were with helping me in our roles as members of the Energy , Environment, and Natural Resources Committee.
But it was through those relationships that I became familiar with the work of the Alaskan Federal Delegation. Though I always considered Senator Ted Stevens one of my favorite political figures, it was during this time I grew far more familiar with Senator Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young. This episode features both, but it is in tribute to Representative Don Young.
Don Young, the Dean of the House, is one of American History's great characters and on top of that one of Congresses most effective legislators too. He was always fun and always in the middle of debates important to his home state of Alaska and in turn to our country too. He set a fine example of how our political leaders should act by being able to argue, often aggressively on an issue, but still maintain the type of relationships that can get things done.
Young had his moments , like pulling a knife on Speaker Boehner or chewing historian Douglas Brinkley out on C-Span, but always he was able to effectively take care of the needs of his people in Alaska, especially the Native Americans so in need of the Federal help he and his collogues Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski fought to provide them. They were a tiny delegation but packed a mighty punch and got an enormous amount of things done on behalf of Alaska. Don Young was a central part of that effort, the only member of the House of Representatives from Alaska and the only one most Alaskans have ever known.
When he passed away suddenly, on his way back home, on March 18, 2022, he had served in Congress 49 years. Don Young was the longest serving Republican in the history of Congress, the oldest member of the house at age 88, and the last person serving who had been elected in the 1970's. Don Young had also been chosen as the single most effective legislator on Capital Hill and hands down he had the best office décor in all of Washington D.C.
In this episode we look back at his remarkable career, through his own words, and in the words of Senator Lisa Murkowski as she addressed the Senate on Don Young's life just after he passed away. There is no question that whomever is elected to the Alaska at Large U.S. House seat, they will have a great example to follow and have enormous shoes to fill.
The Don Young Office tour courtesy of Roll Call
https://youtu.be/bAsMKV6TSRw
Now in the final stretch of the 1972 campaign, with negotiations to end the war in their grasps, and more news stories bubbling under the surface over Watergate, Richard Nixon marches on with a substantial lead in all the polls.
In this episode we listen to the back and forth between the parties in Vietnam, never quite able to get the deal done. News reports about the activities of both campaigns on the trail, with heavy hitting endorsements from actor Charlton Heston and singer James Brown for Richard Nixon and commercials with common folks opposed to the war for Senator George McGovern.
In the last half of the show, on election eve, President Nixon pays for a 20 minute address to make one final sales pitch to the nation as to why it is important for him to stay in office for the next four years.
Then , 30 years later in an oral history for the Nixon Library, hear George McGovern talk about all the things he had grown to admire about Richard Nixon. and then finally listen in on a phone call as Richard Nixon performs an act of kindness from one candidate to another, three weeks before the November election, and it is an act that should remind all of us, on both sides of the aisle, that in the end, we are all fellow human beings, and fellow Americans first and foremost, no matter how divided we are on political issues big and small.
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This episode covers the growing issues that Watergate is creating, problems Nixon is having with our ally in South Vietnam that is slowing down his negotiations , and the 1972 campaign of George McGovern, which despite having some good issues for them developing still cannot seem to catch momentum.
First we will hear Richard Nixon talk with Bob Haldeman about leaks coming from a high up spot in the FBI concerning the investigation of the break in at the Watergate. It is sensitive material about campaign financing etc, and it had to be coming from the number two man at the FBI, W. Mark Felt. This meeting will show that while Deap Throat may have been a mystery to the world for four decades, Richard Nixon and his men knew exactly who it was that was leaking things to the Washington Post.
We will also listen in on calls between the President and his aids as he deals with all of the issues from the campaign to Vietnam, and get to hear George McGovern on the stump and in an oral history 30 plus years later.
Finally, the negotiations get disjointed and the North Vietnamese play a little public relations game of their own and force Henry Kissinger to speak out to the press in order to hold a tentative deal in place with the famous line "Peace is at Hand"
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We join a 1972 campaign in wide open progress as George McGovern tries to make his case to the American people at a time when the economy is doing well and a peace looks like it could be with in grasp of President Nixon. It was a tough row to hoe.
Listen in as President Nixon continues to work toward a negotiated peace in Vietnam, with many frustrations along the way. Plus you will hear Vice President Spiro Agnew on the campaign trail with a style uniquely his own.
Here we listen to ads, the speeches, and the news reports from along the 1972 campaign trail. We also get to hear the President as he works with Henry Kissinger trying to find a way to get the war over with.
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While Richard Nixon served as President at the height of the Cold War. He was also President when terrorism exploded on to the World stage as a tool of the extreme Islamic World.
In this special edition we look back at one of the most horrifying events of the early 1970's, by tuning into the voices of the people who covered it for ABC Sports. It features interviews with a Hall of Fame Quarterback turned sports commentator, Frank Gifford, and his counterpart T.V. Host Jim Mckay, a man best known for hosting a Saturday afternoon show which covered obscure sporting events like the National Lumberjack Championship in Hayward, Wisconsin or the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
But with little to no notice, ABC Sports President Roone Arledge, moved Jim Mckay in from his role at ABC's Wide World of Sports duties to cover a hostage situation at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. McKay would bring the humanity of the moment to the small screen as he covered the tragic circumstances of an Israeli Olympic team being held hostage by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September.
It would be a tragic and grim moment for all involved and it would be the precursor for the challenges the free world still faces today, long after the fall of communism, by religious fanaticism hell bent on staying in the late 11th century.
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The 1972 conventions are over and the candidates hit the campaign trail. It is a year where major events seem to be happening every time you turn your head around. President Nixon has a commanding 26 point lead in most national polls and he is in hot pursuit of not only a victory at the polls in November but also a successful end to the war in Vietnam, a peace with honor.
It is in the last half of 1972 that a high stakes game of International intrigue is being played to finally get the United States out of its longest and most divisive foreign conflict but it is also a time period where a third rate burglary would begin slow festering a political cancer on the body politic that will change everything for the nation and sew the seeds of inner division that has never healed to this day.
In this episode we will listen in as President Nixon works for peace in Vietnam while on the phones with both his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and his top aid General Alexander Haig. You will hear the President voice his frustration at the treatment of his wife at the hands of a press corp that rarely could find anything good to say about him or his administration. Plus you will hear his opponent both on the campaign trail an in an oral history nearly 40 years later. This episode begins a long march toward the end of Vietnam, a peace in Southeast Asia, a 49 State re-election and a slow burning scandal that would eventually bring down the President.
This episode marks the beginning of our use of a treasure of tapes that show Richard Nixon at his finest. Listen closely because it will change everything you thought you knew about this extraordinary man.
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The final night opens with actor Jimmy Stewart and First Lady Pat Nixon. Then Congressman Gerald Ford introduces Vice President Spiro T. Agnew who will in turn bring out Richard Nixon for the main event.
Then Richard Nixon will deliver his acceptance speech for a second term as President. At that moment, Richard Nixon sat on top of the world. He was closing in on a victory of not only the Presidency , but of ending the War in Vietnam with honor, restructuring the Federal Government, calming down a decade of upheaval, and setting up a structure of order that would bring peace to millions around the World.
All was going perfectly, what could possibly go wrong?
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If the McGovern campaign had been a textbook example of what could go wrong would, the Nixon campaign ran like a well oiled machine.
If you listen to the journalist covering the convention they sound like they are covering the great turtle race. They are audibly struggling to keep things interesting. But if you love the pomp and circumstances of a national convention, which I do, you will still love all the fun of the roll call vote, the nominating speeches and the convention demonstrations.
It is the celebration of America.
Then after the foregone conclusion happens , the magic of television will take you to Maritime park in Miami for a concert featuring entertainer Sammy Davis Jr, as they go after the youth vote, which President Nixon had opened the doors for just the year before.
After Nixon was nominated he came down to the stage and delivered an inspiring speech watched around the world on television and on the big screens at the convention hall.
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In this episode we open with the real power player in the Democratic Party of 1972, Senator Ted Kennedy. He would step up to nominate George McGovern.
Then George McGovern will go to the podium in the wee hours of the morning to make his case to the nation as to why they should trade in Richard Nixon for him. It would be the high mark for a campaign that would end up with a shock just days after the convention gaveled to a close.
The news that would change the upward stride of the campaign was that Vice Presidential Candidate Thomas Eagleton had had electro shock treatment for depression just a few short years before. Then the McGovern campaign had to move Eagleton off the ticket and make room for Ted Kennedy's brother in law, Sargent Shriver, to try and carry them to the finish line.
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*** WELCOME TO CONVENTION WEEK, All week we will be stepping back in time to the 1972 National Conventions.
This episode starts off the conventions of 1972 with the Democrats. While 1972 was not 1968, it was still a textbook example of what not to do. Poor George McGovern was in a campaign best described as "if it could go wrong it did. "
He had come from out of nowhere to be the front runner for the nomination going into the convention but he still had not won it. He would wrestle with his opponents until 2:30 am the night of his nomination. In the meantime, he had to make a Vice Presidential nomination and he chose a well liked Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri. That would be the ticket to face Nixon and Agnew in 1972.
It would have a rather shocking end before it ever really got started. But in this episode we will see the various issues of the convention, and hear from Thomas Eagleton as he accepts the nomination.
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President Richard Nixon's Address to the nation and to a joint session of Congress on June 1, 1972, would mark the arguable high point of his amazing political career. Fresh off two successful summits, first in Peking, China and then in Moscow, in the Soviet Union. President Nixon was poised to change the chess board of the world in 1972. It was an incredible moment when all seemed with in his grasp, that he would be bringing peace to the world and marking his place as one of America's greatest Presidents.
You will hear this amazing address to the nation, listen in on his calls with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and see him setting the stage to try and bring the one major obstacle to his plans, the Vietnam War, to an end.
We also step back a couple of weeks to yet another assassination attempt on yet another national political figure, Alabama Governor George Wallace. Here you will hear President Nixon call to see about his political rival and talk to his worried wife. Nixon will also order Secret Service protection for Senator Edward Kennedy as a precaution for the safety of the last of the political family that he has been at political odds with for so long.
In the middle of all of this, is a story about a foiled burglary attempt at the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate, at the time it seemed like just a small story and the show moves on with little comment.
Special Commentary that was inspired by recent events in the nation of Ukraine. How did we come to this, an invasion by Russia. It is simply because we look weak to the world. The reason for that is for the past two decades we have conducted foreign policy with no strategic vision we would stick to at all. Four United States Presidents, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden have conducted foreign policy with either no strategy or a horribly incompetent one.
It is time to look at the visionary leadership of former President Richard Nixon and learn from him how to run a damn government. One thing is for sure on the world stage today Joe Biden, and our congressional leadership of extremist of the left or right are playing checkers and the leadership of the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin and the People's Republic of China under Xi Jinging are playing Chess. It appears to me that they think we are a divided, declining, weak, Super Power, and its time for us to get our act together.
Because if we don't the Free World will soon be under attack just the way Ukraine is today.
The World can little afford an America in retreat, or even worse, an America making stupid decisions.
SUMMIT IN MOSCOW.
On May 22, 1972 Richard Nixon was the first American President to set foot inside the Kremlin as he and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev would hold the first Summit meeting. It would lead to various treaties and the start of a thaw in Cold War relations between the two world Super Powers. It was there in Moscow that the two nations signed the SALT 1 agreement, the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty.
In this show we look back at this momentous moment and here from several of the folks at a conference at the Nixon Library about how the summit came together and how it changed our diplomatic positioning through out the world. We listen in on a documentary about the summit just after it concluded and finally we listen in on something no one in America during the height of the Cold War would ever believed could happen.
We listen as President Richard Nixon, one of the most anti-communist leaders in the entire world, addresses the people of the Soviet Union on primetime television.
After President Richard Nixon returned from China he would have to catch up on all he missed as the Democratic Party began its campaign to challenge him in earnest. It would be a race that would feature one of the great come from nowhere candidates in all of American history, South Dakota Senator George McGovern. He would be up against Senator Edmund Muskie, the presumed frontrunner, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey the 1968 nominee, an Alabama Governor George Wallace who had run for President as an independent in 1968.
McGovern had two things going for him, he was strong against the war in Vietnam and he had a young , bright, aggressive campaign manager named Gary Hart who decided to bet the farm on the Iowa Caucuses and it worked. McGovern shocked the world finishing second. Muskie would end up with a few problems of his own after a letter accusing him of allowing racism popped up in Florida and a New Hampshire Newspaper made ethics an issue about the candidates wife. Muskie had a meltdown in which he may or may not have cried at a snowy press conference in New Hampshire but either way it would dampen his Presidential hopes.
Then the President had to make a strong move in Vietnam after the North Vietnamese went on an Easter offensive. Nixon addressed the nation, bombed Hanoi, and mined the harbors there. Nixon was now free of worry about an invading Chinese and with the game now so dramatically changed he thought a strong move against Hanoi would do him no harm as he also prepared for his summit in Moscow. It was hardball politics on the world stage.
Finally, the show ends with a game changing domestic event here at home. A giant of the nations history would pass away suddenly at the age of 72. Whether you liked J. Edgar Hoover or not there was no denying his enormous place in the history of the nation and in the influence of domestic politics here at home, and his passing would create an enormous power vacuum that would have huge ramifications on future events in the life of Richard Nixon and the nation. We end as we listen to President Nixon deliver a eulogy for FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
In this episode we witness President Richard Nixon's triumphant return to the United States. But it was not without real worry about how the trip and the Shanghai Communique would be received by millions of Americans who had spent a lifetime fearing the Chinese. It went better than Nixon could have imagined and though Watergate would derail the effort for a while by 1979, the Administration of Jimmy Carter would finally normalize relations with China.
Here we listen to President Nixon's arrival ceremony in Washington D.C. and hear speeches from Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and then hear from Richard Nixon himself.
As Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce would later tell Nixon, "No matter what else happens, a thousand years from now they will say Richard Nixon went to China".....
While China represented mystery, exotic locales, and an entirely different cultural experience for Americans watching back home on television. There was still a lot of work being done on the trip itself. There was a lot at stake for both countries and for allies around the world who were watching and worrying about what it all would mean for peace and world order. This was especially true for three other countries in particular, America's long standing ally in Taiwan, China's ally in North Vietnam, and in the Soviet Union, the other great Communist power on Earth who was for the moment not an ally of either country involved.
A communique on the new friendship being forged during this week was being written by the leadership of both countries and its wording was a struggle. By the time the parties arrived in Hangzhou a strain on both sides was beginning to show. But both sides were determined that a communique would emerge that would work for all. President Nixon, Premier Zhou Enlai and Henry Kissinger would keep on negotiating until 4 am on this day before the final leg to Shanghai. It was announced the Communique was ready, and then it all fell apart.
Here is the story of how a State Department, who had had its leader Secretary of State Bill Rogers kept out of the main discussions from the start, objected to entire sections of the communique and almost led to its derailment. How Henry Kissinger had to return to the bargaining table with a frustrated Chinese contingent. And how one man took it upon himself, sensing all of the issues were within the American delegation, to save the day, the communique, and make the trip an everlasting success with a late night visit to the villa of the State Department contingent.
The seeds planted in that moment, a half century later, still bare fruit, even though our current relationship with China is strained,
"This diplomatic triumph was one of the great American successes of the past century... because the Shanghai Communique structure has worked, Chinese can associate with whomever they choose without asking, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, and I have been succeeded by tens of thousands of American investors and businesspeople who have helped build the largest bilateral trading relationship in world history. Around $160 billion of U.S. goods and services are sold in China annually, representing nearly one million U.S. jobs, with another 100,000 American jobs supported by Chinese direct investment in the United States. " - Stephen Orlins has been President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations since 2005, for The Diplomat on February 28, 2017 article
The Shanghai Communique: An American Foreign Policy Success, 45 Years Later
To mark the actual 50th anniversary of the start of the week that changed the world. The week Richard Nixon landed in Peking , China and reestablished a relationship with Mainland China. We thought it appropriate to look to the other man who made this trip and the events within that week such a dramatic success. He was the man on the other side of the field, a man often in the shadow of Mao in the story of opening relations with China. The books and attention is often on Nixon and Mao, but the man who made it all work was Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.
Chairman Mao was the great father figure of China. But it was Zhou Enlai who was the great diplomat of China. He was a man of enormous vision and also he was a man of an extraordinary ability to see problems and fix them with extraordinary skill. As we will learn on our next episode on the Shanghai Communique. He knew how to smooth out the rough edges and make situations not only work but to bare fruit too.
Zhou Enlai was originally the foreign Minister, he was often the man chosen to deal with hostile powers, and was often called the world's greatest diplomat by many who dealt with him. Zhou Enlai was a strong advocate of modernizing China and he saw the outreach from the United States as an opportunity to achieve that goal, to develop a modern economy in China.
He would be diagnosed with cancer later in the year of Nixon's opening to China and pass away in January 1976. When an attempt was made to remove memorial wreaths laid in his honor from Tiananmen Square a riot broke out, something almost unheard of in China. Zhou Enlai had come under attack by folks in the radical anti-Confucius campaign, but the ordinary people stood by his memory. He was that well regarded by the people of China.
To commemorate the historic moment, a half century ago, of the opening to China by President Richard Nixon we thought this the right moment to look at the man on the other end of the historic handshake that welcomed President Nixon to China.
Our special edition of "Bridging the Political Gap" honors Zhou Enlai, and gives us all a chance to get to know the first Premier of the People's Republic of China.
During the week that President and Mrs. Nixon were in China there were several staged tours arraigned for the party and at those events there were often staged people too. This is the story of the wandering adventures of the party and the press corp as they traveled around China all the while President Nixon and Zhou Enlai were busy negotiating out the Communique from the trip.
They would visit the Great Wall of China, The Ming Tombs, and fly to the city of Hangzhu. At one point reporter Ted Koppel would stay behind and catch the Chinese picking up bystanders staged at an event that had been designed to put the best face on the everyday life of ordinary Chinese. A life far harder and less colorful than these families with state of the art transistor radios would have had you believe.
Here you will get a look at the excitement, the mystery, and the adventure that this trip to China offered for the Americans who had never seen anything quite like it before.
Somethings never change, and one of those things that will never change is the troublesome issues the press can create by trying to get into mischief and question everything they see. This was very true with the traveling press corp as they were bused around China. The Chinese tried to contain them but it was to no avail and they managed to find a good story or two while they were there. Here you will hear them visit a commune, and the old historic palace, snoop around where they were not supposed to be and hear in detail how the National Zoo ended up with two Panda Bears.
The other thing that never changes is that hardliners exist wherever you go and they are as hard to control as the press a lot of the time. Poor President Nixon was subjected to a little taste of hardline communism while in China as the Chairman's wife made him sit through a ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" about the ruling evil landlords and the peasants who were subjected to their capitalistic ways, only freed when they rebelled as a united group of workers.
In what can only be described as a half hearted attempt to put a good face on it , we will listen in as President Nixon responds to a question about whether he enjoyed the ballet. It is diplomacy at its best an even the Chinese seemed to know it was all a bit much.
In a trip planned and choreographed to the minute, an enormous surprise happened with in hours of the President's arrival. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai showed up at the guest house where President Nixon was staying and whisked him away with only Henry Kissinger, his aid Winston Lord, and one Secret Service Agent in tow.
Bob Haldeman recorded in his diary his worry at having the President just taken ,without security, and without the usual Presidential entourage surrounding him. Richard Nixon was off for what would be the most important meeting of his entire journey. He was off to see Chairman Mao Tse Tung, undisputed ruler of China. It was an extraordinary meeting, full of philosophical comments, and friendly banter, between one of the leading Communist in all the world and one of the great politicians in all the world who had made his career as an anti-communist crusader. The meeting went stunningly well.
The next day the Chinese were informed of the American President's presence in China and that the meeting had the stamp of approval of the leader, Chairman Mao. It marked a new beginning in United States and Chinese relations. it started a relationship that has grown ever since . It is a relationship that has grown ever more complicated and intertwined for a half century.
"One story about the famous meeting with Richard Nixon remained a secret for many years, until Nixon’s memoirs appeared.
The story began in the mid-50’s, when America and China had no diplomatic relations, and there was great hostility between the two nations. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, at a meeting in Geneva, deliberately snubbed Zhou Enlai, refusing to shake his hand. He said that he and Zhou would only meet in a car crash.
Diplomatic memories are long; proud leaders rarely forgive an outright insult like this. So in 1972, Richard Nixon, who knew what had happened in Geneva, made his point as he descended the steps of Air Force One on the tarmac in Beijing.
Chinese protocol required that Premier Zhou Enlai, as the host, should extend a hand to his visitor first. But Nixon moved quickly and took Zhou’s hand warmly, before Zhou could extend it. In his memoir, Nixon said that he wanted to be the first to extend his hand.
Zhou smiled enthusiastically, and accepted the handshake. He was acutely aware of the significance of the President’s gesture, as were a few of those present who knew about the long-ago insult. The visit proceeded with great success.
So it was that the first breakthrough in relations between America and China began with an act of courage, and an act of forgiveness." ----- The Zhou Enlai Peace Institute
This is that story. The story of the day President Richard Nixon arrived in Peking, China with his hand extended and a vision for a better, safer world. This is how it began, 50 years ago this month.
Finally the door has been opened to China. President Nixon would send a group of young men under the supervision of 34 year old Ron Walker to China to lay the groundwork for the historic visit. They would find it immensely rewarding but not without many frustrations as they entered a world that was totally foreign to the one they left. A world where technology was behind, a world where the the people had been totally isolated, and a world with propaganda everywhere that portrayed America as imperialist dogs.
But it was also obvious that the Chinese wanted this new found friendship to be a success just as much as the Americans did. They would build a trust and learn from each other. As they made the plans for the historic visit of President Richard Nixon to mainland China. This is the story of how they made it happen and we get a sense of the anxiety an anticipation of what each step would bring along the way.
Finally, we get an inside look at the flight that would bring a President half way around the world for a week.
A week that changed the World.
In this episode we look backwards at how the China initiative came together. Richard Nixon had envisioned reaching out to China long before he became President of the United States. He wrote an article for Foreign Affairs magazine in 1967 where he talked briefly about Asia after Vietnam and the importance of reaching out to China. There were hints in his inaugural Address about building a world in which no one lived "in angry isolation"
This was such a different approach than was being considered in diplomatic circles or in the basic tenants of American foreign policy that when Nixon started talking to Henry Kissinger about making the approach, Kissinger thought he had lost his mind. When they identified Warsaw , Poland as a place where they could make that move to China, the American Ambassador to Poland did not believe the direction was actually from the President. He refused to do it. Nixon had to call the man home to instruct him to do it so he would believe the order was real.
It was a far different world than what we live in today. A world Richard Nixon largely had the vision to create. Here we will relive all the various cloak and dagger operations that the administration had to do to keep the initiative secret and get it to finally bare fruit. Here is the story of the secretive messages, the ping pong diplomacy, and the trickery it took to get our secret envoy, Henry Kissinger into China, and then the moment (Eureka!!!) that it all came together with the invite to China.
The opening of our Season 5 look at the Administration of Richard Nixon begins with the signature event of his time in office., the opening to China. It marks the beginning of a season of triumph for America and for Richard Nixon. It begins with a journey into the unknown because China and the United States had had no diplomatic ties for a quarter of a century. In fact, China had bee isolated from the rest of the world for much of that time as Chairman Mao had consolidated his power.
Just as Nixon had ascended to the Presidency, our intelligence agencies had been gathering information about a growing rift in the communist world between China and the Soviet Union. That rift had become much worse as shots had actually been fired across the border between the two Communist giants. Richard Nixon, who had known he wanted to reach out to China long before he had even taken over the Presidency, knew that this would be his chance and immediately started working toward that goal. Much to the shock of his most trusted advisors, including Henry Kissinger, whose job it would be to actually go over to China and work out the deals to allow Nixon to make his move.
It would take a couple of years and a lot of cloak and dagger operations concealed from the public and even from our own State Department, but by July of 1971, Richard Nixon would make an announcement that would shake the world. He would be invited to go to China. Over the next six months all types of preparations would be made for the trip to be a success and both sides, talking different languages, with different cultures, and different ideologies politically, would work tirelessly to pull it off.
This is that story, the story of Richard Nixon's trip to China, how it happened, how it came together, and how in that one week he would open China and welcome it to the International stage.
Destruction, devastation, and disaster all describe the South Carolina Coast on the 23rd of September 1989. Hurricane Hugo had torn its way through the State of South Carolina, plowing into Sullivan's Island S.C. and drowning McClellenville S.C. , a small shrimping town, under a massive surge of water. In Georgetown S.C. , Atalaya , a Spanish style castle villa once owned by Anna Hyatt Huntington, was nearly pulled from its foundations by the power of the Oceans undertow. In Pawley's Island, a new inlet had been cut by Hugo's powerful surge. In Garden City S.C., a town built in what looks more life a sand bar than real land, most of the houses were either gone, destroyed or damaged.
In this episode we hear the ending of the horrifying night and look over the sea of devastation the storm left behind. Then we hear the incredible story of South Carolina as its incredible people, under the leadership of its Republican Governor Carroll Campbell and its Democratic Mayor of Charleston Joe Riley, pick up the pieces and rebuild our State from its worst catastrophic disaster. It is a truly dramatic and extraordinary story of extraordinary resilience from an uncommon people who came together to lift each other out of a disaster. It was South Carolina's finest hour.
Hurricane Hugo also left the state totally without power. In the final segment of this show, we watch what is arguably the greatest accomplishment of a power utility company in the history of electric power. Santee Cooper, the South Carolina owned public utility, would have to bring back power after its entire power grid was totally destroyed by Hurricane Hugo. It was the State's first and only black start. A black start means the entire system was 100% down, it had no power generation any where in the system.
But the heroic people of Santee Cooper did not let that stop them. Their trucks were out before the storm had even left, assessing the damage and figuring out how to get power back to its thousands of customers. They would do it, with the help of power companies and utilities from around the nation, in just two weeks. An achievement unmatched anywhere in the world even to this day. We close with the story of Santee Cooper's work "Bringing Back the Light" to a state that had been left in total darkness.
(We would like to thank Santee Cooper Electric for the use of footage from their documentary "Bringing Back the Light" and all of the journalism outlets in our state for their coverage, WPDE, WIS, WCIS, The State Newspaper, The Sun News, and The Weather Channel, plus a North Carolina Radio station . )
We start season 5 with a bonus two part series far from the topic of politics, Government or Richard Nixon. Though President Nixon did start NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which began the National Weather Service and Hurricane Tracking. A service that has saved thousands of lives and improved weather tracking and predicting immensely since the 1970's. So in a way this show and the storm it covers, and the lives saved at the time in 1989, were a direct result of the leadership and Presidency of Richard Nixon. So now lets relive....
HURRICANE HUGO,
It was a night like no other in my lifetime. I was 18 years old, a freshman in college, and sitting in my dorm at Spartanburg Methodist College with a guy down the hall from me from James Island S.C. His home would be destroyed. I got lucky, my townhouse was totally unharmed in Myrtle Beach, my family in Hartsville S.C. was unharmed. But the ride home the next week was just surreal. From the moment you got to Columbia S.C. all the way to the beach, destruction was everywhere you looked. No one who lived through Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina has ever forgotten it.
Today thousands of people have moved into the path Hugo followed. None of them have ever experienced anything close to the wrath of a Hurricane as powerful nor as enormous as Hugo. This show is for all of you. Heed its warning because one day we will see it again. Here relive the tension as Hurricane Hugo approaches and then hear it roar as this incredible night unfolds again. Hugo rushed in after midnight and packed a mighty punch in the dark of night.
A night no one has ever forgotten, a night like no other in our lifetime.
From the National Weather Service Website:
" Around midnight on September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina at Sullivan's Island as a Category 4 storm with estimated maximum winds of 135-140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 934 millibars (27.58 inches of Hg). Hugo produced tremendous wind and storm surge damage along the coast and even produced hurricane force wind gusts several hundred miles inland into western North Carolina. In fact, Hugo produced the highest storm tide heights ever recorded along the U.S. East Coast, around 20 feet in Bulls Bay, SC near Cape Romain! At the time, Hugo was the strongest storm to strike the U.S. in the previous 20-year period and was the nation's costliest hurricane on record in terms of monetary losses (~$7 billion in damage). It is estimated that there were 49 deaths directly related to the storm, 26 of which occurred in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands."
(We would like to thank Santee Cooper Electric for the use of footage from their documentary "Bringing Back the Light" and all of the journalism outlets in our state for their coverage, WPDE, WIS, WCIS, The State Newspaper, The Sun News, and The Weather Channel, plus a North Carolina Radio station . )
In our Season 4 finale we look at several of the initiatives that Richard Nixon began at the end of 1971 that we are still benefitting from or are impacted by today.
In 1971 Richard Nixon changed the monetary system for the United States ending the Breton Woods system and taking the United States off the Gold Standard. It was a dramatic economic move that is still debated. It certainly unleashed the amount of money flowing into the economy but it has led to ever increasing amounts of debt that is now at a crisis level in this country.
In 1971, Richard Nixon also went to war to stop the abuse of drugs in America. The War on Drugs has largely been seen as a failure and often those who don't know the history of that war blame President Nixon because he gave it a name and made it a priority. But Nixon's "War on Drugs" was a dramatic success, he caused the burglary rate to plummet, and the drug addicted were getting the help they needed because Nixon focused on the demand side of the problem and helping those addicted with treatment programs, and in the case of heroin, an experimental methadone program, that produced real positive results. It was later Presidents who changed everything focusing almost totally on the supply side of the problem. Richard Nixon did both, and it was a success, at least until Watergate forced him from the national scene.
We also examine the Moorer - Radford Affair when Richard Nixon became the victim of a spying operation from the Military high brass. If you ever wanted insight as to why Richard Nixon felt that his administration was under siege and that he could not trust the bureaucracy around him, here is an example of why. That many of the Administration's best laid plans seemed often to end up on the front pages of the national newspapers. This story will give you insight as to why and why it became such an obsession for the President, an obsession that played a large role in how the Presidency would be wrested away from Richard Nixon in 1974.
Finally, we will look back on what President Nixon considered his greatest achievement as President. It was the thing he was most proud to have begun. In December of 1971, in what Richard Nixon called his "Christmas Present to the nation", he signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 into law. The results of the act may have fallen short of finding the cure for Cancer as Nixon had hoped by 1976, but it has truly changed the world in ways we can all be thankful for. In 1971, a Cancer diagnosis was almost certainly a death sentence. Today enormous strides have been made in genetic research and treatments. Today cancer is often treatable, curable, or beatable. The survival rate is far better across the board than it was in 1971 and it is time that Richard Nixon gets the credit he deserves for this monumental achievement.
The Richard Nixon Presidency had weathered some great and mighty storms by December 1971. The nation had up to this point suffered from moments of violent upheaval that stretched back to the 1960's, and we still had a war that was dragging on and on. But by this time in his Administration, Richard Nixon had laid the groundwork for one of the most dramatic, and historically successful periods in all of American History. While most Americans may not have realized it yet, Richard Nixon was about to enter a season of absolute triumph for himself politically but also for a beleaguered, divided and tired land. 1972 would be the year Richard Nixon would lay the foundation for over a quarter century of peace for his country and set the nation up as the singular leader of the entire free world.
Richard Nixon would over the next year truly join Abraham Lincoln as one of the two men in American History that could truly lay claim to the mantle, The Man Who Saved the Union.
And that will be the next story we will tell.....
On January 6, 2021 a riot broke out in Washington D.C. at the United States Capitol. It was an angering sight to see and brought the functioning of the Capitol to a total standstill. The national media and the Democratic Party have tried very hard to put the blame on one man, Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States. But I think I speak for millions of Americans when I say bluntly, there is plenty of blame to go around. While Donald Trump certainly has done little to alleviate the divisions in this country, the sad fact is our nation has had nearly two and a half decades of incompetent, divisive, extreme, unworthy leadership from both parties , and, frankly, I could just go on and on using these types of descriptions of our national leadership. The incompetence extends to the national media and its leadership too. They are a collective national embarrassment unfit to walk the same halls as Bob Dole or Dan Inouye, or sit in the same chairs as Peter Jennings or Walter Cronkite. Until January 6th, our nation had functioned with relative immunity from just how bad they have mishandled the positions they have been entrusted with, but finally the chickens have come home to roost.
If I sound disgusted understand I am actually being generous on how I really feel about the current state of our national discourse.
When we wrote our book "Always Vote Your Conscience, Don't Take it personally and Don't fight the Same old battles over and over again" or when we started this podcast, we were frustrated, today we are just plain mad and sick of it. Our Podcast premiered on January 2, 2021 and it was originally a nine episode podcast documentary focusing on lessons of leadership we could learn from the World War 2 generation of leaders, both those of the generation that led us through the war, and those who fought it and returned to serve in Congress and the Presidency afterwards. The events that occurred at the Capitol erupted just 4 days after we went on the air and because of how strongly we felt we put together a new ending of the series to include a frank assessment of our current leadership and a review of the events of January 6.
This was our first production of this type and we basically took the material from the finale, centered on the resignation of Senate Leader Bob Dole and his powerful speech on the Senate Floor in 1996, and divided the show in half, adding material looking at two decades of colossal failure and extreme politics, combined with an overview of the day the Capitol was ransacked. This added two full shows to our series finale.
To commemorate the first anniversary of this horrible, embarrassing, an angering moment in the history of our country, we have revamped the material from the close of our first series. We have added a new opening, removed all the Bob Dole material, and added some new narration and removed some too. The show is still our longest, at 2 hours and ten minutes, but it is , in our opinion, a powerful indictment of just how bad our national leadership has been for a quarter century. We are now at a moment of truth when we, the great silent majority of Americans, the non shouters, the non protesters', must step up and take our country back.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
We need to elect leaders capable of leading, of finding compromise, and finding real solutions for making Government work again, instead of leading BullS#$& revolutions and extremist public policy.
It is time to leave what we have had behind because, as I have said before, what we have had is frankly a collective national embarrassment.
In this episode, we cover two of President Nixon's major accomplishments; giving 18 year old citizens the right to vote and initiating the opening to China.
First, we listen as Richard Nixon signs the 26th Amendment into law in front of a White House full of young people.
Then we listen in on a call between Henry Kissinger and President Nixon on a wide range of subjects involving South East Asia and the end game of the negotiations with China. We get to listen to a retrospective on the secret trip to China made by Henry Kissinger in July of 1971. It was there that the invitation was finally extended by the Chinese for President Nixon to travel to China. It would be an announcement that would shake the world.
We then listen to the national address by President Nixon announcing the breakthrough and plans for the trip.
Finally, we look at the United States relationship with Asia's other great power, the Empire of Japan. Still reeling from the defeat of World War 2, Japan was finally beginning its emergence and in this final event of the episode we listen to the first official visit by a Japanese Monarch to the United States as Emperor Hirohito visits Anchorage, Alaska and is greeted by President Richard Nixon, himself a veteran of the Pacific theater of World War 2.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
On June 12, 1971, the daughter of President and Mrs. Nixon, Tricia Nixon married Edward Cox at a White House ceremony in the Rose Garden. It was a wedding celebrated by not only the Nixon and Cox families but by the entire nation. President Nixon said of the day "It was a day we were all just very happy" It was a truly magical event and one of five such weddings at the White House in the 20th Century.
The next day in a small article on the front page of the New York Times was a little story about a leak of confidential papers from a secret Pentagon study on the history of the Vietnam War. That little story was about an enormous leak of monumental proportions for our nation and its foreign policy. The thief, Daniel Ellsberg, had as good a secret clearance as anyone in Washington, he was married to an influential toy maker's daughter, and no one had any idea what else he had stolen.
While the papers themselves did not mention the Nixon Administration in any of the documents it did have appendices full of documents that the communist enemies around the world had intercepted coded versions of and now that the real ones were readily available they could match up and break our secret codes. That was a fact that could get people killed and was a fact the press either willfully ignored or flat out did not care about. In either case, they also did not report that information to the public.
Here was Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, with a strategic plan that included negotiating with the Soviet Union, the Communist Chinese, and we were at war and trying to negotiate with the North Vietnamese, and we were dealing with communist regimes in Romania, Czechoslovakia and Poland, plus dictatorships in Pakistan and other areas of the world in order to get their strategy in place and their plans to come to fruition. The release of the Pentagon Papers made it appear to all of these secretive, totalitarian regimes that we could not keep our secrets from the New York Times or, even worse, The Washington Post.
Nixon was red hot mad and had damn good reason to be. All the staff that worked at the White House called this the moment in which the Nixon Administration felt it had to take matters in hand to deal with leaks, subversives, and riotous protesters to keep our country from coming apart in a wave of violent upheaval similar to 1968.
It was extraordinary times and it would lead to events that would bring the Nixon Administration crashing down and leave our nation with a true question mark.
Is it right to remove one of our truly greatest leaders, in extraordinary times, because he may have broken the law in order to save the nation?
For a half century that question has still lingered and its consequence has set the nation on a calamitous course of extremism, cynicism, the criminalization of politics and the rise of widespread conspiracy theories that now 50 years later threaten the very foundation and core of the great American experiment in self governance.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022!!!
In this episode we look back at 2021, a year of success here at "Bridging the Political Gap" and a year of sad farewells as we said good by to so many inspirational figures in our life from former Senator Bob Dole, to former Secretary of State George Shultz , to Former Senator John Warner, to the Mayor I served with through most of my time as a Myrtle Beach City Councilman, John Rhodes, and an Horry County pioneer who served as the first woman from Horry County to sit in the South Carolina Legislature and for whom I worked in her Horry County South Carolina Auditor's office in the late 1990's. Lois Eargle had been a constant presence in my life and an inspiration.
We suffered three very personal losses this year as well. My colleague in Real Estate, Charles Hinson, whom I worked along side with for two decades and sadly had no footage I could share for a broadcast.
My Mother Gloria Bulmer also passed away in March. There is literally nothing I ever achieved that was not a direct result of her influence in my life. She was business woman, a teacher, and my biggest fan and most ferocious defender. It is hard even today to imagine her not being here for advice and support.
It was also the year that I sadly lost my loyal companion, my Dog Cooper, whose presence in our show continues to this day every time our closing theme ends.
We also look forward in this episode to all the exciting shows planned for 2022 on the life and career of Richard Nixon with what is turning out to be the largest available resource of the secret Nixon tapes available outside Nixontapes.org or the National Archives itself. This coming year you will get to ease drop on history and listen as a great President does great things as he leads the nation and the world into an era of peace.
Plus, in the next few weeks for those of you from South Carolina we have couple of special editions on the infamous Hurricane of 1989, known to the world as Hurricane Hugo.
Most importantly, this is a special episode that gives us here at "Bridging the Political Gap" a chance to say thanks to all of you who have tuned in during our first year on the air. We appreciate you more than we can ever say, 33 countries, 360 cities, all 50 states, every continent, and over 2000 downloads. It has been more than I ever could have imagined and it speaks volumes about our world's yearning for real leadership to emerge.
Thanks again for tuning in.
Sincerely,
Your Host,
Randal Wallace
This episode begins just after President Nixon delivers his powerful speech going through the campaign in Laos and the advancements our side is making in extricating ourselves from the Vietnam War. It was a powerful moment for President Nixon.
Recently, another documentary titled "Nixon at War" , attempted to smear President Nixon for his conduct of the operation, that he lied in his speech, and they besmirched his character using only tidbits of the calls he made and received after the speech. The reality was , in our opinion, far different than what the documentary "Nixon at War" portrayed and therefore, in true "Bridging the Political Gap" fashion we thought we would just let the tape roll so that you could hear President Nixon for yourself. So you could hear the enormous positive reaction he received not just from his staff, which the other show accused of overly complimenting the President and playing to his insecurities, but also from the public, from people like Reverend Billy Graham and Actor Freeman Gosden , good , fine, and nongovernmental people.
Are there moments when Henry Kissinger, for example, may blow the smoke a little thick, sure there is, are there moments when President Nixon may fish for a compliment or two, sure there is, but there are no moments in which the President does not come across as a man sincerely doing everything he can to get our nation out of this war, a war he did not create nor mismanage, and to get us out of that war with honor and in a way that maintained our place as the leader of the free world.
Richard Nixon was determined to stop the high water mark of communism and its aggression right there in Vietnam, and in the end, he did.
Our Host Randal Wallace appeared on the Radio show "Up With America with Tom Heron" in November of 2021 and the segment is here. This interview stresses the importance of history in learning how to deal with today's divisions in our land. We hope you enjoy the interview.
One of the low moments of the Vietnam War is covered in this episode. It was the moment in the plans to Vietnamize the Vietnam War that we conducted an operation with only South Vietnamese troops on the ground and we provided air support. In the end, our side got walloped.
This happened in an operation in which our side went over the border into neighboring Laos to finally stop the Communist forces from moving supplies an ammunition down that portion of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Despite the heavy losses, overall things were going better for our forces and more and more reductions of our own troops involvement in the war was happening.
In this episode, we look at the Laotian campaign, its aftermath, and then we listen in as President Richard Nixon delivers one of his best and most powerful speeches to the nation on the situation we faced in Vietnam.
In this episode, we are finally at the moment that the taping system was installed. It was a fateful decision, and it would eventually lead to the fall of the Nixon Administration. The tapes have been used to attack the President and portray him as an awful person. For the most part, only the worst of the worst of these tapes have been promoted to the public.
President Nixon allowed the taping system to be set up in such a way that it taped his every utterance on a voice activated system for every moment when he walked into a room. Due to that fact, it recorded everything, the good , the bad, and the ugly. It caught Nixon at his very best and at his very worst. For the obvious reason, that it would destroy his image and hurt his historical standing with vast numbers of the public, liberal historians and liberal documentarians have grabbed every negative tape they can find and made sure the public has heard it.
Few, if any, of the general public have heard the good moments, the masterful moments, or the painstaking ways in which President Nixon worked so hard to get us out of a disaster he inherited in Vietnam, to open China, to create detente with the Soviets, to save the environment, and to work to eradicate drugs from our culture and to find a cure for cancer.
WELL THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE
Starting with this episode of our documentary series on President Richard Nixon, you will get to hear some of the thousands of hours of tape of Richard Nixon painstakingly working to change the world for the better. In this episode alone you will hear him working with, cajoling, bargaining, and complimenting congressmen for their help with legislation designed to make our lives, 50 years later, better.
Throughout the next episodes we will listen as he opens China, starts initiatives at home and abroad, all with a strategic goal in mind to put the United States in the strongest position in the world economically, militarily and morally. From there he will set up the architecture and the foundation for a generation of peace, that my generation of Americans was able to live. He set up the structure of a safer world that still constrains the most extreme elements in our world to this day, forces who would plunge our world into darkness and chaos.
Here you will hear Richard Nixon getting the job done, one show, and one historic event, at a time, and he will do it, over and over again.
In this episode we talk about the contents of the historic tapes of the Nixon Administration. We address the negative parts that are so familiar to the public. Nixon's remarks about Women, Gays, Jews, African Americans, his rages, and his intemperate remarks, all caught on a voice activated tape recorder that caught his every word every time he entered a room.
We will also discuss the quality of some of the tapes, or the lack there of, as we learn that many of these tapes are either inaudible and to various other degrees hard to understand. But we also go through those moments when we see a giant at work, a man steadily working for the good of the country, and most importantly, working to get us out of a war he inherited from the two previous administrations, and to free us from that war in a way that we maintain our place in the world and actually enhance it. This is the high point of the march of Communism in the world during the Cold War. It fell to two Presidents, Lyndon Johnson and then Richard Nixon, to stop it and hold our ground.
The taping system is a window on the Administration of Richard Nixon in an unparalleled way. We will watch him masterfully maneuver the most complex set of problems ever faced by a United States President. In this special edition, we listen in, to the worst, and some of the best moments, and we hear from historians, and some of the people on the tapes, as they discuss the legacy of those tapes, and the legacy of a President who arguably saved our Union from disaster both abroad and here at home too.
To the stars through difficulties, the motto of the state of Kansas and a theme for the life of Bob Dole.
In this final episode in our week long tribute to Senator Bob Dole we look back on two historic days in which the Senator laid in state in the rotunda of the Capitol of the United States of America.
Here you will hear the President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, speak about Dole's enormous impact on the nation and of their nearly 50 year friendship. You will hear from his chief lieutenant in the Senate Alan Simpson of Wyoming, from Bob Woodward a reporter that covered him for The Washington Post, from Tom Hanks the star of the movie " Private Ryan" and a man who helped raise millions of dollars with Dole to build the World War 2 Memorial and from Savannah Guthrie an NBC Correspondent who ended up a friend of the Dole family. Finally, we will also hear from his daughter , Robin Dole, about the father and man she knew.
In this episode, our host, Randal Wallace will take you on a Facebook Live tour of the World War 2 Memorial on the morning of Bob Dole's Memorial service. A fitting tribute to the man who saw to it that the Memorial was built in the first place.
Finally, we look back at what all Bob Dole represented to this nation and the lessons we can learn from his era in politics. The lessons so badly needed today from the by gone era Bob Dole was most closely associated with, the era of leadership provided by the World War 2 generation. Dole discusses his hopes for the nation in a final opinion piece he wrote to be released at his death, calling on the leaders of today to finally come together to protect the American ideals he nearly gave all to defend.
In this final episode of our tribute to Bob Dole, we celebrate an entire generation of leadership that built the American Century and set the example for all the world on what can be accomplished by a generation of leadership determined to work together and create a better world , and with the death last week of Bob Dole, we have clearly come to an end of an era in American History.
I hope we as a nation take this opportunity to listen and learn.
In part 5 of our tribute to Bob Dole we look back at the war injury that left him disabled. We hear from him and from his close friend and fellow Senator, Dan Inouye, about his hard scrabble fight back to health. Dole spent 39 months in Army hospitals regaining his health after his act of heroism trying to save his radio man, Corporal Simms.
We then hear Bob Dole talk about his efforts to build the World War 2 Memorial and how proud he was of the Memorial that now stands on the National Mall for generations to come and remember the high cost of freedom. We will get to hear Bod Bole's address from the day the Memorial was opened to the public.
Then we will take one last look back at the extraordinary life that his inspired so many Americans, including me, into working for the greater good of the greatest country on Earth, The United States of America.
Bob Dole lost the 1996 Presidential Election.
On that night he came to the podium and said something I know for him had to be a little scary.
"For the first time in my life when I get up tomorrow I won't have anything to do" - Bob Dole
Boy did that turn out not to be true. In three days he would be invited to come be a guest on the CBS show "Late Show with David Letterman" and before you know it Bob Dole had a brand new career. He was selling Pepsi Cola and Viagra, he was writing books on Presidential Wit and most importantly he was tasked by the man who defeated him for the Presidency with a most important task.
Bob Dole was asked to lead an effort to get a Memorial built for the Greatest Generation. A generation in which he was a part and had become the living symbol of for the entire nation. Bob Dole would lead the effort to build the World War 2 Memorial.
In this episode we are going to take you from the shattering loss of the 1996 election to being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, and on to those fun years when Bob Dole made the nation laugh and from there we start to watch him build the Memorial to an entire generation of heroic Americans.
On June 11, 1996, Senate Majority Leader and the 1996 Republican Nominee for President got to do something few if any politicians ever get to do. He left office on his own terms. Bob Dole resigned so he could focus all his energy and effort on winning the 1996 election.
He was behind in the polls but on Capitol Hill he was given a heroes send off. It was truly a day for the history books. Senators filled the chamber to listen to Bob Dole give his farewell address to the chamber. In it he talked about the relationships and accomplishments of his time in office. He talked about how those relationships had been the foundation for those accomplishments too. That they had tackled the tough things by working together to find workable solutions to the problems the nation faced. It was a speech full of lessons that our current crop of leaders could stand to listen too again.
He then left the chamber and walked out into the world a private citizen but when he opened the door to head out into that world he had to have been stunned at what he saw. Hundreds of Capitol Hill employees, staffers, and other elected officials were outside waiting to send him off. They were cheering, an applauding a man whom they all held in enormous esteem. In all the years I have been an observer of politics I have never seen anything like that day in Washington D.C.
In this episode we let you relive the day with Nightline's Ted Koppel by Dole's side as he lived through it. We also take a listen to Bob Dole's most recent editorial for The USA Today with his message for the country in 2021. Then we listen to the farewell address to the United States Senate that Bob Dole gave that June day. It contains lessons in leadership that are more important today for our current generation of leaders than it was on that day when he gave it.
I hope folks pay attention.
It was the campaign of my lifetime. A chance to work for not one but three of my heroes in one year, Bob and Elizabeth Dole and Strom Thurmond. 1996 was a great year.
Some people have been critical of the campaign Bob Dole ran in 1996, but I doubt anyone could have done any better. The economy was booming and Bill Clinton was the master of campaigning. But Bob Dole gave him a run for his money and did something very impressive, in a year clearly trending toward a popular President, he kept him under 50%, and both houses of Congress stayed in Republican control. The work Bob Dole did in California, in districts of congressmen who were in trouble is what saved our majorities. As I remember CNN analyst William Schneider saying, "He helped save the Republican cause even if his own cause fared badly"
Bob Dole's character shined throughout the campaign and I learned so much just watching from the sideline on how to act and treat people, how even on the Presidential level, you could still be a thoughtful, considerate candidate and stay true to your principles as a human being. Most importantly, I saw the price of freedom, every time he used his left hand to shake hands or held a pen in his right.
Bob Dole said over and over on the campaign trail "I am certainly not Dwight Eisenhower, but I have always been proud of the vote I cast for Eisenhower and you want to be proud of the vote you cast, 10 years, and 20 years and 30 years from now" well I still am proud of the vote I cast for Bob Dole, it is the proudest vote I ever cast.
In this episode we shall hear his announcement, his visit to the Greenville Christmas parade, a profile from ABC News just before the Iowa Caucus, and his resignation from Congress. Plus speeches from the most prominent members of the august body in which he served, the United States Senate. Thad Cochran, Ted Stevens, Strom Thurmond, Tom Daschle and Robert Byrd all take to the floor to talk about this giant of the Senate they considered it a privileged to have served with.
Welcome to Bob Dole Week!!!
Everyday this week we will look back at the life and career of one of the 20th century's greatest Americans.
In this episode we look back at his entire life with his Presidential Concession speech, and two videos of his life from his 1988 Presidential campaign and from the Bi-Partisan Policy Center. Then we will step back in time to the moment he was the last man standing after the 1992 Presidential election cycle when the Democrats swept everything.
Then we will watch Bob Dole lead the Republican Party back to control of both houses of Congress in 1994.
Here is our first episode of a week of looking back at the man I most admire, Former Senator Bob Dole.
Starlight, the Secret Service Codename for First Lady Pat Nixon, was absolutely perfect as a way to describe Mrs. Nixon. She lit up every room that she entered. She was a First Lady who quietly went about accomplishing things in ways often unseen and under appreciated. Yet, despite her reluctance to be in the spotlight the American people still responded to her spirit and to her many contributions to our nation. She was voted one of the most admired women in the World for 22 straight years. That is a record few can match.
In this episode, we put the First lady front and center and share several retrospectives on her life and contributions put together by the Nixon Foundation and an interview with President Richard Nixon himself on how much he appreciated this extraordinary partner. She rose from humble beginnings, orphaned as a teenager, she helped raise her younger siblings and went on to get her undergraduate, and then Master's degree before starting a career as a public school teacher, all in an era when few women were encouraged to do so. It really is a remarkable story, long before she even met Richard Nixon. But together, these two people from very humble beginnings would transform the World.
Then we look at the initiative the President began when he took office, very much under the guidance of Mrs. Nixon, to bring women into government service. It is the initiative that brought several women to the forefront including Sandra Day O'Conner who would later go on to be the first woman on the United States Supreme Court under the Reagan Administration. Listen as Barbara Franklin, the lady Richard Nixon tasked with leading the initiative, discusses the free hand and absolute support President Nixon gave her to do her job. It was yet another example of why Richard Nixon deserves to be considered one of our 5 greatest civil rights Presidents
People don't seem to realize that Richard Nixon was actually one of our five great Civil Rights Presidents. Brown vs the Board of Education was decided in 1954 but it was left up to Richard Nixon to make the decision to desegregate the public school systems a reality. He did it and he did it with no violence. He did it by sitting down with state and community leaders, treating them like he respected them, and having them have a hand in making it happen. It is a truly remarkable story and it was guided to reality by George Shultz, one of only two men to hold four different Cabinet positions under Richard Nixon and later Ronald Reagan.
Again, as the year wore on, Richard Nixon would comeback to try and find a solution to the war that was dividing our country. He would return with a new set of initiatives to try and bring the recalcitrant North Vietnamese back to the table to try and find peace.
Then as 1970 drew to a close, Richard Nixon would have the most unusual of summit meetings. Now the White House is no stranger to Presidents, Prime Ministers, General Secretaries, and various other foreign heads of State, it has even played host to Kings and Queens in its proud over 200 year history. But on December 20, 1970, the White House got some royal treatment like no other in its history. That was the day a very special King rolled up , unannounced, with a handwritten letter , an an antique revolver in hand as a gift for the President. And, as with all things Elvis, they let the King of Rock and Roll in the building.
Lord A Mighty,
feel my temperature rising,
Higher , higher
It's burning through to my soul
Girl, girl , girl , girl
You gonna set me on fire
My brain is flaming
I don't know which way to go....
Apollo 13, one of the most remembered moments in the history of NASA. By April of 1970 going to the moon had become almost "ho hum". The television networks did not even bother to show the inflight special broadcast from the spaceflight. Then when the Astronauts were preparing their ship for the long voyage to the moon, BAM!! An explosion, followed by the calm immortal words of mission Captain Jim Lovell back to the Mission Control Center...
"Houston, We have a problem."
If you have seen the movie you know it was high drama as the spacecraft ended up crippled and good old American ingenuity had to kick in in order to bring the three Astronauts home. This is that story, as recorded live in real time. Over and over again, our three astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jim Swigert and all of their expert associates on the ground at Mission Control have to overcome life threatening obstacle after obstacle until they finally land in the Pacific back home here on Earth.
For over the next hour listen in at NASA's finest hour as the World comes together once again to pray that our men make it home, on a wing, a prayer, and a roll of Duc tape.
On November 14, 2021, on a Sunday, Horry County, South Carolina, lost a towering giant in the history of the region. Lois Eargle was a trailblazer, never politically correct, and never afraid to speak her mind. She was an unabashedly proud public servant for the people of Horry County and most of all a servant of her Lord, Jesus Christ.
She opened doors for young people, an especially women in politics, as the first woman elected to the South Carolina State House from Horry County and then the first woman elected Horry County Auditor. By the time her long, nearly 50 year career was through, she retired this summer in July of 2021, Horry County had not only a female Horry County Auditor replacing her but women held the Treasurer's Office, the Probate Judge's office, a former Chairman of County Council, another legislator from Horry County from Socastee was a woman and the Mayor's of Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Conway were all women plus countless members of city councils all across the county, and a former Mayor of Atlantic Beach were women, and even a former Governor and prospect for President from South Carolina was a women.
In countless ways Lois Eargle led the way, she may not have always done it perfectly, but she surely did it in style and one thing everyone will agree on is that Lois Eargle won't be forgotten when they write the history of the Independent Republic of Horry County for the nearly 50 years she stood tall on her times.
On a personal note, she was an enormous influence on my life and career from the time I met her when I was 13 years old and she was a candidate for the United States Congress. She would go on to be my employer, a mentor, an advisor, an occasional adversary but always a friend and someone whom I could always count on for help if I needed it. I was, as was almost everyone who ever knew Lois Eargle, always, always star struck. As the Carly Simon song says "Nobody Does it Better" and in our little corner of the world that song described no one in the political world better than Lois Eargle.
So here is our tribute to her.
(We would like to thank Greg Everett , Dianne Devaughn and Chuck Stokes for allowing us to use all of their available interviews to put this tribute together as well as WBTW, WPDE and the campaign commercial archives of Congressman Tom Rice. This show would not have been possible with out the use of their material )
After President Nixon announced he would cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and take military action in Cambodia, college campuses across the nation exploded. Riots and demonstrations shut down several colleges and led to a nightmare scenario at Kent State in Ohio.
It was there that four young people would lose their lives when National Guardsman, themselves very young, fired on protesters at a demonstration against the actions in Cambodia and in opposition to the war in Vietnam. The country looked to be coming apart at the seems. At first President Nixon was defiant and in frustration called several of the demonstrators "Bums", which only added to the already enflamed situation.
As all of the tension built the tension began to show on Richard Nixon. He was struggling at how to get control of this war before it ended up being his war. As his advisor Patrick Moynihan said, years later, "If we stayed Lyndon Johnson's war would become Richard Nixon's war and by the time the year was through half the people seemed to think he started it." Richard Nixon began to struggle to find sleep and his advisors began to report erratic behavior.
It was then that Richard Nixon decided to reach out to the young college age demonstrators that had descended on Washington D.C. Late in the middle of the night, or better described early morning hours, of May 09, 1970, Richard Nixon went nearly alone except for his valet, Manolo Sanchez, to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a visit that has been heavily maligned by Nixon haters for years. It was called weird, crazy, and mocked, but in reality it was a genuine attempt to hear from his constituents, to understand their feelings and to convey to them that he really cared for their futures.
It was a truly remarkable moment.
This episode opens at the dawn of the environmental movement in America. It may come as a surprise to you that Richard Nixon is considered second only to Theodore Roosevelt as the greenest of all our Presidents. Several historians consider Nixon's environmental record his second biggest achievement.
Nixon's secret to success was pretty simple.
He found good people and then let them run the ball down the field. As they have often noted he had little interest in the issue, and was not an expert in it, so he found those who were experts in it and then he supported their efforts. He founded the Environmental Protection Agency, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the list goes on and on. Richard Nixon really set a high bar for commonsense approaches to environmental issues. Something we could all learn from today.
Richard Nixon also had an enormously rare opportunity to appoint four Supreme Court Justices including picking the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Here you will hear him discuss this enormous opportunity to shape the laws of our land he was given and the two other appointments he made that ended in failure too. It was a fascinating look at a rare opportunity for any President.
Finally, Richard Nixon makes some very difficult decisions about how to deal with North Vietnamese supply chains running through neighboring neutral Cambodia. Nixon finally decides to go after the Ho Chi Minh Trail and cut those supply routes in what was arguably the most controversial decision of the Vietnam War. He would cross the border and order military operations in Cambodia. It would be one of the most effective decisions of the war but lead to upheaval here at home.
On November 3, 1969, President Richard Nixon asked to address the nation to talk about Vietnam.
He then laid out his strategy for bringing the War to an end. He also asked for the great silent majority of Americans to support his efforts. They did in record numbers.
To piggyback on our episode on the Silent Majority speech which has a featurette with former Nixon aid Dwight Chapin, I thought I would include the Silent Majority speech alone for those of you who have never heard the speech.
This episode opens as the Apollo 11 Astronauts have returned from their mission to the moon. It was a moment in which the United States had finally found something to rally around as one united country. But that sense of national unity won't last, not because of events in the heavens, but due to a war here on Earth.
In this look at the final 6 months of Richard Nixon's first year, we will listen to him answer questions about his thoughts on the war he inherited and why he thought it important that we hold the line in South East Asia. Then we switch gears and discuss his hopes to restructure our Federal Government and make it more efficient for solving our domestic problems here at home.
You will listen in as Richard Nixon addresses the nation on reforming Welfare and moving away from a policy that destroyed families and ran fathers out of the home. He will discuss spinning off power from the Federal Government and returning it to the State Government and to the people. He would foresee many of our national issues of today, a full half century ahead of his time.
Finally, he will rally the country on how to address the war in Vietnam and ask for the help of the great Silent Majority of Americans that he knew supported stopping the high water mark of communism before it would have a chance to take root in South East Asia and possibly spread throughout the world.
His address that November night would be one of his most effective.
Finally, we will listen in on the first Christmas for the Nixon family in the White House and take a full view of the many traditions that our new first Lady Pat Nixon began in that first Christmas in the White House.
While researching the material for our podcast documentary we are currently presenting now on President Richard Nixon, I had one of those random thoughts cross my mind. Had we had any other Quakers serve as President?
That led me into looking at a story that is featured on this show by CBS Sunday Morning titled "The Real Herbert Hoover", and I was fascinated by all I did not know about President Herbert Hoover's life.
The more I looked at the life of this often maligned President, the more I grew to admire Herbert Hoover. Hoover was an orphan, turn mining engineer, turn multi millionaire, turn humanitarian, turn government volunteer and 31st President of the United States. I had a book given to me by my brother and sister-in-law a few years ago titled "Herbert Hoover's Hideaway" by Darwin Lambert and I enjoyed reading much of his history and his enjoyment of the out doors. I also thought about the example President Harry Truman set by reaching out to Former President Hoover and inviting him back to help him stave off a famine that was overtaking the entire World, outside of the United States.
Hoover's work after World War 2 would mark the second time he had come to the rescue of a starving world and in doing so he is probably responsible for saving more lives than any other person in the history of the Earth.
It is a story worth learning.
So in this special edition of "Bridging the Political Gap" we put our focus on the other Quaker President of the United States, and like Richard Nixon, he is often only remembered for a disaster that was largely out of his control.
Herbert Hoover may not be considered one of our great Presidents, however it is hard to hear his story and not appreciate, that he was one of the greatest Americans of any era.
On January 20, 1969, Richard Millhouse Nixon was Inaugurated the 37th President of the United States. He faced a country and a World in upheaval. It was as historian Jim Prado points out "A more complicated set of circumstances than had faced any of his predecessors, at least in the modern era." That is in my opinion an understatement. Our country was divided and under siege here at home, at war abroad, and involved in a dangerous dance with the other super power, the Soviet Union, all over the Globe.
Richard Nixon would also face inequality at home, an environment in peril, an economy sputtering, a government that had tried to do to much in to many different directions, and an electorate that was tired of it all. Richard Nixon had to look out at the crowd that January day and wonder if he could actually get our nation out of the hole he inherited, could he save this Union?
In this look at his first six months in office you will see him planting the seeds for many of the accomplishments to come. In Civil Rights, the Environment, the Federal Court System, and overseas in Europe, in China, in dealing with the Soviets and most importantly in dealing with the 550,000 American troops then stationed in Vietnam. Here the journey to a generation of peace begins.
Finally, in July of 1969, an event happens that will, for just a moment, bring the country, and the World, together and it features a moment when Richard Nixon is actually able to pick up a phone and reach for the Moon.
This episode starts as Richard Nixon, at age 39, is taking the oath of the Vice President of the United States.
On this episode we take you through his remarkable Vice Presidency, where he has to step in through two major illnesses of the President, a heart attack and then stroke. Then he is attacked by a violent, rock throwing mob as he travels by motorcade through the streets of Caracas , Venezuela, then has to hold his own at a trade show in Moscow when he is cornered for an impromptu debate with Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
Then we move into the most examined Presidential campaign in history as Vice President Richard Nixon faces off against an old friend from Congress, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. It would be one of the closest races in history and Nixon would lose. Then to get back in the political hunt Richard Nixon goes home to California and attempts to run for Governor in 1962, only to lose a second time. It looked like his career had flamed out as meteorically as it had taken off to start with.
Then a series of events would open more and more doors for a return to the national stage and a run for President in 1968.
The opening episode of Season 4 of Bridging the Political Gap is a particular thing of excitement for me. Richard Nixon is one of my political heroes and most responsible for my interest in public service. I have been a fan since I discovered a scrapbook saved by my Mother from a class she was student teaching in 1960. A full decade before I was born.
I have long felt that no full length , in-depth, look at the life of Richard Nixon has ever been done that did not attempt to paint the life, career, an administration of Richard Nixon in a negative light. That has, thankfully, in recent years begun to change, with great books written by Conrad Black, Jonathan Atken, Evan Thomas, J.A. Farrell, and most recently several books by Historian Luke Nichtor, especially his book "Richard Nixon and Europe: The Reshaping of the Post War Atlantic World"
This Podcast Documentary, that begins with this episode, will I hope contribute to showing the remarkable life of Richard Nixon with the appreciation he deserves. This Podcast series will span two seasons worth of shows. This first season will cover his career through the end of the Vietnam War in January of 1973. We will then comeback in Season five to look at Watergate and the other events of his final year and 8 months in office, and then an epilogue of events that shows what happened after he left, to both the country, and to him.
I cannot say thank you enough to several sources of information that have made this podcast documentary possible. They are: the national archives for several oral histories, the television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, & CNN) for historic coverage and , most especially, the Richard Nixon Foundation and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace, that have created many of the short features I used, and events where people talked about their time with, or their studies of, President and Mrs. Nixon.
I would also like to say a special thank you to Historian Luke Nichtor for his work with chronicling and making assessable the Nixon tapes through the site NixonTapes.org. We use them extensively, especially as we drew closer to the end of the Vietnam War. This I hope will be an opportunity to hear President Nixon guide us through the end game, out of Vietnam. Most people have never heard these tapes and I hope you will tune in to those episodes most especially.
This show begins at the end, on the night that former President Richard Nixon passed away. We will look as the the world stopped to take a pause and reflect on his amazing life. Much to the chattering class and media elites amazement, Richard Nixon's passing led to an outpouring of grief from the heartland of America, the common people, the folks Richard Nixon had always represented and in whose interests he served. We then will take you through a two part tour of his amazing career from running for Congress, to the Senate, the Vice Presidency , his 1960 and 1962 losses, and then back to the 1968 election he won in our last documentary. ( see the shows we just completed in Season 3 on Lyndon Johnson and 1968)
Then we will move on to Richard Nixon's Presidency and what many have called "The Age of Nixon"
Eerie similarities mark our world today with the one Richard Nixon faced a half century ago.
As we begin our Landmark Podcast Documentary Series on Richard Nixon we look at the world Richard Nixon faced as he stepped into office and how he had changed that world by the time he began his second term.
By January 29th, 1973, Richard Nixon stood with Abraham Lincoln as one of the two men who had saved the Union, and then......
Join us starting on October 21, 2021, for RICHARD NIXON, The Man who Saved the Union,
It will change everything you ever thought about Richard Nixon.
In our 50th, and final episode of our third season, we watch the winding down of the Lyndon Johnson Administration. It is truly an end to an era, as few men have ever dominated the public stage as Lyndon Johnson did our country for over two decades, even before he wound up in the White House.
Joe Califano, an aid to President Johnson, is correct when he says the United States today is more a reflection of the hopes and dreams of President Lyndon Johnson than of any other President. If not for the catastrophe of Vietnam he would arguably be considered one of our great Presidents, if for nothing else but his work to guarantee equal rights for all Americans.
In this episode we watch him wind down his career and re-evaluate his impact on our country. We will listen as he addresses the nation and both houses of Congress in a rare, end of an administration "State of the Union " Address given just a week before he left office. Then we listen as the reigns of power are transferred from him to Richard Nixon.
Then after an assessment from historian Michael Beschloss and some final thoughts from our host , Randal Wallace, we give the final word to the person closest to President Lyndon Johnson throughout his many years of public service, his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.
Mrs. Johnson sat down in 1995 for an interview with ABC News Correspondent Barbara Walters for the program 20/20, where she discusses everything from wildflowers, to changes in the social programs that were then under fire, to the place in history she felt her husband would occupy. It is one of my favorite interviews with any historic figure, and it will endear Lady Bird Johnson to an audience like few public figures in our history.
This episode opens in the final two days of the 1968 campaign as the election polls have tightened to an even race. Vice President Hubert Humphrey has made up enormous ground and with the announced bombing halt of North Vietnam it looks like all the momentum is with him. Here you see both Humphrey and former Vice President Richard Nixon out on the stump working overtime trying to get the race won. In a last day rally in Texas at the Houston Astrodome President Lyndon Johnson comes out to sway Texas voters on behalf of the Democratic standard bearer.
The race is to close to call but finally by the closest of margins, even closer than the 1960 election, Richard Nixon holds on to win the Presidency. Hear both candidates speak to their supporters and hear President Lyndon Johnson console the Humphrey's just moments after Vice President Humphrey concedes the race.
Then we listen in as President Johnson puts to use all his skills to persuade Senator Everett Dirksen and President - Elect Richard Nixon to work on making the Paris Peace talks happen. It is in these calls, and in another to Florida Senator George Smathers, that we hear what Johnson really thinks about who has been meddling in the attempts to bring the South Vietnamese to the table. It is the Un-smoking gun that sinks the Chennault Affair as being an act of treason committed by Richard Nixon, if you really care about truth that is.
You will also hear a promise from Richard Nixon to Lyndon Johnson the we will see Richard Nixon live up to throughout the next four years, at his own political detriment.
It is a fascinating end to a fascinating year of massive UPHEAVAL in our country, the United States of America.
Why has our podcast "Bridging the Political Gap" dedicated two seasons, this one and the next one, to the Presidencies of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon? It is a good and valid question. After all, they presided over the most divisive time in our history other than the American Civil War.
The answer is simple, they may have been flawed men, but they were great men, striving always to leave the United States better than when they arrived. They may have made grave misjudgments in certain areas but they also left an enormous legacy, and changed the country, and the World, for the better. They did all of this because they had one single ingredient that separates them, in my opinion, from the leaders we have had at the helm of our government for nearly two and a half decades.
That ingredient so desperately missing today can be summed up in one simple word.
Competence.
We simply keep electing totally incompetent people to public office and it shows. Here we take a look at what competent leadership looks like even in the most difficult of circumstances, often even when those circumstances are beyond the leaders control.
This is the second episode examining the phone calls so often cited as proof of the Chennault Affair and Lyndon Johnson's acknowledgement of Richard Nixon's "treason".
When you listen to them all it will often leave you wondering if there is any there, there. Or is it the hope of a man, prone to paranoia, looking for an excuse as to why something he hoped so totally would come to pass, peace in Vietnam under his watch, would come true.
Here you will hear them all, from start to finish, not snippets meant to prove a narrative, but the entire phone call, and it will give you a fuller sense of what Lyndon Johnson actually knew, and or believed he knew.
These are the calls made after the Bombing Halt announcement on October 31, 1968 but before the November 5, 1968 Presidential General Election.
This is not as complicated as it looks, but we start with these two episodes to have a subset of a subset of our series on 1968. These are a collection of phone calls, in their entirety of President Lyndon Johnson talking to the three Presidential candidates, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace, Republican Leader Everett Dirksen, Democratic Senator Richard Russell, and cabinet members Dean Rusk and Clark Clifford.
In it you will hear Lyndon Johnson talking to people with different goals in mind. He is sending messages to others through some people and developing strategy for how to deal with situations with others and seeking reassurance in still others. It is a real glimpse at how LBJ operated and how he often thought out loud as he worked his way through problems. Unlike the news reports or historical documentaries, we are playing these calls in their entirety, not just snippets trying to prove our point. You will get to hear LBJ talk about Treason, and people's kids , the mundane, to the outrageous, and you will get to hear for yourself the messages, and the thoughts, of our 36th President, as he struggles with trying to force his will on a war, an election, an ally, and an entrenched enemy, all at the same time. You will get to hear for yourself the use of the Johnson treatment with all its bombast, bullying, flattery, deceptiveness, and delusions, plus his real desire and hope to play a role in peace, and ending this war. A war that brought his career to an end. These calls were the ones made before the announced bombing halt on October 31, Halloween 1968.
During the investigation of Former President Donald Trump over whether he had been colluding with the Russian Government in attempts to sway the 2016 Presidential election, television host Rachel Maddow and her host network MSNBC decided they would be cute and put on a television special designed to use the example of Richard Nixon committing treason to somehow allude to President Trump as guilty of the same.
It was a true gift to the memory of President Richard Nixon. It had so many clear and glaring errors, assumptions of facts, and in the case of Joe Califano out right misrepresentations (I could use a stronger word but won't) , that we decided that it made the obvious contrast with our research of the facts. So enjoy as we take the network special through a thorough examination of what I will term as historical fiction vs Historical fact.
Then we will also look at one aspect of the Chennault Affair that seems to be often over looked. That much of the basis for this accusation comes from former President Lyndon Johnson's tape recordings. Much of what we know we learned because Johnson had illegally taped Anna Chennault, the South Vietnamese Ambassador and the President of South Vietnam's phone lines in Saigon. That based on that material Lyndon Johnson commented on what he believed was a vast conspiracy to undermine him, his administration's efforts for long hoped for peace in Vietnam, and to secure the Presidency for his successor and his party. However, there is one big problem with believing any of it. Lyndon Johnson had a long history of delusions, paranoid fantasies, and chronic manic depressive behavior, so much so that his own staff commented on it for years after the administration ended, and we will get to hear some of them talk openly about it, and their concerns about the mental stability of an otherwise great man.
As part of our series on the 1968 election , we are going to take 4 episodes and create a sub series to examine thoroughly the accusation of treason that has been promulgated for years against then Vice President Richard Nixon. It is a subject that has divided the public and historians for decades. Richard Nixon always denied it. Anna Chennault never talked about it until every one else was dead and gone.
The Nixon haters, which made up a huge number of the liberal press and left wing elite, naturally embraced the story. But more serious academic historians have always asked a very serious question that has always called into question the validity of the story. Why would a nation like South Vietnam, who had access to televisions and newspapers, need anyone to tell them that Richard Nixon, a career anti communist, would be a better deal than Hubert Humphrey, a man who had already announced he intended to pull out of the war and leave South Vietnam to fight the Communist aggressors alone. It sort of defies common sense. But when it comes to Richard Nixon most people are willing to believe anything anyone says about him.
Here we will listen to both popular historians, and serious historians, as they discuss the issue and the facts and we will also hear from some of the players themselves who were actually there, campaigning at the side of Richard Nixon throughout 1968. The folks we will hear from include Patrick Buchanan and Henry Kissinger and a quote from Tom Houston, plus historians, Neil Ferguson, Ken Burns, Luke Nichtor, Michael Beschloss, Ken Hughes, John Prados and James A. Farrell from various documentary an interview footage . In the end, it is a much weaker case than a number of these folks will portray it.
The assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy shocks the world and causes the Democratic Party to descend into chaos. This episode opens with messages from Senator Eugene McCarthy and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, the rivals of Robert Kennedy for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Kennedy had just won the California Primary and seemed headed for a victory at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Instead, Robert Kennedy would be buried not far from his brother at Arlington National Cemetery. He was only 42 years old.
The Republican Nomination Process was itself not without some drama, though Former Vice President Richard Nixon seemed to be firmly in the lead. As the Republican Party met for its convention in Miami there would be some last minute attempts to thwart Nixon's ascendency to the nomination from Governor Ronald Reagan, but after some last minute meetings, Senator Strom Thurmond would help Nixon hold the south and he would win the nomination of his party for a second time for President.
The Democratic National Convention could be summed up in a single word in 1968, DISASTER. Vice President Hubert Humphrey would win the nomination, but it appeared almost worthless after the Democrats tore themselves apart on live television and broke out in riots in the streets of Chicago. One U.S. Senator even accused Chicago's powerful Mayor Richard J. Daley of instituting Gestapo tactics in the streets. Humphrey did not even take the stage until late the night he was nominated. It just could not have been worse if you had tried.
A few days later Richard Nixon would have a rally in the same town to a heroes welcome. It would kick off the 1968 campaign and Nixon started out with an almost insurmountable lead. However, Hubert Humphrey would break with President Lyndon Johnson on his policy in Vietnam and he would campaign as hard as any nominee in American History. Slowly but surely, Hubert Humphrey, who from all accounts was an enormously nice and friendly man, would start closing the gap between himself and his Republican rival. By the eve of the 1968 Presidential Election the race would be to close to call, and in that final stretch a final trump card would be played by the sitting President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. He would claim that peace was insight and call a halt to all bombing in Vietnam.
This would lead to one of the most controversial accusations in all of American History about whether a candidate for President was actually involved in an act of treason to undermine peace talks in Paris. While there is proof that one woman was trying to influence South Vietnam, we will examine whether any evidence actually exists at all on whether Richard Nixon was complicit in her efforts or, if in fact, it is really Richard Nixon who has been the victim of one of histories great injustices.
As we cover so much of the tumultuous year of 1968, we thought we would add one of its brightest moments too.
As the country struggled with Civil Rights, assassinations, civil unrest, and a war in Vietnam we also moved closer to a dream that stretched back to the beginning of life itself. As long as man has been capable of looking into the heavens we have dreamed of walking on the moon. By December of 1968, we were in reach of that dream becoming a reality at last.
During the week of Christmas the first manned mission to the Moon occurred when the Apollo 8 Saturn rocket took off to the moon. In it were Astronauts Frank Bormann, William Anders and Jim Lovell, their mission was to go to the moon, take some pictures for potential landing locations for later flights, and return home safely, alive and well. They did that and much, much more.
In the ultimate of ironies, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a space race to get to the moon, they had spent billions of dollars, and developed all types of technology to discover what was there on the moon but when this mission was done the discovery would actually be the Earth instead. For it was on this flight with just a little bit of color film in an old 1960's technology camera that we finally got to see what the Earth looked like from Outer Space.
Earth-rise is now the most widely distributed photograph in the history of the World and it was taken on this mission, during the most divisive, tumultuous year in modern history, yet for that brief week, these three men on a mission to the moon brought the country and the world together.
And from the Lunar orbit of the Moon, on Christmas Eve 1968, they read a special message to the widest audience in communications history, from a book written nearly 2700 years before....
This episode opens with the country ablaze after riots break out in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The country struggles with how to cope with the loss of the leader who had preached nonviolent resistance, and who had died such a violent death.
The one city that did not have a riot the night of the assassination was Indianapolis, Indiana. It was there that Senator Robert Kennedy had planned to address a crowd about his campaign for President. Instead he told them of the death of Dr. King and then expressed his own emotion from the death of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. Both men had died at the hands of white assassins'.
These events elevated Senator Kennedy's cause to a higher one and gave him momentum going into the primaries where he would face Senator Eugene McCarthy, and also now an establishment candidate, the Vice President of the United States, Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey was gathering delegates from favorite son candidates and endorsements from the party bosses, because he entered the race to late to be on the primary ballots.
Listen in as Robert Kennedy campaigns in Oregon and California and as he and McCarthy have a debate. Plus the Republicans have a race too. Kennedy would lose Oregon and Nixon would win it on his side, and that would make California make or break for the candidates.
It would be a tough campaign but Kennedy would win California. He would come out and excitedly address the crowd, firing them up for the showdown in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic Convention. Kennedy seemed poised to win.
Then, yet another tragedy would strike.
Not since the Civil War had America been this divided. The decisions to both go to war in Vietnam and to pass several Civil Rights Bills that changed how America interacted socially led to an explosive Presidential Election year. Never had their been a campaign with more extreme lows as this one had.
First came a major offensive by the enemy in Vietnam during the Vietnamese New Year known as Tet. The offensive was actually a military failure but you would never convince anyone of that in the United States. It led to an upstart Senator from the State of Minnesota named Eugene McCarthy to challenge his own party's President in the New Hampshire Primary. He nearly won capturing over 40% of the vote.
That brought in the younger brother of the slain former President, the former Attorney General turned New York Senator, Robert F. Kennedy into the race for President. Over on the Republican's side, several Governors, George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller and even the new California Governor Ronald Reagan saddled up to run against Lyndon Johnson, but on that side of the aisle there was one clear front runner, Vice President Richard Nixon.
Just six years before, in 1962, Nixon had lost a bid for the California Governorship and appeared totally washed up in politics. He had appeared to be a loser. But after the Republican's nominated an extremist candidate for President in 1964, Senator Barry Goldwater, many Republicans had abandoned the party and voted for President Lyndon Johnson in an unprecedented landslide election. Richard Nixon had not. He stayed loyal and worked harder for Goldwater than Goldwater did. He then went out and campaigned all over the country for Republicans in the 1966 mid terms.
Now Nixon was back, rested and ready, with a platform he had developed over many years in the wilderness and he, like all the democrats in the race, set dead aim on Lyndon Johnson, but LBJ had a surprise for them and when he bowed out it turned the entire election upside down.
Sadly, just a few days later the Civil Rights Leader who had led a movement of nonviolence and helped change the country for the better, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. It set the country on fire, and was just the first of many tragedies that 1968 would see happen. Relive this period of tumult in this first episode examining the critical year of Upheaval that was 1968.
This episode unfolds in two parts.
In the mid 1990's, Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara wrote a book in which he describes what he called the mistakes his generation of leadership had made in Vietnam and his thoughts on how future generations could avoid them. He admits they were wrong. McNamara has often been criticized by historians, even in our series we used one interview with Michael Beschloss where he described McNamara's representations critically from this very book. So I thought we should here from the man himself. This was his appearance, in 1996, with Ted Koppel on the ABC News show " Nightline"
Then we pick up where we left off with an escalating war in South East Asia and the protests it set off here at home. Here you can hear some of the hearings started by Senator William Fulbright, and the aggressive voicing of concerns from Oregon Senator Wayne Morse, and we can listen in as President Lyndon Johnson tries to control it all, to no avail, as the war grows to a half a million men in a full scale land war in Asia, and lays the ground work for a political explosion in 1968, a Presidential election year.
At the end of 1968 the United States was a country at war abroad and in chaos at home. The American people were asking the same question that movie star Lauren Bacall expressed to the country on "The Dick Cavett Show", "What has become of our country, is our country worth saving? "
In January 1969, a new President, but a leader many had written off as a failure years before returned to the national stage to prove to the nation that it was not only a country worth saving but it was still the Greatest Country on Earth.
But it is a story that came with a high price and for the past 47 years a horribly unfair and one sided story has been promoted across the land.
But now,
Finally, the remarkable Presidency of Richard Nixon will be told, here on Season 4 of "Bridging the Political Gap" starting in October 2021.
In this episode we see events start moving fast. You see a divide start to show between members of the Johnson Administration as to what to do about the problems of Vietnam. The enemy starts bombing American targets including the Brinks Hotel during the Christmas season, maximizing the number of deaths in the hotel.
Still Lyndon Johnson refuses to retaliate. He still has to be convinced that a war in Vietnam would be worth it. He listens as his advisor George Ball urges him to walk away and let the Government fall. South Vietnam had become a basket case in the year and a few months since the assassination of its long time President Ngo Dinh Diem. Johnson assistant, Jack Valenti, called it a "turnstile of leadership" as the country's Presidency was passed around, one time in just 19 days.
Listen to various interviews from several Johnson Advisors, George Ball, Jack Valenti, Dean Rusk, Clark Clifford, William Bundy, Bill Moyers, Daniel Ellsberg, and Robert Thompson all discuss how the momentum built toward the decision to commit land troops in Vietnam.
These interview snippets are from PBS's "LBJ Goes to War", and "LBJ: The American Experience", plus LBJ's actual phone calls as he wrestles with moving forward and committing troops. An act that will Americanize the war and eventually lead to 500,000 American soldiers on the ground in Vietnam, a country half way around the World.
Even though we were already involved, this was the event that really started us down the long road to a full scale land war in Asia.
Strangely, to this day no one knows exactly for sure what happened in the middle of the night on the other side of the world. Most likely, nothing. But the supposed attack on the U.S.S. Maddox and U. S. S. C. Turner Joy led to a retaliatory strike against North Vietnam and then the Johnson Administration seeking a resolution from Congress that would unshackle it and allow it to wage war in Vietnam.
Not only are the events that happened in the night shrouded in mystery so are the events that led to Lyndon Johnson's announcements and his decision to retaliate. The entire thing begged a question that was raised against the next President in another situation more famously, but it still applies to the Gulf of Tonkin and Lyndon Johnson too.
What did the President know and when did he know it?
Did Lyndon Johnson's Defense Secretary, a holdover from the Kennedy Administration, ever tell him that there was evidence that the two ships may actually have never been fired upon at all and the entire thing could have been the results of " an over eager sonar man and freak weather effects"
Here listen to accounts from the military men who were actually there that night as they retold it to the The Learning Channel in its documentary "The Johnson Tapes" and then listen to the actual phone calls to and from Lyndon Johnson and his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and then listen as Johnson's aids describe a man who torturously analyzed the situation trying to figure out any way he could avoid escalating involvement in Vietnam into a full scale Land War in Asia.
On August 1, 2012, My brother Keith Wallace collapsed after he had a brain aneurysm burst in Manning S. C. He died on August 2, 2012.
In Memory of him on this the 9th anniversary, I thought we would rebroadcast the ABC News "Carolina This Week with Tim McGinnis" show from 2013 in which I discussed his situation and the importance of organ donation.
Thousands of people desperately wait on lists for kidneys, hearts, livers, lungs, and other needed life giving organs. Keith lives on because he signed up as an organ donor and after his death he was able to give the gift of life to as many as four people and help countless others through eye and tissue donation.
If you would like to sign up to become an organ donor here in South Carolina you can do that at DonateLifeSC.org or you can sign up at the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. If you live outside South Carolina we are confident that there are organizations that would greatly appreciate you signing up with them in your location.
Please give the gift of life,
Thank you,
Randal
He was known as the Wizard of Ooze, a disheveled, elderly man with a distinctive voice and a great sense of humor and a thoughtful, cautious style. He was the leader of the Republican Minority in the United States Senate. He often had only 36 members in his caucus. But that was often enough votes to break a filibuster and deliver enough votes to pass major legislation that would not happen with the majority party divided.
Senator Everett Dirksen was a powerful figure in the country in the 1950's and 1960's. He was a man that John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson both depended on, especially in the area of civil rights. Everett Dirksen worked with Lyndon Johnson to make sure it happened three times and when the 1965 Civil Rights act was passed, Senator Everett Dirksen, the Republican Leader, got the first pen.
In this special edition of "Bridging the Political Gap" we honor this extraordinary man who often is forgotten in the story telling of the effort to pass civil rights. Here we get to know him, enjoy his Grammy winning version of the Pledge of Allegiance, and his tour through the U.S. Capital with ABC News anchorman Howard K. Smith and even his guest appearance on "What's My Line?",
If President Lyndon B. Johnson has a real claim to greatness it is for his work to pass the Voter's Rights Act of 1965. It was the act that guaranteed every citizen in this country the right to vote. It came after a horrifying Sunday in the Alabama town of Selma. It was there that a contingent of Alabama State Troopers attacked a group of protesters as they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The entire country watched it all on television, including the President.
Lyndon Johnson had just passed a Civil Rights Act in 1964 that had guaranteed access to all Americans to public places. But that Act did nothing about laws and restrictions all over the country that were used to prevent African Americans from voting and registering to vote. Johnson knew that something had to be done and it could wait no longer. It had been a century since President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation and won a war to insure African Americans their freedom in America. During the century that had followed a period of racist, shameful segregation had been allowed to exist unchallenged through out the land.
Lyndon Johnson knew that his chance to gain a permanent place of greatness in our nation's history would be "to finish what Lincoln began." Here listen in as he works with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Senator Everett Douglas, and many others to get the 1965 act passed and to insure the safety of thousands of protesters in Alabama as they marched to secure their rights as Americans. Listen in as he pressures the Alabama Governor, George C. Wallace (no relation) into securing the safety of the marchers. It is truly a historic moment in the history of our country and thanks to President Johnson's taping system and the gift of audio recording we can listen in as it all unfolds.
Few relationships in the history of our country were as important as the one between President Lyndon Johnson and his Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and fewer still, were as bad. The two men could not stand one another and it was like that from the start. In 1960, Bobby Kennedy had tried to get Lyndon Johnson to back out of his acceptance of the Vice Presidential slot on the Democratic Ticket. It was a slight that had never been forgiven.
Through out the Kennedy Administration Robert Kennedy had marginalized LBJ, and kept him out of major policy decisions. Many around the President had often joked to one another, out in the open, "What ever happened to Lyndon Johnson?"
On November 22, 1963, an assassin changed everything, suddenly Lyndon Johnson was the center of the political universe. But he still needed the Kennedy family and that meant keeping Robert Kennedy in place, at least for the immediate future. The two men tried to make it work and together they managed to get one of the main pieces of civil rights legislation in history passed in 1964.
But as the Democratic Convention grew nearer the strains in their relationship grew more extreme. Robert Kennedy had ambition to be Vice President and get himself in line to reclaim the Presidency that had once been his brother's job. Lyndon Johnson, on the other hand, would have preferred, as Presidential aid Dick Goodwin said, Ho Chi Min himself to having to put Robert Kennedy on the 1964 ticket. Here we look at all the maneuvering in both directions that was done by one man to get on the ticket and by another to prevent it from happening, all with a scandal mixed in in between.
This episode opens as Lyndon Johnson declares War on Poverty in America. LBJ had a vision of the America he wanted to create and unlike many of our Presidents this man was the quintessential legislator. Johnson's ability to get legislation passed was an area of his job in which there has been no equal, whether you like what he passed or not. Johnson's Great Society changed America in fundamental ways and redefined what many Americans looked for in their Federal Government.
One of the centerpieces of Johnson's Great Society was in the area of Civil Rights. He was a Southerner from the State of Texas and as such he knew what racial divisions looked like. As a former school teacher he saw the inequities in the lives of his students in Cotulla, the small Texas town he had taught in. He was determined to change the Jim Crow laws of the South.
On the eve of the passage of his landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which would guarantee access to all public accommodations and ending segregation, three civil rights workers would disappear in Mississippi. Listen in as the President deals with this horrifying development.
Listen as he talks to the Senator and Governor of the State of Mississippi, to an FBI Director who was himself no friend of the struggle for civil rights, listen as he calls one of the students mothers and also listen as he closes the deal he needed to get the 1964 Civil Rights Bill passed. It is a fascinating look inside the wheeling and dealing this President would become famous for, and an education on the complexities of the job he had, and the times in which he served.
The start of Season 3, begins on the Tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base on November 22, 1963. A new President addresses reporters and the American people after the assassination of a young and vigorous President. The New President was an old hand in Washington, with a larger than life persona and an ego as large as the State he had represented in the United States Senate, the state of Texas.
This show will introduce you to the man , Lyndon Johnson. He would preside over one of the most divisive eras in our history, and yet, he would pass a monumental amount of legislation that would change our country, and he would escalate a war he inherited into a full scale land war in Asia. This season we will be examining how he did it, and how the events unleashed in this period would overwhelm his Presidency.
But for this first hour we will just take a look at him, the man, Lyndon Johnson, warts and all, with the bark off.
While we were in production for season 3 we lost a very special and important part of our production team, my dog Cooper. He was 11 years old and was a special member of my family. The two of us have weathered some very significant storms together and it warranted a special send off. Cooper's cancer diagnosis came as a surprise and he lived a brief four weeks after the major surgery to remove his spleen and two tumors, which were all together as big as a softball.
If greatness is measured in impact on the lives you touch, then this dog was a great dog. The impact he had on this one small South Carolina family was enormous, as we dealt with the loss of each member one by one. By the time of Cooper's death he had been my brother's dog, his girlfriend's dog, my Dad's dog, and then when he came to live with me he helped take care of my Mother through her long battle with dementia an Alzheimer's Disease, and then kept me company and sane through writing a book, the Covid 19 Virus isolation, and the first 2 1/2 seasons of this broadcast "Bridging the Political Gap". Cooper came to live with me one week after I left public office and I have often joked that he was here to share my adventures in the political wilderness.
It has been a sad month here in Myrtle Beach where we put these shows together and I will miss working on them with Cooper at my feet, panting often noticeably while we were recording the show.
Senator John Warner, the second longest serving Senator from Virginia , was one of the last World War 2 and Korean War Veterans serving in the Congress when he retired in 2009. He passed away on May 25, 2021 at the age of 94. He was a class act and a man who knew how to get things done. He knew how to work with people and how to reach across the aisle and find bi-partisan solutions to issues. He was also not afraid to buck his own party which he did on several occasions. Several of those instances were over issues I disagreed with him on. However, I always respected him and trusted his overall judgement.
Warner served as President Richard Nixon's Secretary of the Navy and eventually as either Chairman or Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. He was a champion of our nations military and they recently named a submarine after him. An honor usually reserved for people after they have passed, Warner had the opportunity to walk around on it.
Senator John Warner was also famous for something totally unrelated to his public service career. He was actress Elizabeth Taylor's 6th husband and they remained lifelong friends until she passed away. Here we will look back at Warner's remarkable life and career, one of the last of a generation that help build the American Century. This show also includes a eulogy from President Joe Biden who served with Warner for three decades in the United States Senate.
Season 3 of "Bridging the Political Gap " takes us through the most controversial period in our history other than the Civil War.
In this season we will cover one of the most controversial an arguably most consequential Presidencies in the entire history of our nation. The Administration of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Here is a preview of what promises to be a long, hot, summer....
November 1963, was a month that changed the trajectory of American History. During the summer of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy Administration grew increasingly frustrated with the South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and his increasingly dictatorial ways in running the government. When Ambassador , and Republican, Henry Cabot Lodge pushed Diem to remove his brother General Ngo from command of the Army, and Diem refused, a coup by the other Generals in South Vietnam was given a tacit go ahead. That led to the assassination of Diem and the overthrow of his government. After a decade of stability the South Vietnamese government fell into a state of constant chaos.
Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who had met with and supported Diem, knew almost nothing about the permission given for the coup. He only discovered it as it happened. Johnson had been a masterful politician as a member of the United States Senate. He was a man who dreamed big dreams for his country in domestic policy, but he had not been an expert in foreign policy. As Vice President he had been relegated to the role of a ceremonial representative for the Kennedy administration. The Kennedy's distrusted and disliked him, going so far at one point to have an ambitious Robert Kennedy send an un-coded message to a foreign government that Johnson in no way spoke for the Kennedy Administration. Johnson even feared he may be dumped from the ticket in the coming 1964 campaign.
On November 22, 1963, just 20 days after the assassination of Diem, everything changed. A horrific moment in American History unfolded in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and Lyndon Johnson was catapulted into the White House, having been intentionally kept in the dark, with little working knowledge of what the long term strategy was in South Vietnam. He decided to keep the Kennedy Cabinet in place and listening to their advice he wrestled with what to do in Vietnam.
Here is the story of this faithful month , November 1963, and how it made an indigenous, civil war in Vietnam, OUR WAR, and led to the loss of 50,000 American soldiers, as we struggled to fight back the high tide of communism in South East Asia.
In this special edition of "Bridging the Political Gap" , our host Randal Wallace sat down earlier in the month (June 2021) with This week with Tim McGinnis, a current South Carolina State House Member and former television anchorman for WPDE TV-15, the local ABC affiliate here in Myrtle Beach. Tim McGinnis is also the owner of "The Famous Toastery" in Carolina Forrest.
Tim McGinnis now hosts a weekly radio broadcast on WTKM 94.5 Radio in Myrtle Beach - Murrells Inlet S.C. , that airs at 10 am on Saturday mornings.
This interview is the first that Host Randal Wallace has done in over a year due to the restrictions of Covid 19. In it he discusses his book "Always Vote Your Conscious" and he mentions our show "Bridging the Political Gap". The two men also discuss the new things happening in Myrtle Beach S.C. , where Mr. Wallace served as a City Councilman for 16 years.
In Part 3 of the celebration of the life of George Shultz, we look back at one of the singular, major events of the Cold War in which George Shultz was a major participant.
For a couple of days in October of 1986, four men met and changed the direction of the world. The two leaders President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and their two chief diplomatic aids Eduard Shevardnadze and George Shultz met to have discussion about Arms Control. It was hastily called and had no real big agenda in place.
It turned out to have a really big agenda.
It saw the two leaders of the two Nuclear Super Powers start negotiating way out in front of where the career diplomats actually were and it was then and there that Gorbachev offered up the biggest most sweeping arms control proposal ever offered up in the history of negotiations. But Ronald Reagan turned it down to protect his Strategic Defense Initiative, basically a missile defense shield from outer space, often derided as a "Star Wars" pipe dream.
Reykjavik was widely criticized and seen as a failure at the time, but it was where the groundwork was laid for the end of the Cold War and all the breakthroughs to come. Eventually the Soviet Union would be dissolved, the Berlin Wall would fall and the last act of Mikhail Gorbachev as the Premier of the Soviet Union, on Christmas Eve 1991, would be to call President Ronald Reagan's successor George H.W. Bush to tell him of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. And it all began at the Höfôi House in Reykjavik , Iceland.
We relive that summit here in Part 3 of the look back at the remarkable life of George Shultz.
In this second part in our celebration of the life of George Shultz, we look at his many wise thoughts on the problems our country and world face today, and how he felt they needed to be addressed. He tells stories from his time in public office as both a cabinet member, an education leader, and his career in the private sector.
There is a lot to learn and a lot we can all be thankful he shared with us through his writings and interviews. This is George Shultz unfiltered, with little commentary, in his own words.
It was a remarkable , long life, extraordinarily well lived.
"He was a gentleman of honor and ideas, dedicated to public service and respectful debate, even into his 100th year on Earth. That’s why multiple presidents, of both political parties, sought his counsel. I regret that, as president, I will not be able to benefit from his wisdom, as have so many of my predecessors." - President Joe Biden
George Shultz died on February 6, 2021 at the age of 100. He lived an extraordinary life, advising many Presidents and political figures and serving in four cabinet positions, something only one other person in history has done. Over the next 3 episodes, we look at this remarkable man who is one of my political heroes.
Here in part one, we look at his service to two of America's greatest chief executives ; Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. As Nixon's Secretary of Labor, Office of Management and Budget and Treasury, He helped guide Nixon's work dealing with labor and civil rights issues. He played a strong hand in developing the Philadelphia Plan and in desegregating the southern Public School System, a challenge Nixon undertook two decades after the Brown vs the Board of Education Supreme Court Decision had actually been made.
It was Richard Nixon not Dwight Eisenhower, nor John F. Kennedy, nor Lyndon B. Johnson who actually made sure it became a reality, and it was George Shultz who made it happen. He tells that story here. This episode also goes through many of the major events of the Reagan years where as Reagan's chief diplomat, George Shultz helped shepherd the end of the Cold War.
We have two more parts to the George Shultz remembrance scheduled they are :
Part 2 "The Wisdom of the man"
&
Part 3 " Reagan at Reykjavik"
"Madison did not design government to be easy, he designed it to be difficult, for unrelenting process and debate" - Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan D- New York
There is no more important tool in the arsenal of the minority party when it comes to maintaining some sway with legislation in the United States Senate than the legislative Filibuster. It is a tool with a very interesting history. That history is often used whenever the majority is trying to figure out a way to take it away from the minority party too. There is no better way to defang your minority party than to fix it where they have no way to stop your agenda at all.
But is that fair?
I would say not.
Here we will discuss the history of the Filibuster and even look at its most famous use, by Senator Strom Thurmond for 24 hours and 18 minutes, to stop civil rights legislation in the 1950's and the filibuster was used again in 1960's until LBJ figured out a way to break it.
Just remember for those advocating taking it away, that whatever you do today you will have live with tomorrow. Taking away the filibuster will effectively change the way our United States Senate works and turn us into a system where the radical agendas of either party can be implemented without compromise and repealed the exact same way. Is that really the type of country you want to live in?
Is that even an effective way to govern?
I don't think so and neither will you, if and when, the shoe is on the other foot, one way or the other.
One of the truly most heartfelt and memorable things I was able to do as an elected official and candidate for Congress was speak at this event honoring those who had lost their lives in Military Service in 2012.
This speech was very special to me because it involves three people I admired tremendously. I was able to talk about my political hero Bob Dole, My Great Uncle J.B. Crowley (two heroic World War 2 veterans) and I shared the stage that day with my friend and the Mayor I served with on the Myrtle Beach City Council for 12 years, John Rhodes.
I hope the speech touches the moment and puts this most important holiday in its proper perspective.
In December of 2019, our Host Randal Wallace published his first book, "Always Vote Your Conscience, don't take it personally and don't fight the same old battles over and over again". Just as he was going out to do book promotions the Covid- 19 Pandemic hit the United States and everything was cancelled.
It was then that he put together and started this podcast "Bridging the Political Gap" on Buzzsprout . As the pandemic is beginning to fade into history we thought we would re-share several of the interviews from Mr. Wallace's book promotions which give a bit of a prelude to the Podcast we are now doing.
Included in this episode is also a small portion of an interview on "Carolina This Week with Tim McGuinness " that was from Mr. Wallace's campaign for the 7th Congressional District, the original basis for the policies in the book and podcast. Followed by his interview with "Carolina This Week with Trey Paul" , a segment from "Talking Politics with John Bonsignor" , and "Rivertalk with Jack Murphy and Deacon Dawson."
There is a price that must often be paid for leadership. If you want to be a leader you must be willing to pay it. I question whether many of our leaders today seem to realize this simple fact. There comes a time when you must put the country first.
For all of their flaws, no one can question whether General Douglas MacArthur or President Harry Truman were willing to pay that price, both in their own way did. One sacrificed his military career and the other his popularity and eventually stepped aside as President of the United States because of the decisions they made to do what they thought was right.
A lesson our leadership needs to learn as they address our issues today.
Here, in the final episode of our 3 part series examining the firing of General Macarthur, we look at the consequences of their decisions. As Harry Truman announces he will not seek the re-nomination of his party for another term as President and , finally, we look at General Douglas MacArthur as he takes the national stage for a final time and delivers one of the most heralded and most remembered speeches in all of American History to a joint Session of Congress on April 19, 1951
The People's Volunteer Army descends on North Korea and pushes the United Nation's forces back to below the 38th Parallel. All of General Macarthur's reassurances vanish and Truman is stuck with tough decisions. Does he take the war to the Chinese or contain it on the Korean Peninsula? His Field General wants to bomb Manchuria and do battle with the Chinese. Truman says No.
What will ensue is a battle of wills over the direction of American War Policy on the ground between a President and one of the most celebrated military minds our country had produced in the 20th century.
When it was all said and done MacArthur would lose that test of wills, but be heralded as a hero here at home. While Truman would win the battle over policy and later, perhaps, the judgement of history. In the short term, it was a public relations disaster.
Either way both men show what real leadership entails, the willingness to make tough, unpopular decisions for the greater good even when the consequences are tough or career ending for you in the short term. A lesson leadership today needs to learn.
From 1950 to 1953 America went to war in what has often been called "The Forgotten War" in Korea. It was one of the first real tests of the Cold War between the United States and the Communist World and it happened due to an oversight. When Secretary of State Dean Acheson forgot to include the Korean Peninsula in his a speech about American Policy in Asia, and who we would and would not protect in the region. It led to an enormous miscalculation from Kin IIl Sung and the powers that be in the Communist World. They tried to take over South Korea.
They waged an aggressive campaign that pushed the United Nations troops back to a small corner of South Korea to the port of Pusan. It was then that General Douglas MacArthur came up with a strategy that is arguably the boldest move ever in the history of Warfare. He "hit' em where they ain't" an ran an amphibious assault on the Port of Inchon 150 miles behind enemy lines and then routed them back to the Yalu River on the Chinese border.
In this first episode we look at all his success before the Chinese entered the war and set the stage for the clash with President Truman about who really is in charge of foreign policy during war time, the General in the field or the President of the United States.
In a year so dramatic no fiction writer would dare write it
Franklin Roosevelt Dies
Benito Mussolini is captured , executed, and hung in a public square, upside down
Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide
Winston Churchill is defeated for re-election
Harry Truman drops an Atomic Bomb
and finally Douglas Macarthur presides over the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay.
1945 was a year for the history books. Re-live those events and listen as Bob Dole , Daniel Inouye and Strom Thurmond give you insights on the soldiers stories of that incredible conflict too and President Harry Truman talks to historians about his perspective as well.
In the exciting conclusion of our 4 part look at World War 2, the event that shaped an entire generation of American Leadership.
Strom Thurmond landed on a glider behind enemy lines at D-Day and then went with the 82nd Airborne Division and then the First Army Division all the way to nearly Berlin. Listen as he talks about that campaign from D-Day through Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge and across the Rhine River as we also mix in Newsreel coverage from the time. It is the closing days of 1944 and the Allies are on the march through out Europe.
Then listen as Franklin Roosevelt addresses the nation about the Allied intentions as it closes in on Germany, then again as he is Inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term and finally as he addresses Congress after his return from the big three Yalta Conference in a speech that he begins with the only acknowledgement in his entire career of his handicap in public.
Finally, we close the episode with a look back at the life and career of the extraordinary man who led America through a Great Depression and a World War.
We start this episode at the low point in the fighting for the Allies, just after Pearl Harbor. Here you see the mighty resolve cement in place as Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill rally their two nations to come back from near disaster.
Then we fast forward 40 years to the anniversary of the Normandy Invasion and hear the inspiring words of another U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, as he spoke at two separate events that day and left an amazing tribute to the men who bore the weight of that faithful day 40 years before.
These speeches are considered among Reagan's best. Join us as we relive those fate filled days again.
World War 2 was the central event of the 20th Century, it shaped the life of all who lived through it and created a generation of leaders who made America into the country it is today. Over the next four episodes we will relive the moments, speeches, and events through newsreels, full speeches, and commentary.
We have focused our show on the lessons we can learn from this generation of leaders, for the next four episodes we will focus on the single event that shaped them into the bipartisan, unified leaders that they became when they came home from the war and made our country a more just one, and changed the world for the better.
This episode centers on one event, the most shocking one for an entire generation, the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 07, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.
The Life , Career, and Leadership of Robert Byrd, the longest serving legislator in all of American history. He could give a speech on Dog fighting and quote Aristotle. He worked together with Bob Dole on enormously important pieces of legislation through out the 1980's and while they were often adversaries on issues they were obviously friends and they set the example we should all follow on how to work together for the good of all.
Robert Byrd was the historian of the Senate, he believed that an institution should always exist where one man could stand and question the executive and Federal policy of the nation until he dropped or asked to speak while sitting down. He believed in America and the Constitution as the document that protected our freedom. An old school democrat, an an old school politician that never forgot where he came from nor who he represented.
And finally a look at Senator Frank Lautenberg, the last World War 2 veteran to serve in the U.S Senate, with his passing ended an era of bipartisan work by the men who built the American Century. Lautenberg was a man of enormous accomplishment, a self made millionaire, who as a Senator raised the legal drinking age to 21 , ended smoking on airplanes, and was a proponent of mass transit and environmental protection.
This is part 3 of our look at six of the greatest Senators of the Greatest Generation.
Dan Inouye and Ted Stevens, they were like brothers.
Dan Inouye won a Medal of Honor fighting for his country in Italy. He would serve 59 years in Congress and he would be the example our leadership should always look to for building consensus and reaching across the aisle in a bipartisan fashion. He had two famous cross party friendships we can examine with Bob Dole and with Ted Stevens.
The friendship with Ted Stevens was legendary and together they built modern day Hawaii and Alaska and the modern military too from their places on the Appropriation's Committee and the military subcommittee they shared chairmanships of together.
But the greatest test of their friendship came when Stevens was wrongfully accused, tried, and convicted for lying on his ethics forms. Throughout it all his friend stayed loyal to him even taking on his own party in a tight reelection fight that Stevens eventually lost. Here we look at these two giants of the Senate and hear their friend, now President, Joe Biden give their eulogies.
Some of the 20th Century's most consequential figures all served in the last quarter of the 20th century with the man who is now the President of the United States, Joe Biden. They may have had very little in common, and disagreed often, but they all figured out ways to get things done by reaching across the aisle and finding that common ground so necessary in making government work successfully. Strom Thurmond, Ernest Hollings, Dan Inouye , Ted Stevens , Robert Byrd and Frank Lautenberg all helped build the American Century.
They also had one other thing in common, Joe Biden did their eulogies at their funerals.
Over the next three episodes we look back on the lives of these giants of the Senate and the marks they left on their States and their country. We also will listen to Joe Biden as he speaks at each of their funerals. Biden was known as the eulogist of the Senate long before he was a Vice President or President of the United States.
In this episode we look at the two giant figures of South Carolina politics in the 20th century, a team that served together for nearly 4 decades and helped transform our State into its modern day form as a tourism an economic powerhouse. Today both men are enshrined in the South Carolina Hall of Fame, Strom Thurmond and Ernest Hollings.
In 1996, I was a student at Lander University and to complete my Mass Communication T.V. production project to graduate I decided to create a Lander College Republican Recruitment video. I was the Chairman of the College Republicans at the time.
I got lucky!! 1996 was a Presidential election year and we had every candidate running come through town and so I managed to get snippet interviews from several of them. I was also able to tape speeches by the candidates. In an entirely different race it was also Strom Thurmond's last campaign for the Senate. He was an amazing 94 years old that year and he was still on his game.
I filmed all the speeches that year at the Third District Convention in Greenwood , South Carolina. Here was then first term Republican Congressman Lindsey Graham introducing Strom Thurmond. Thurmond fired up the crowd in what was a great old school stump speech and nobody did it better than Strom Thurmond. Enjoy this stepping back in time.
Our Podcast second season was supposed to start in March of 2021 but sadly my Mother passed away on March 17, 2021. I could think of no better tribute to her than taking this opportunity to introduce her to the world here on my Podcast.
There is absolutely nothing I ever achieved that she was not the foundation for throughout my lifetime. As she was recovering from her first illness in 2015, I recorded her talking about our family, her life growing up on a farm in rural South Carolina, my orphaned Grandmother, Ruth Crowley Grant who died when I was seven years old, and my World War 2 era hero Uncle J. B. Crowley.
So I hope you will enjoy indulging me in a look at my family, learn a little about growing up in the rural mid 20th century South, an allowing me to preserve my Mother here on "Bridging the Political Gap" because from here on out, as long as we are doing this show, I will always be able to come to this episode and hear my Mother's voice.
"We can lead or we can mislead, as the people's representatives, but either way we will be held accountable" - Senator Robert J. Dole, (R- Kansas)
January 6, 2021
A day when years of conspiracy theories and outrageous accusations finally came home to roost. Re-live the horrifying day from start to finish, when the World's oldest and greatest democracy had its center of government, the very symbol of freedom for the World, the United States Capitol, attacked by a right wing mob, angry over an election that was, in reality, not even particularly close.
Here it is in all of its embarrassing, horrible glory. The day the United States of America was reduced to looking like a banana republic on the eve of revolution, for all the world to see.
It is time for all of us to make a conscious decision to change.
Here in the finale of "Bridging the Political Gap" we look at the culmination of two decades of leadership that has proven it is not up to the challenges of our time.
And then, finally, we return to Senator Bob Dole, from his June 11, 1996 Senate Retirement address, in what has turned out to be a message needed more today than when he originally spoke it as the last symbol of the Greatest Generation.
Thank You for tuning in!! You have made our show a hit!!
Here are a few of our hopes and a few plans for the coming months too. We hope you will continue to tune in and please write us up a review and let us know what you thought of the Podcast Documentary and share it with your friends too!!
If you are on Facebook please check in with our page Silent Majority America and take a look at our book "Always Vote Your Conscious " available on Amazon.
Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind!
For two decades our leadership in America has sown discord and divisiveness. The leadership of the Republican Party have often pushed conspiracy theories out to its true believers, the Democratic Party, in turn, has made outlandish accusations a hallmark of its leadership.
All the while the national media has devolved not into purveyors of fact, but of cheerleading organizations , that pick sides, and give the political parties outlets to preach their outlandish nonsense to the unsuspecting masses.
As Ted Koppel said in his interview with PBS, " The Washington Post of today, and the New York Times of today is not the New York Times of 50 years ago, nor the Washington Post of 50 years ago."
The same could be said for all the television networks and the cable networks. They have all blurred the lines between news content and editorials. What is even worse is they have done it at the exact moment that the rise of social media has made any person with a lap top computer or cellphone an untrained, and often unreliable journalist.
You don't know what you are listening to or whether what you are reading has any validity at all. That has allowed every crazy story to get legs and travel. That, all together, has fed an atmosphere of division, demonization, and no trust in our traditional institutions, not even a shared sense of what is really reality, and that boiled over on January 6, 2021 at the U.S Capitol.
This episode takes you from the retirement of the last World War 2 national figure, Bob Dole, to the circus of the Brett Kavanaugh Hearings and President Donald Trump's war with "Fake News".
And to the doorstep of what it brought us, the meltdown at the U.S. Capitol January , 06, 2021.
*THIS IS NOT THE FINAL EPISODE. DUE TO EVENTS ON JANUARY, 06, 2021 TWO MORE EPISODES WERE ADDED TO THE SERIES AND THEY WILL BE PREVIEWED AT THE END OF THIS SHOW.
In part 2 , of the two part look at World War 2, we look at the life of Senator Bob Dole. Dole was shot in the shoulder as he was trying to save his radio man on an Italian battlefield, Hill 913. He would spend 34 months in Army hospitals including the hospital in Battle Creek , Michigan.
Percy Jones Army Hospital would be the place where three United States Senators would recover from their war wounds; Dan Inouye, Phil Hart and Bob Dole. Here, they try and figure out what they will do with their lives; now that war wounds would prevent two of them from becoming medical doctors, their life long dream.
Here they would find new dreams and together change not only America for the better, but also the world. They would win the Cold War, fight for civil rights for African Americans, and guarantee equal access to millions of their fellow disabled Americans.
Another fellow World War 2 veteran, George H. W. Bush, would go on to be President of the United States. He would wage a brutal tug of war with Bob Dole in the 1988 Republican Primaries to win the Republican nomination. They would eventually leave their hard feelings behind, become friends, and achieve great things together and , upon Bush's death, set an example about civility and friendship I hope we all paid attention too.
Finally, Bob Dole, with Dan Inouye's help, would lead the building of a Memorial to the Greatest Generation. A generation that gave up 400,000 lives to build a better, freer, safer world. So that we could all be free.
World War 2, the main event of the 20th century. It shaped the lives of all who lived through it. 10 United States Presidents and countless numbers of other public servants shaped American policy, both foreign and domestic, for the next half century. It moderated their stands and kept emotions in check. They came back from the war and very sensibly went about creating the most dominant and prosperous nation in the history of the human race.
Let's look back at Why?
What did they see and live through that made all that they achieved possible. What did they see that motivated them to make sure the world was safe from ever having to see it again.
Listen as Senator Strom Thurmond talks about liberating a Nazi Concentration camp at Buchenwald , landing at D-Day, and moving in towards victory in Berlin.
Listen as Senator Ted Stevens talks about Pearl Harbor and the shock of the start of the war
and relive with Senator Daniel Inouye as he scales a mountain to attack a Nazi division at breakfast, or fighting the elite of the Italian troops, losing an arm an earning the Medal of Honor.
Richard Nixon was arguably the most controversial political figure in the last half of the 20th Century. Today, he has been smeared as the measuring stick for corruption and authoritarian behavior. Yet, when you examine his record, he is also arguably one of our 5 or 6 Greatest United States Presidents. Clearly, one of the most consequential figures in any field of endeavor in all of American History.
His record is enormous, from environmental policy, to the enormous strides in Cancer research (His personal proudest achievement) that has changed a diagnosis from a death sentence to a real chance of survival. He opened the door to China, got us out of Vietnam, and signed the first nuclear arms treaties between the then super powers.
He did all of it, and more, while being the first President since Zachary Taylor to have both Houses of Congress be in the opposing parties hands the entire time he served. Despite the Watergate Scandal that forced his resignation, this man, so often reviled by liberals, got a lot of stuff done. How did he do that? How could that be? How is it a politician this controversial could accomplish this much? Yet today we can't seem to get anything accomplished. Let's take a look to those days and this extraordinary man who served as the 37th President. The second man in 100 plus years to truly save the Union.
First, let me say thank you to all who have been tuning in to our Podcast Documentary. It has been a hit and we appreciate you.
Due to the events of January 6, 2021, we added two new episodes to our documentary and since they were not previewed previously we have put these two previews together. We hope you will tune in throughout February as we draw to a close this first season of "Bridging the Political Gap"
Episode 7 will be posted on February 2, 2021, and episodes 8 and 9 the following Monday & Wednesday and Episodes 10 and 11 the Monday and Wednesday afterword, they are both two two part episodes. Here are the dates:
Episode 7 "You Can Learn a Lot from Richard Nixon" will be posted February 02, 2021
Episode 8 "World War 2 : The Unifying Event (Part 1) " will be posted February 08, 2021
Episode 9 "World War 2 : The Unifying Event (Part 2) " will be posted February 10, 2021
Episode 10 "Sow the Wind (Part 1)" will be posted February 15, 2021
Episode 11 "Reap the Whirlwind (part 2 series finale) will be posted February 17, 2021
Again, a big thank you to all who have tuned in.
Episode 6 changes our focus from examining the relationships of several figures of the era to looking at concrete solutions to the divisions gripping our government and our society, These ideas come from interviews from two books written by United States Senators.
"Crisis Point" by two former Senate Majority Leaders from different parties, Tom Daschle and Trent Lott. They discuss the need to return to regular order, and a five day work week for Congress. They stress the power of relationships and the need to create an atmosphere to foster them across party lines. A return to the old school of politics.
"Making Government Work Again" by the late Senator Ernest Hollings, here he discusses the influence of money in the system and ways to change it. Plus his ideas about trade and the influence of the media on our politics and our society.
Plus a look at a shameful event and smear campaign against U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein from within her own party for simply reaching across the aisle and being nice to a collogue on the Judiciary Committee. Why we should resist the temptation to just pick sides and penalize those who do try and make our system work again.
A tribute to Former Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes who passed away on January 17, 2021. He had already agreed to be our first guest for next season's interview segments. He would have been our first guest. The host of this broadcast served 12 years on the Myrtle Beach City Council while Mr. Rhodes was Mayor.
The extraordinary relationship of Senator Dan Inouye of Hawaii, a Democrat, and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska , a Republican. Together they traded places on the Senate Appropriations Committee Leadership and the Senate Appropriation Armed Services subcommittee leadership, and they made sure that no matter who was in charge of Congress and the White House, each others states had a friend to make sure they were never hurt.
They built the modern day states of Hawaii and Alaska, and they funded up the modern military. They showed the world what can be accomplished by two friends, even if they were often on opposite sides of political issues and in opposite political parties.
They often called each other, brother.
Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neil were not friends and had never even met. Yet, fate would land them on opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. One was a staunch Conservative the other a Boston Liberal. It looked like nothing but constant stalemate was on the agenda. But together they made the 1980's roar.
And they became friends after 6 o'clock.
They also turned our economy around, saved Social Security and brought down Communism. A remarkable set of accomplishments for two people so totally opposite. The key was not only mutual respect and trust but the fact that no matter what, they never stopped trying to make it work. A lesson our current leaders could use to make our system work today.
Two old friends from when one was a brand new Congressman and the other a congressional elevator operator. But fate would land one in the White House through assassination, and it would coincide with the culmination of 100 years of struggle for civil rights in America.
Lyndon Johnson would make it his priority to "finish what Lincoln began" but to do it he would have to turn to an old friend, from a different political party, another man like Lincoln, from Illinois, Everett Dirksen , the Republican Leader, to get it done.
Here watch them horse-trade and maneuver past a maze of obstacles to get the 1964 Civil Right's Act and the 1965 Voter's Rights Act passed, two of the most important pieces of legislation in all of American History.
The 46th President of the United States Joseph R. Biden has set an extraordinary example of the power of relationships through out his long career. He was first elected at age 29 to the United States Senate and through his entire career has made reaching across the aisle its hallmark.
Here we look back at three of the unique relationships that he has formed and the example they set for all of our leaders today about reaching across the aisle , making a difference, and having your friends stick with you in crisis.
Profiled here is his friendship with Senator Strom Thurmond, Senator John McCain and finally a look back at a very divisive battle in the late 1980s over the Supreme Court Nomination of Robert Bork, where Biden's philosophy of not making enemies out of political adversaries may actually pay benefits in the coming months with another old friend, The Senate Leader of the Republicans, Mitch McConnell.
The first episode in our Podcast documentary and first season in production features an introduction to our series , which will be profiling various leaders from the last half of the 20th Century , and the lessons in leadership we so desperately need to learn from them.
In this first episode, we profile a surprising figure, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. He began his career as an Education Superintendent in Edgefield, South Carolina, then became a Judge, then landed at D-Day in a glider, helped liberate Nazi Concentration Camps, and came home to be elected a State Senator , Governor and, as a write in candidate, to the United States Senate. He would serve for 48 years until he reached the age of 100. He was a staunch Segregationist, who once talked on the Senate floor for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the 1957 Civil Rights Bill.
But as the world changed, and South Carolina changed, he changed with it. He made a conscious decision to change and this symbol of the Old South became instrumental in opening the door to the New South. It was an enormously important decision to change, whether sincere or calculated, and it sets an example many of us can learn from about not fighting the same old battles over and over again.
The Preview ads for shows 2 through 9. The documentary goes through various examples of lessons we can learn from the Leadership of the war era young men who went on to create the American Century. It re-examines the contributions they made and how our next generation of leaders can use their example for creating the next American Century.
The first Show is an introduction to the documentary series and a look at Senator Strom Thurmond and his example of making a conscious decision to change, not to continue to fight lost battles, and his example of a public servant helping people. It does discuss his role in segregation and the 1948 campaign as well.
- A Podcast Documentary looking at the World War 2 generation of political leadership, that spanned 10 Presidencies, and countless figures in Congress. How they worked together, both Republicans and Democrats, to defeat Communism and make society here at home more equal and just. They made America the most powerful and prosperous country on Earth and created the American Century. What can we, what must we, learn from them? Here are the lessons that have made America great and lessons in leadership we desperately need today.