SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

Straight Talk Commentary – The very engaging and interesting article appeared this week in “The New York Times”. Essentially it says there is nothing funny about Barack Obama. I could not agree more.

My problem is that the Illinois Senator is inexperienced and an empty suit. We really do not know much about him. He has a shallow record both as Senator in Illinois and from Illinois. After losing to Hillary in New Hampshire he shifted his persona and positions from being everyman in Iowa to the States running up to Super Dooper Tuesday as the Liberal Candidate (reestablishing the Mc Govern coalition of anti war activists, liberal elitists, students, and African Americans.) Since becoming the presumptive Democrat nominee last month BHO now is reincarnating himself yet again.

What are Citizens to really know about the true ability and the political package we may be buying on November 4th? I expect yet another reinvention as he makes his European and Middle East Tour. Europe may receive him like a Hero or a Rock Star.

Despite his lack of any governing political philosophy his talent as a speaker and the political personalization as “the agent of change” do capture the Public’s imagination if not their funny bone.

The popular culture fascinated me and while I found nothing too humorous in “The New Yorker” magazine cover I can not understand that wile Barack Obama is truly not funny, he is also untouchable.

Want Obama in a Punch Line? First, Find a Joke

By Bill Carter

The New York Times

July 15, 2008

What’s so funny about Barack Obama? Apparently not very much, at least not yet.

On Monday, The New Yorker magazine tried dipping its toe into broad satire involving Senator Obama with a cover image depicting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and his wife, Michelle , as fist-bumping, flag-burning, bin Laden-loving terrorists in the Oval Office. The response from both Democrats and Republicans was explosive.

Comedy has been no easier for the phalanx of late-night television hosts who depend on skewering political leaders for a healthy quotient of their nightly monologues. Jay Leno , David Letterman , Conan O’Brien and others have delivered a nightly stream of jokes about the Republican running for president — each one a variant on the same theme: John McCain is old.

But there has been little humor about Mr. Obama: about his age, his speaking ability, his intelligence, his family, his physique. And within a late-night landscape dominated by white hosts, white writers, and overwhelmingly white audiences, there has been almost none about his race.

“We’re doing jokes about people in his orbit, not really about him,” said Mike Sweeney, the head writer for Mr. O’Brien on “Late Night.” The jokes will come, representatives of the late-night shows said, when Mr. Obama does or says something that defines him — in comedy terms.

“We’re carrion birds,” said Jon Stewart , host of “The Daily Show” on the Comedy Central channel. “We’re sitting up there saying ‘Does he seem weak? Is he dehydrated yet? Let’s attack.’ ”

But so far, no true punch lines have landed.

Why? The reason cited by most of those involved in the shows is that a fundamental factor is so far missing in Mr. Obama: There is no comedic “take” on him, nothing easy to turn to for an easy laugh, like allegations of Bill Clinton ’s womanizing, or President Bush’s goofy bumbling or Al Gore ’s robotic persona.

“The thing is, he’s not buffoonish in any way,” said Mike Barry, who started writing political jokes for Johnny Carson ’s monologues in the waning days of the Johnson administration and has lambasted every presidential candidate since, most recently for Mr. Letterman. “He’s not a comical figure,” Mr. Barry said.

Jokes have been made about what Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton really thought about Mr. Obama during the primaries, and about the vulgar comments the Rev. Jesse Jackson made about him last week. But anything approaching a joke about Mr. Obama himself has fallen flat.

When Mr. Stewart on “The Daily Show” recently tried to joke about Mr. Obama changing his position on campaign financing, for instance, he met with such obvious resistance from the audience, he said, “You know, you’re allowed to laugh at him.” Mr. Stewart said in a telephone interview on Monday, “People have a tendency to react as far as their ideology allows them.”

Despite audience resistance, Mr. Stewart contended, his show had been able to develop a distinctive angle on Mr. Obama.

Noting that the senator seems to emphasize the historic nature of his quest, Mr. Stewart said, “So far, our take is that he’s positioning himself to be on a coin.”

There is no doubt, several representatives of the late-night shows said, that so far their audiences (and at least some of the shows’ writers) seem to be favorably disposed toward Mr. Obama, to a degree that perhaps leaves them more resistant to jokes about him than those about most previous candidates.

“A lot of people are excited about his candidacy,” Mr. Sweeney said. “It’s almost like: ‘Hey, don’t go after this guy. He’s a fresh face; cut him some slack.’ ”

Justin Stangel, who is a head writer for “Late Show With David Letterman,” disputed that, saying, “We always have to make jokes about everybody. We’re not trying to lay off the new guy.”

But Mr. Barry said, “I think some of us were maybe too quick to caricature Al Gore and John Kerry and there’s maybe some reluctance to do the same thing to him.”

Of course, the question of race is also mentioned as one reason Mr. Obama has proved to be so elusive a target for satire.

“Anything that has even a whiff of being racist, no one is going to laugh,” said Rob Burnett, an executive producer for Mr. Letterman. “The audience is not going to allow anyone to do that.”

The New Yorker faced a different kind of hostility with its cover this week, which the Obama campaign criticized harshly. A campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said in a statement that “most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive — and we agree.”

Asked about the cover at a news conference Monday, Mr. McCain said he thought it was “totally inappropriate, and frankly I understand if Senator Obama and his supporters would find it offensive.”

The cover was drawn by Barry Blitt, who also contributes illustrations to The New York Times’s Op-Ed page. David Remnick , the editor of The New Yorker, said in an e-mail message, “The cover takes a lot of distortions, lies, and misconceptions about the Obamas and puts a mirror up to them to show them for what they are.

“It’s a lot like the spirit of what Stephen Colbert does — by exaggerating and mocking something, he shows its absurdity, and that is what satire is all about,” Mr. Remnick continued.

Mr. Colbert said in a telephone interview that a running joke on his show has been that Mr. Obama is a “secret Muslim”; the New Yorker cover, he said, was consistent with that. “It’s a completely valid satirical point to make — and it’s perfectly valid for Obama not to like it,” he said.

Mr. Colbert said he had been freer to poke fun at Mr. Obama than other late-night hosts because “my character on the show doesn’t like him. I’m expected to be hostile to him.”

Mr. Stewart, who is also an executive producer of “The Colbert Report,” said the Obama campaign’s reaction to the New Yorker cover seemed part of what is now almost a pro forma cycle in political campaigns. “Nothing can occur without the candidate responding,” he said.

Bill Maher , who is host of a politically oriented late-night show on HBO , said, “If you can’t do irony on the cover of The New Yorker, where can you do it?”

One issue that clearly has some impact on writing jokes about Mr. Obama is a consistency among the big late-night shows. Not only are all the hosts white, the vast majority of their audiences are white. “I think white audiences get a little self-conscious if race comes up,” Mr. Sweeney of Mr. O’Brien’s show said.

Things might be somewhat different if even one late-night host was black. Black comics are not having any trouble joking about Mr. Obama, said David Alan Grier , a comedian who, starting in October, will have a satirical news magazine show on Comedy Central, “Chocolate News.”

“I tell jokes on stage about him,” Mr. Grier said, reciting a few that would not ever get onto a network late-night show (nor into this newspaper).

But he said of the late-night hosts, “Those guys really can’t go there. It’s just like the gay comic can do gay material. It comes with the territory.” Still, he said, he has no sympathy for the hosts. “No way. They’ve had 200 years of presidential jokes. It’s our time.”

Jimmy Kimmel, the host of the ABC late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” said of Mr. Obama, “There’s a weird reverse racism going on. You can’t joke about him because he’s half-white. It’s silly. I think it’s more a problem because he’s so polished, he doesn’t seem to have any flaws.”

Mr. Maher said that being sensitive to Mr. Obama was in no way interfering with his commentary, though on HBO he has more freedom about content than other comedians. “There’s been this question about whether he’s black enough,” Mr. Maher said. “I have this joke: What does he have to do? Dunk? He bowled a 37 — to me, that’s black enough.”

Mr. Kimmel said, “His ears should be the focus of the jokes.”

Mostly the late-night shows seem to be in a similar position.

Mr. Burnett of the Letterman show said, “We can’t manufacture a perception. If the perception isn’t true, no one will laugh at it.”

Mr. Sweeney said, “We’re hoping he picks an idiot as vice president.”

“Forbes Magazine” reported earlier this month that Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods are number 1 and 2 on their list of the 100 most powerful and high paid celebrities.

Beyond fame and fortune both Oprah and Tiger are among the most widely admired Americans.

Sidebar – like Rudy, Hillary, and now Barack, Oprah and Tiger are on a first name basis with the World. In the World of Public Opinion that’s powerful, although it did not seem to help Hillary and Rudy.

Oprah and Tiger were certainly inspirational this past weekend.

Tiger’s historic 91 hole overtime win of the U S Open is already widely known. His 2008 Open Championship win is memorable and one for the history books. Despite his knee and playing in pain, Tiger showed his skill and more importantly the focus and will to win of a true Champion. Thomas Boswell's beautifully written article in today’s “Washington Post” details Tiger’s conquest of Torrey Pines. Truly Inspirational!

While Tiger was busy on the links on Sunday, Oprah was giving the Commencement Address at Stanford. Among her other remarks it was reported, "Money is pretty nice," she said, drawing knowing laughter from the crowd. "I like money. It's good for buying things. But having a lot of money does not automatically make one a successful person.” In her address Oprah also inspired her audience of 25,000 packed into Stanford Stadium including the 4000 graduates.

What does this have to do with the politics?

Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods have a life of accomplishment yet both are endorsing Barack Obama.

Like the two celebrities Barack is inspirational (he gives a great speech) and despite his Harvard Education and his election to the U S Senate (generally agreed without a real opponent), Barack has little record of real accomplishment.

Barack Obama started out as “the man of the people” when he won the Iowa Caucus. Through the rest of the primary and caucus season he changed his voting constituency and was victorious claiming the “McGovern Coalition. He won with a Democratic coalition of Anti War Liberals, Students, Intellectuals, the Wealthy and overwhelming African Americans. He ceded elderly men and women and the working class to Hillary who received very close to more or less than 50% of the popular vote (depending on whose spin you want to believe and which candidate you prefer).

Obama tapped into the Change theme that was easily exploited with the young that the Government is Broken and Does Not Work. Through the use of social networking that youth so easily employ, his campaign was almost naturally if not seamlessly ready made for the Inspirational Candidate.

The winds of change are a tail wind for Barack Obama.

While the winds of change and the Inspirational Zeitgeist seem to be in favor of Obama, the 2008 Presidential Election has been unpredictable. Ever since the 2006 elections (that the GOP lost in a blowout) it has been well known is that the bar would be set very high for Republicans in 2008.

In John McCain, Republicans have chosen the best possible nominee to run on the Change issue, McCain actually has a record of being a change agent. More importantly though McCain has lived a life of that is in fact Inspirational.

It is often said in Politics perception is reality. On November 4th we will see if Americans choose the Perception or the Reality.

On Wednesday America’s On The Road Again Troubadour – Country Outlaw Willie Nelson celebrates his 75th Birthday. Nelson was born on April 30, 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas.

I posted on the uniqueness of the Redhead and his music last September. I do not generally agree with Willie’s politics but I admire his grit and his strong belief that political differences are more important than political indifference.

Nelson’s Music clearly is what bonds me to him. I share the genesis of his Music both geographically and culturally.

Concurrently with his diamond birthday is the release of the new Joe NicK Patoski biography of Willie Nelson, “An Epic Life.” Publisher’s Weekly review puts this bio on my night stand.

Willie Nelson: An Epic Life
Joe Nick Patoski. Little Brown, $27.99 (576p) ISBN 9780316017787
This impressive, entertaining chronicle of Willie Nelson’s life is replete with exactly what you’d expect—honky-tonk, long nights on the open road, whiskey, womanizing and weed—but Texas writer Patoski ( Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire , Texas Mountains ) looks beyond country music trappings to find the funny, talented, determined man who became an unlikely icon. Raised in Abbott, Texas, by impoverished grandparents, Nelson was writing songs about “love, betrayal and cheating” by the age of seven, but was told throughout his life that he couldn’t sing, play or keep a beat. As an adult, Nelson worked odd jobs—encyclopedia salesman among them—while selling songs in Nashville; he had an early hit in 1961 with Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” and soon began recording for RCA. Fourteen albums later, “with not much to show,” Nelson fled to Austin, Texas, a move many viewed as career suicide; instead, it was a launching pad to stardom, propelled by the up-and-coming hippie movement and the strength of his groundbreaking album Red Headed Stranger . Patoski conducted over a hundred interviews for this thorough, well-noted “epic,” peopling it with “pickers, gypsies, pirates, vagabonds, wanderers and carneys,” including fellow performers like Kris Kristofferson, Kinky Friedman and Leona Williams. Writing with an affectionate country twang, Patoski gives his subject the consideration he deserves in a fine, fluid piece of storytelling that any Nelson fan will appreciate. 8 pages b&w photos. (Apr.

Happy Birthday Bubba – stay sober long enough and let’s party on your 100th.

“The General” has said farewell to his troops and is riding off into the sunset.

Coach Bob Knight suddenly announced Monday afternoon that he was retiring from coaching basketball immediately. It was a huge surprise to the Sports World as he recently extended his contract for 3 more years.

Knight leaves as the winningest Coach in Division One Men’s College Basketball. Robert Montgomery Knight is always controversial and always temperamental. Like a great athlete he hates to Lose. He has the fans that love him and those who hate him – Though there is near Universal Agreement that he was one of the great teachers of the game, if not the Greatest! No one ever said he did not know how to coach.

Coach Knight ALWAYS played by the Rules! No NCAA violations for his teams. His players were true Student Athletes. He has one of the highest graduation rates of any Coach. Very few of his players went on to the NBA (probably because they were coached to their peak ability while still in the College.)

I am a great admirer of the Coach and the Person. I will miss him and fervently hope he finds another venue to share his knowledge.

End bar – Pat Knight who was Head Coach Designate immediately assumed the Head Coach position with his father’s resignation. In his first outing last night against Baylor he lost (though to a superior team.) Pat’s previous coaching career was a dud. How his performance will be in succeeding his Dad at Tech is an open question. His whole life he has been learning from the Greatest. The General coached him when he was a player at Indiana University and for the past 7 years he has been at his Dad’s side as his first assistant as Texas Tech. It will be interesting to see if the Great Teacher was able to transfer any of his great ability to his son. Fathers and Sons are sometimes like that.

A group of South Dakotans will be traveling to Lincoln this Saturday to see the Red Raiders challenge the Huskers, though disappointingly without The Greatest being present.

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the filing of the patent on the Lego Brick.

Google honored LEGO as detailed by the following presser from LEGO. Happy Birthday  LEGO!

LEGO® Brick Gets “Doodled” by Google

-World-famous building brick celebrated on its 50th birthday with a Google Doodle-

BILLUND, Demark (January 28, 2008) – A LEGO® brick-inspired ‘Doodle’ appears today on the Google homepage to the mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous creative building brick.

Google, the world’s largest internet search engine, uses ‘Doodles’ on the homepage to mark special days, celebrate original, innovative artists and thinking, and, as is the case of the LEGO brick, to celebrate quirky, fun icons that resonate with people around the world. Google’s ‘Doodle” team embraced the idea of a LEGO ‘Doodle’ because of the special role LEGO building has played in Google’s 10-year history.

Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, used the iconic building bricks as the external low-cost and expandable casing for 10 4-GigaByte hard disks when they were busy developing the Google search engine. The original server casing still exists and is on display as part of an exhibition chronicling 80 years of computing machines at Stanford University in California’s Silicon Valley. Additionally, LEGO bricks can be found scattered around Google’s many offices to provide creative inspiration, and have reportedly been used in Google’s college graduate recruiting exercises to test potential candidate’s creative horsepower.

“We are honored to have the iconic LEGO brick celebrated in this way by Google, because we know the ‘Doodle’ is reserved for only the most special of themes,” says Jørgen vig Knudstorp, CEO of LEGO Group. “Mr. Brin and Mr. Page are prime examples of who we often refer to as ‘builders of tomorrow’ – people who embrace the power of creative exploration and curiosity that leads to lifelong innovation and creativity. The LEGO brick – the heart and soul of the LEGO Group – is a catalyst for that development, and we’re proud that it has also inspired the innovation that is the heart and soul of Google.”

The LEGO Group will celebrate its legacy of inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow this through several important milestones, including the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick, with a variety of programs and promotions. Two products have been developed to commemorate the brick’s anniversary: an open-ended LEGO set with a classic village theme including a gold 2x4 LEGO brick launches in August, and a one-of-a-kind Town Plan, featuring city hall, movie theater, gas station, car wash, two automobiles and eight minifigures, including a letter from Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the company’s owner, is now available on www.LEGOshop.com

# # #

The LEGO Group (www.LEGO.com) is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children, employing approximately 4,500 people globally. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities through its products, which can be purchased in more than 130 countries.

“1968 with Tom Brokaw” a documentary, ostensibly an extension of Tom Brokaw’s latest book ”Boom” will be televised this Sunday night at 8:00pm on The History Channel.

I was given the opportunity to preview this 2-hour program. Pre release publicity calls 1968 " the best program The History Channel has ever aired." NOT!

1968 (the year) was highlighted by the conflict of Viet Nam War and the boomer generation tune in, turning on, dropping out. Nixon speechwriter and the former Reform Party Presidential candidate, Pat Buchanan appears in the show and states accurately that 1968 was one of U S History’s most tumultuous years. The program highlights the year chronologically through a serious of interviews with celebrities and contemporary newsmakers.

Significant events included are the Tet Offensive, President Johnson’s decision and announcement not to seek reelection, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, some would say riots or anti war protests at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago, and the Presidential election campaign that culminated in Richard Nixon’s election.

The presentation flows chronologically with classic film clips of the historic and turbulent events of 1968. Interspersed into Brokaw’s narratives are interviews with popular culture icons of the era and politicians. Among those included are Andrew Young who was an aide to Martin Luther King when he was assassinated, Olympic Decathlon Gold Medal winner Rafer Johnson who wrestled Robert Kennedy’s assassin (Sirhan Sirhan) to the ground, comedian Tommy Smothers, Arlo Guthrie, and Bruce Springsteen. Clips include Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.

1968 with Brokaw’s thesis is that the events of 1968 are part of a historical continuum. –The events of 1968 were based on the past and future events were based on what happened that year. The prime example is that the Democrats going forward from 1968 portrayed themselves as out of touch with Middle Americans. 1968 shattered the Roosevelt Democrat coalition and Republicans going forward won five of the next six Presidential elections.

I found 1968 to be two programs. One about the events of 1968 and the other about Tom Brokaw’s early career. Currently I am reading Brokaw’s book and far more enamored with it at this point (about a third of a way through) than the History Channel presentation.

As an admitted Brokaw fan, the film footage of Brokaw doing newscasts and reporting from California is interesting. Brokaw who does have a great sense of history is a world-class talent. The show as well as his Boom Book demonstrates his fortune in working in the Deep South during the mid sixties during the historic Civil Rights struggles and then working in California during both the heydays of the drug culture of Haight-Ashbury and the RFK assassination and the 1968 California Democrat primary. Brokaw also was part of the NBC National Convention coverage team in Chicago.

South Dakota Anecdote – Brokaw in talking about the Viet Nam War relates a story about a fellow South Dakotan, classmate, and close friend Gene Kimmel. Kimmel who was a pilot in Viet Nam after sustaining injury, volunteered to return to Viet Nam duty and subsequently died for his country. Among the footage of Brokaw talking about Kimmel is briefly shown some letters from Kimmel describing the War that began – “Dr. Farber”. Brokaw uses this segment to tell how divided generation of the 60’s was divided on the war. The counterpoint shown is draft protestors evading the Draft by taking refuge in Canada.

The story of 1968 is informative and the footage excellent If you are a history buff or were not with us during the 60s, this Sunday night with Brokaw on The History Channel is a must.

Straight Talk Commentary - FishbowlNY blog reports today on an upcoming story in “TV Guide” on what the Presidential Candidates watch on television. Neal’s post follows.

Really who cares?

This may be a great way for “TV Guide” to fill the editorial content in their listings mag but do people believe this and more importantly vote for someone because they like the same shows they like.

What would be far more interesting is to know about the polling the candidates did before their campaigns responded to the magazines inquiry. Surely the pollsters must have asked what shows the candidate should respond with in order to appeal to various demographic segments.

Barack Obama Is A SpongeBob Fan

It's time for the 2008 presidential candidates to do some crucial humanizing PR gigs before the primaries. Chief among them: Talking to TV Guide about your viewing habits.

The listings mag was kind enough to give us a sneak peak at their December 3rd "Presidential Candidate Edition" issue, which is hitting stands on Thursday:

Hillary Clinton is a fan of HGTV makeover shows, Grey's Anatomy , American Idol , and Dancing with the Stars , but her all-time TV favorite is The Ed Sullivan Show .

Barack Obama tells TV Guide that his favorite TV character of all time is "SpongeBob SquarePants, because SpongeBob is the show I watch with my daughters." His favorite TV shows of all time are M*A*S*H and The Wire .

John Edwards is a fan of Boston Legal , and tells TV Guide that his viewing guilty pleasure is "Fred Thompson on Law & Order ."

Dennis Kucinich is a fan of late-night TV, citing The Tonight Show , Late Show , The Daily Show , The Colbert Report , and Saturday Night Live as his favorites. "When I get a chance to watch TV, it's usually late in the evening," he tells TV Guide . "Those shows have brilliant writers. It's just great to watch them." He also adds that he doesn't mind being the punch line of their jokes. "It's hilarious. I take what I do seriously, but I don't take myself seriously."

John McCain lists Prison Break among his favorite TV shows "because as a fellow prisoner, I always dreamed and plotted how I would break out of the Hanoi Hilton," he tells TV Guide .

Mitt Romney tells TV Guide he is a fan of Lost because it has "a very captivating plot, and if you live a busy life, escape is always welcome."

Fred Thompson's favorite TV show is SportsCenter . He tells TV Guide, "I always need to stay up on my Titans, Vols, Vanderbilt and, of course, my Memphis Tigers."

So Hillary's a bit of a square, Barack knows how to bring up the family, John E. has a sense of humor, Dennis overshares and John M. likes to play the Vietnam card. Gotcha.

But we're more interested in how Rudy Giuliani was the only major presidential candidate not to play along with TV Guide 's pr-genic media exercise.

America is the land of opportunity.

Reading another KELOland.com blog this morning, the haves in America are again being pitted against those who are not in that class. This belief is a wrong. It does however point to one of the basic differences in the philosophies of our two major political parties.

Republicans generally see America as having equality of opportunity while Democrats generally want to people to having equality of outcome. In America becoming a member of the “wealthy class” can be accomplished by having talent, becoming well educated, working hard or some combination. In our country you do not have to be born of class to achieve wealth, success and even fame. You can work for it and earn it.

What is special about the United States is that our system provides for equality of the opportunity to gain access to wealth and yes even power. It is important that as a society and through our government that we provide a quality free public education (as tradition dictates K-12). Through our laws we should strive that persons and their property be a system that is fair and just and rewards hard work and innovation.

Tom Brokaw is an excellent example of someone who had talent, worked hard and seized opportunity for excellence, world fame and yes wealth.

In America everyone should have the opportunity for fame and fortune and the equal opportunity to gain success. No government can guarantee that everyone shall have equal outcomes.

Sidebar – I have posted previously on Brokaw, and am a fan.

Celebrity Sighting – Coincidence – Early this morning I went for my Sunday breakfast out for the week. Being quite early when I arrived at the coffee shop, it was nearly empty. Sitting at one on the tables was none other than Tom Brokaw taking his breakfast with a friend. Indeed he is spending time this week in South Dakota.

I took a seat quite near him in hope that I might engage him in a brief conversation. Being a celebrity, he is quite used to the stargazing as my hope was realized. Seeing me in my Bob Knight style Indiana University sweater he asked me whom Indiana played yesterday and what was the score? I answered and quickly told him how I was looking forward to the release of his new book “Boom.”

I ate quickly and when I got up to leave he again asked me if I had been a student at Indiana? I told him that my son was a grad of IU’s Kelley School of Business. He then responded that Jane Pauly had graduated from IU as had other NBC news staffers. He said IU had an excellent School of Journalism upon which I asked, as good as the Coyotes? He chuckled and said “just about.” I again told him I looked forward to reading “Boom” and had particularly enjoyed his piece on Reuven Frank.  He acknowledged that Frank had been a mentor.

Finally before departing. I said it was nice to see him back in South Dakota and he replied he came at this time each year for some hunting.

Certainly this is a memorable day.

Unlike Fitzgerald’s suggestion that the rich are “different from you and me”, Tom Brokaw was approachable, comfortable, and completely genuine, our conversation was no different than those thousands of other South Dakotans had this morning.

Willie Nelson is an American Original.

Willie is coming to Sioux City on Tuesday with his musical family for the off again on again – Am I Exhausted? Concert.

Sidebar – I won’t go into the - We Need an Events Center Thing - and why is this concert in Sewer City thing (as of this morning, tickets were still being advertised for sale) but it would have been nice to have Nelson back in Sioux Falls. The Nelson vagabonds previously played The Great Hall at the Washington Pavilion to a sell out.

Robert Morast in Thursday’s “Link” had an excellent review of Nelson as a performer. While there are small items that I take exception too in his assessment, including which Best Album honors, Morast has pretty much caught the essential Willie.

Nelson who found success early in his career as a songwriter rather than a performer spent his formative years at the feet of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys listening to Texas Swing and singing at the honky tonks in Cowtown (Fort Worth) along the Jacksboro Highway.

Nelson as Morast notes early in his career was a prodigious songwriter. Consider he wrote, "Hello Walls," "Night Life," "Crazy" and "Opportunity to Cry" in one week. Crazy, which is almost spiritual when performed by the legendary Patsy Cline, also became the campaign song for Ross Perot in his 1992 Presidential campaign.

Nelson found fame as Ambassador of the Outlaw Country movement, in the mid seventies and from that time his career can best be described as Sinatra finds dubage.

There are songs Willie performs and has since then that are notable but it is his early work that connects. My all time favorite single is “Hello Walls”, the Faron Young hit that he wrote, and my Nelson album is “Stardust”. Stardust is taken from the lead song that was written by famous legendary jazz songwriter and performer Hoagy Carmichael.

Very recently, I picked up a wonderful Nelson anthology album at Starbucks, titled “Natural Renegade” that covers both the older and newer model. It displays the entire range of Willie’s career.

Morast in his review notes, “ Long after Nelson proves his mortality, this record will ensure his legacy never dies.” Nelson is an American original and the legacy of his song styling and his music will never die.

Sidebar – Nelson has his fans – In a related story during the mid 1980s when Willie was playing the South Dakota State Fair, Commissioner of Finance and Budget Steve Zelmer asked Governor Janklow for the only favor he ever asked for and that was to present Nelson a Governor’s Proclamation during his performance at the State Fair Grandstand. Zelmer who is a huge fan of the Red Head has said it was the highlight of his career in State government.

Album Notes:

Red Headed Stranger

The Time Of The Preacher, I Couldn’t Believe It Was True, Time Of The Preacher Theme, Medley: Blue Rock Montana/Red Headed Stranger, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, Time Of The Preacher Theme, Just As I Am, Denver, O'er The Waves, Down Yonder, Can I Sleep In Your Arms, Remember Me (When The Candle Lights Are Gleaming), Hands On The Wheel, Bandera, Bach Minuet In G, I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You), A Maiden's Prayer, Bonaparte's Retreat

“Stardust”

Stardust, Georgia On My Mind, Blue Skies, All Of Me, Unchained Melody, September Song, On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Moonlight In Vermont, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Someone To Watch Over Me, Scarlet Ribbons, I Can See Clearly Now

“Natural Renegade”

Crazy, Night Life, Funny How Time Slips Away, Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (With Waylon Jennings), Pancho And Lefty (With Merle Haggard),
Red Headed Stranger, On The Road Again, Unchained Melody, All Of Me, Georgia On My Mind, Blue eyes Crying In The Rain, Always On My Mind, It's Not Supposed To Be That Way, I Never Cared For You, These Lonely Nights, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground