As you recover from your election festivities or dissapointments I thought I would share a couple of election stories that I have probably shared before.
The first happened in 1996, Bill Clinton was president, Conan was still on NBC and I was a junior in high school and an intern at the News Herald.
Tony Simmons took me with him to talk with candidates as they won or lost their races. The longest stop of the night was at the Larry Bolinger party. He had just been elected superintendent. Bolinger did a live television interview in front of his raucous supporters.
"So how do you feel, now that you've been elected superintendent?" the reporter asked.
"I feel great, you know it's a great feeling" and he went on for a few seconds.
OK so they cut to commercial and then come back to the reporter still standing with Bolinger.
"So, what do you think now that you have been elected superintendent?" she asked. It took Bolinger about a second, a long second, to realize that he had been asked the same question twice on live TV. He shot her a look that I can't really describe but was probably a silent version of, "why did you just ask me the same question twice on live television.
"I think it's great," he said and he went on for a few seconds.
So, they cut to commercial wait for a few minutes and then come back to the reporter. This time she adds a twist. She asks all of Bolinger's relatives how they feel now that he has been elected superintendent.
In case you were wondering, they felt great.
Story number 2.
Ron Danzey and Pat Sabistan are seperated by like 1 vote. Me and my television buddies are at the Supervisor of Election's Office watched the Canvassing Board do their work. I'm sitting in a little audience section and behind me the TV people are turning on the lights and going live at I believe 6 p.m. A few seconds after they get started my phone rings. Loud. Loud enough to ruin a live shot. I am mortified. I get up, run out of the room and past the cameras where I answer the phone.
It was my mom.
"You're on TV," she said.
