Full Transcript for Improviser: Ferguson v Dole

00:05:10.199 funny. Yeah, well, oh well, you know one of the tenants 58 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:13.480 have improv Let it go, Let it go, which is going to be 59 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:16.279 important when I talk about Bob Dole later on today. But Denns, who 60 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:23.319 are you talking about. I'm talking about Pa Ferguson HM, whose real name 61 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:27.639 is James Edward Ferguson Jr. Now, if I'm not mistaken, I might 62 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.480 be stepping on your toes because I've read ten minutes ago that you were using 63 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:33.519 this man, and I thought, isn't he a Texas governor? Did he 64 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:38.600 run for president? Okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he 65 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:44.639 ran against Warren G. Harding. Oh, Mr Gamileel. Yeah, but 66 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:48.639 it was after all of his governor's stuff and and all of his wife's governor 67 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:58.399 stuff, which is the most significant historical part um in the election with the 68 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:00.959 American Party. But it's not the American Party like that, we know, 69 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:06.399 it's the American Party like that he made up. Okay, so there's one 70 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:12.240 of the many American parties. Yes, yes, indeed, just because that 71 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:14.920 that's what he did. He just tried. He was always just trying to 72 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:19.120 do things to get power, you know, like all these guys. Yeah, 73 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:25.199 for sure. Especially so presumably you plan to talk later on today about 74 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.160 his wife's stuff. Yeah, I'll bring it up, Okay, then I 75 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:30.720 won't mention it now. I think it's very interesting and also very strange. 76 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:39.079 Yeah, and it's really at the crux of the his the highlighting the way 77 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:43.399 that he just improvised his way as high as he could go all the time 78 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:47.079 up until he hit that glass ceiling of corruption. But that's a story for 79 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.079 later on. In this episode, I am, of course talking about Bob 80 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:56.079 Dole, a man almost as old as Paul Ferguson, who was the governor 81 00:06:56.120 --> 00:07:00.600 in the nineteen teens saw that joke lance for everybody. A Dole was born 82 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.040 in And he died last year. I found out in the research that he 83 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:11.120 died in December, and he wasn't buried until February, of which I find 84 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:15.199 odd. But I'm not a I'm not an expert at burying people. Well. 85 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:20.240 In in Chester, Vermont, where my mom lives. Now there's a 86 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:25.920 a crypt for where they used to keep bodies for the whole winter, right 87 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:30.319 because but we've got we've come along, We've got back hoose. Now yeah 88 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:36.000 we can old man, winter isn't freezing our our earth such a bit. 89 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.240 We can't move it anymore, at least not most of the time. There's 90 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:45.199 also a hearse that like an old old hearse that the wheels come off to 91 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:50.079 be replaced with skis. Oh that's cool. Yeah, yeah. Chester is 92 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.399 a good place everybody go visit. I liked it, gave yourself a walking 93 00:07:54.399 --> 00:08:00.639 taco. Bob Dole ran against Bill Clinton and soundly lost it. He's also 94 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:03.480 I think one of those guys who just wants power. Was the vice presidential 95 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:09.639 nominee in ninety six, and then he ran for the Republican nomination in eight 96 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:16.360 and nineties six, So every time that there wasn't an incumbent Republican president, 97 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.240 he he ran for the nomination, finally getting it to ninety six. I 98 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:26.959 think he's our funniest Republican presidential nominee since Calvin Coolidge. And I know what 99 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.800 you're gonna say, Dennis. I know you're gonna say, what about Ronald 100 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.840 Reagan. Ronald Reagan's not funny. I've seen him try to make a joke. 101 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:37.519 He doesn't make me laugh one bit. And I know what you're gonna 102 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.759 say after that, Richard Nixon on laughing, also not funny. I disagree 103 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:43.559 with your premise. You've said it was funny in the past. You're wrong. 104 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:54.200 He was awkward, sood to me, that's not good. Bob Dole's 105 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:58.399 got a lot of wit, a lot of funny one liners, and he's 106 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:03.039 he's not a aid of poking fun at himself. So those are the themes 107 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:07.559 we're going to explore. He doesn't top Coolidge, though I appreciate you. 108 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:11.320 Yeah, yeah, Now I briefly thought, am I gonna go for broke 109 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:16.039 on on making this funny argument? No? No, no, Calvin Coolidge 110 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:20.080 takes it every time in a walk because he chooses not to run. Yeah, 111 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:26.279 you're much more clever than I am. And with that T shirt, 112 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.759 so you're confronted with it, yeah, confronted with it regularly. But it's 113 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:37.159 on. It's time for us to attach the autumnal skis to the retraction box 114 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:46.840 so that it can slip down the winding toboggan path. We've got a couple 115 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:50.919 of retractions, and we have a couple of attractions that I might retract from 116

00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.840 being in retractions depending on how much I did some research, but not as 117 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.720 much as I usually do, So I can kind of go off half cocked 118 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:00.360 on some things if you want me to, and then we you might have 119 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:03.600 to attract that later on. Anyway, that's up to you, buddy. 120 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:09.639 So Number one Jacob Ganbi, who is our guest on Thesode, had some 121 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:16.159 choice words for Mr Clarence Thomas, a current Supreme Court justice, and if 122 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:20.600 one is interested in knowing more about Clarence Thomas. The latest episode of a 123 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:24.639 podcast that I listened to called disc which is all about Supreme Court dissensions, 124 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:31.200 just did a bonus or a special episode on the biography of Clarence Thomas, 125 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.559 which I found very interesting. So I don't think that you necessarily need to 126 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.639 like the man or appreciated jurorsprudence. I certainly do not most of the time 127 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:41.960 in order to to get something out of that, And you can go to 128 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:46.480 the podcast disk. Secondly, Dennis, you do you remember the I know 129 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:50.960 you haven't listened to the episode yet, but do you remember the three candidates 130 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:54.600 we talked about in that in that latest episode, the three biggest people from 131 00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:01.399 seventy six The biggest people, no, alright, So one of them was 132 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:05.919 Eugene McCartney, and one of them was Less Dramatics, and the last guy 133 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.679 was a man named Lyndon Laruge who was kind of a cult political figure. 134 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:15.480 Uh. And he among the many things that we said, he ran in 135 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.600 every election between seventy six and two thousand four. He died in twenty nineteen. 136 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:22.600 He got in trouble with the I R. S UM as well as 137 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:28.279 NBC and some other things. I was in New York City a few weeks 138 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.519 ago, that's why we had to record some episodes early. And as I 139 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:33.320 was walking around, of course it's an election year, I saw some signs 140 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.799 that said, why is I don't remember the name of the candidate, so 141 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.679 I'm gonna say, Elliott Spengel, who I know is a former congressman from 142 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:46.519 New York. Why is Elliot Spengle afraid to debate Laruche candidate Maria something or 143 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:52.639 other? And so the cult of Laruge still very much alive and well and 144 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.600 in New York. New York was

good. I like New York. It 145 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:00.600 was a very short trip, so we got in Friday morning and we left 146 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:05.200 Sunday morning, so so not even two full days in the city when when 147 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.000 all is said and done. But we got to see Almost Famous the musical. 148 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:13.120 We had a very belated anniversary dinner at the Dead Rabbit, which is 149 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:16.279 one of my favorite bars. They gave me an Irish coffee. I don't 150 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.399 usually like coffee, but I like this, so that's cool. Yeah. 151 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:22.679 I walked around, you know, I got to see an old friend. 152 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:28.080 People say crime is on the rise, felt perfectly safe, even in some 153 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:33.480 very dirty places. But yeah, we were just in Manhattan for the most 154 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.039 part, bopping around. We were Our hotel was across from the theater that 155 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:43.120 has Wicked in it, So you can imagine how excited I was. Now 156 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:48.600 circle in the Square and we saw, Yeah, we saw almost famous at 157 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:54.600 the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. And the one that sticks in my mind 158 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:58.080 the most is the St. James Theater. But we did not go to 159 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.919 the St. James. This trip in your mind the most. Yeah, 160 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:07.919 I don't know why. I just remember name. I don't know what to 161 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.799 die, just I just remember the St. James Theater. Do you do 162 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:18.320 you down New York's expensive, ma'am? Yeah, crazy, It's stupid. 163 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.759 It's stupid how much things cost in New York. Frankly, I was taking 164 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.480 we're taking public transit everywhere. We either walked or took public transit. At 165 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:28.960 no point did we get an uber, at no point did we rent a 166 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.159 car or anything like that. And for less than forty eight hours in New 167 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.440 York, we racked up sixty five dollars in transportation costs. Yeah, but 168 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:43.080 they got some got some real cool stuff happened in city New York City. 169 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.200 It's nothing like it. That's what they That's what they kept telling me. 170 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:50.840 They said, hey, have you ever seen anything like this here? I 171 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:52.000 said, wow, I think I've seen a couple of Then the no, 172 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.960 no, not at all. Anyway, back to attractions, Dennis, do 173 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:01.399 you remember what you said about the actually have two thousand four in relation to 174 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.360 how many votes George W. Bush and John

Kerry got that they both got 175 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:13.720 more votes than anyone before. That is correct, And I mentioned something along 176 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.240 lines of yeah, I know that happened with twenty. I don't think that 177 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:20.480 happened with twelve. Well, I decided to go and look at all of 178 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:26.120 all of the vote counts. So two thousand four has a hundred twenty three 179 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:31.039 now hundred two million, two hundred ninety five thousand people vote total sixty two 180 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.080 million, Bush, fifty nine million, Kerry highest amount at that time. 181 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:39.200 In two thousand and eight, almost ten million more people vote a hundred and 182 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:43.720 thirty one million, three thousand, with Obama getting sixty nine and a half 183 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:48.240 million and McCain getting sixty million. In two thousand and twelve, that dips 184 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:52.559 slightly, so it was a little lower, a hundred twenty nine million total 185 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:58.320 sixty six million, Obama sixty one million. Romney. This is the first 186 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:07.399 re election in our modern day where the re elected president had less support than 187 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:13.320 he than he had when he first won it. Two thousand sixteen becomes the 188 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.759 biggest ever again at a hundred thirty six and a half million sixty six million 189 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:22.279 Clinton, so she gets the same number of votes that Obama gets roughly and 190 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:26.759 sixty three million Trump, so he improves on Romney by about two million, 191 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:31.279 and then in the same as Obama the first time around, now less in 192 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:35.480 Obama. The first time around, Obama had sixty nine and a half million. 193 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:39.519 So will we'll get to this. But Obama in two thousand and eight 194 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:46.360 has the third most votes of anybody from president after twenties contestants with a hundred 195 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.600 and fifty eight million total votes cast. Eighty one million to Biden is seventy 196 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.559 four million to Trump. So to put that into perspective, Obama or Biden 197 00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:03.840 gets about twelve million more than the previous highest vote getter. Trump gets nine 198 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:07.919 million more than people who voted for him the first time. A big deal. 199 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.639 Yeah, And then I decided to go back in time to see how 200 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.120 long that trend held. From two thousand and four. So from two thousand 201 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:21.799 four to twenty all elections except two thousand twelve were the most votes ever cast 202 00:16:21.840

--> 00:16:26.000 in a presidential election. So two thousand five has fewer votes in two thousand 203 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.840 four obviously at a hundred and five and a half million, ninety six has 204 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:34.919 ninety six million, making ninety two, which was the Ross Pero came on 205 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:40.559 the scene and energized a lot of people. Two had more votes than six 206 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:48.440 by about eight million votes. I was looking at Texas mentally archives and Ross 207 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:53.759 Perros on the cover from my birth month. I believe it. That actually 208 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:59.720 makes perfect two. Yeah, that'd be the perfect time for Ross Perow. 209 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.399 But it's a cartoon. He looks like he's in that magazine. Now, 210 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:07.960 that's how he looks. It's the darndest thing. Yeah, yeah, that's 211 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.680 just he's a tiny East Texas man. Dennis I decided to do some research 212 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:17.799 on Bush versus Gore, which was the Supreme Court decision which halted recounts of 213 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:22.079 votes in Florida and two thousand, guaranteeing the election for George W. Bush. 214 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:27.680 I didn't do a lot of looking in tons of different places. I 215 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.440 only looked in two or three different places for the reporting on it. So 216 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:34.319 it's a little bit less than I would usually do. And I did all 217 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:37.039 of this research about two and a half weeks ago and didn't take any notes, 218 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:40.920 so I'd really be going from memory. So my question to you is, 219 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:44.079 do you want to hear my half remembered thoughts about Bush Vie Gore. 220 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:49.880 Yeah? Okay, So Bush v. Gore highly contentious Supreme Court decision, 221 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:55.279 one that I certainly like. I I can say that in two thousand and 222 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:57.400 four I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the presidential 223 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:03.720 election. I don't remember anything from two thousand about the tumult that that that 224 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:08.200 election was. I don't remember recounts in Florida. I don't remember the Supreme 225 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:14.680 Court decision. Like I think nine year old Aaron was just not caring about 226 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.799 any of that at the time. Yeah. The only thing I remember is 227 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:25.400 like them playing footage of people counting votes really fast. Yeah. So I'm 228 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:29.759 sure everybody knows that one of the main problem that there's a thing called under 229 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:33.079 votes. So there were a lot of counties in which there were suspicious number 230 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.000 of under votes, which is the county voted less than its voter roll would 231 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:41.359 suggest, and this was because of a thing called hanging chads, which I 232 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:45.400 think a lot of people know about. But basically the ballot for Florida was 233 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.119 a little bit confusing. Some people didn't punch the hole in all the way 234 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:52.559 because it read like an old school computer punch card. You would punch holes 235 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.440 in the thing and it would feed and it would register your vote. So 236 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.359 on election night it was called for Bush by a couple of hundred votes, 237 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.079 and then when it went to recount, it switched over to Gore by a 238 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:07.640 margin of less than a one votes. I think it was sixtysomething votes, 239 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.640 and then another recount gave it back to Bush, and just they kept doing 240 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:15.559 recounts and kept not getting the same numbers. Now, the problem is that 241 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:22.200 by Florida constitution standards, the vote had to be certified by December fourteenth, 242 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.799 I think it was, but it was mid December, about a month after 243 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:29.079 the election took place. That is, so that they can certify the election, 244 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:32.119 they can get the electors, they can have the elector's vote so that 245 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:38.000 they can send the appropriate votes to the United States Capital to be read out 246 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.200 with all the other votes. Does that make sense? So we've got a 247 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:48.519 legal time limit on what's happening, and no consensus. We're coming up on 248 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:55.000 that time limit. And Gore sues Florida to say, you need to do 249 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:59.079 a full manual recount of these counties, and that's going to be important. 250 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:03.440 In a second, he said, just I just want these counties counted by 251 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.039 hand, which happened to be the most populous counties in Florida and the ones 252 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:11.359 that are most democratic, also the ones that had the most significant amounts of 253 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:17.839 undervotes. And some chicanery happens now while all this is happening, Apparently even 254 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:23.039 on election night, antonin Scalia was Who's the Supreme Court justice was getting kind 255 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:29.240 of up in arms and and sort of tense because he was worried about the 256 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.480 recounts happening, and he was apparently already trying to start working on justices to 257 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:38.279 to get them in a favorable mood to rule for Bush,

which is suspicious. 258 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:42.359 The case manages to get to the Supreme Court in what is called the 259 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:51.960 most obviously corrupt decision in Supreme Court history, where every seemingly every single justice 260 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.839 throws out the their usual legal rationale and votes the opposite way that they would 261 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:03.160 usually, so all the conservative justices vote with very broad interpretations of the law. 262 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:07.759 All the liberal justices vote with very constrained definitions of the law, which 263 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:14.839 they say should should favor their quote unquote parties presidential candidate. At its heart, 264 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.640 the majority of opinion which rules in favor of Bush, says that we 265 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:22.880 do not like legally, there is no time to do a full recount. 266 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:30.400 Therefore, we have to put a stop to the recount because Florida law says 267 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:34.079 it's got to be done in I think it was an hour and a half 268 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:38.359 from when the thing came out. It was very tight timeline. Uh, 269 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:42.240 this gives it to Bush. Bush wins, and we live out the rest 270 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:48.039 of our history. Some media organizations, this is an interesting point. Some 271 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:52.519 media organizations then do their own recount. They fund and what they found was 272 00:21:53.440 --> 00:22:00.319 if what Al Gore was asking for, which was a recount of specific county, 273 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:06.160 if that had gone through, then Bush one that that that that recount 274 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:10.839 would have shown that Bush one Florida. However, if they did a recount 275 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:15.920 of every polling location in the entire state, then Gore would have won by 276 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:21.400 a very small margin. So it's a very yeah, it's a very weird, 277 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:25.720 terrible time in history, only matched by the time that we currently live 278 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:30.240 in. I also have some notes here, well, not notes, I 279 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:33.759 just have a bullet point on Buckley versus Vallejo, which was the one of 280 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:38.880 the Supreme Court cases that Eugene McCarthy was involved in, which paved the way 281 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.240 for a number of things. But but essentially that's the Supreme Court decision that 282 00:22:42.359 --> 00:22:48.640 said limitations on spending in political races is unconstitutional because political spending is a form 283 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:56.200 of speech. That Supreme Court decision gave us a number of further decisions, 284 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:02.400 most recently Citizens United, which is a big bogie man on on the democratic 285

00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.279 side of things. Although I think unnecessarily, or rather, I think that 286 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:11.279 the the central holding of Citizens United is correct and that leads to some things 287 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:14.599 coming out of it. But we don't have time for that. So Dennis, 288 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:21.400 can you mush the retraction horses away? As I say, Presidential Deathmatch 289 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:30.880 regrets the errors. We've never talked about improvising on the show. That's not 290 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:33.920 true. We've never talked about as a main topic. But you're an improviser. 291 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:40.400 I'm an improviser. Yeah, we're both in regular improv shows in our 292 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:45.240 cities. Yeah, I think. I think only more recently, I think 293 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.880 when I because we both is its sketch stuff. Yeah, the first love. 294 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:53.759 I'm assigning you a first love, that first sketch same as my first 295 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:57.920 love. Yeah, And I was very hesitant to do the improv thing, 296 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:03.400 even though, like I took improv class in college like as a course m 297 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.519 and then took Level one at Stationed but I did I didn't do I just 298 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:14.559 wasn't doing. I didn't do very well that level one. So it's very 299 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:19.720 hesitant to do it more. But yeah, it's been I think, and 300 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:23.279 then and you know, then by the time you're through all the doing all 301 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:27.039 the classes, especially with COVID in the middle. Now, I've like been 302 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:33.079 doing improv for a really long time. So it's funny. I feel like 303 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:37.680 it's only recently something that I've identified as like something that I know how to 304 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:45.519 do m M, which is weird because sketch comedy is just better improv in 305 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:49.319 a lot of ways. Yes, you're in a show right now, correct 306 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:55.240 I am, Yeah, called Strange Town. Okay, And what does strange 307 00:24:55.240 --> 00:25:00.039 Town do? It's the concept is kind of to do is to put parks 308 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:07.160 in wreck and stranger things together, um, which is a great idea. 309 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:12.079 And uh, in particular the town hall scenes and parks and rec they're always 310 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:17.960 like very funny where it's just these kind of nameless characters that are just throwing 311 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:25.920 yeah with you get Brian Husky or Betsy Sadaro into to just be a crazy 312 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:33.240 person. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so it's kind of like it's a 313 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:37.720 like there's a little town hall and then there's three scenes and then it goes

314 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.440 back, it goes to town hall where it's jumped forward in time and in 315 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:47.160 the first town all they introduced some supernatural problem that the towns having having m 316 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:52.519 hm. So it's also a little bit like Welcome to night Vale, not 317 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:57.160 not in terms of form, but like m m cifically Yeah, that's that's 318 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:03.559 that's actually what they always they're saying the people who who's idea it was? 319 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:10.200 So yeah, yeah, but it's been it's been fun. It's an hour 320 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:15.000 long nice which is wild. Yeah, you can do so many fun things. 321 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.799 So what do you and we'll use this to to talk about our candidates 322 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:23.559 here today, what do you like an improv as a performer and if you 323 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:29.160 want to risk it as an audience member. I like that. I like 324 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:37.680 when authentically funny things can happen from discovering something literally like just from like the 325 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:41.640 things that happened accidentally and then being able to build out of those. Though 326 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:49.880 I think that sometimes can turn into like just picking on the other person kind 327 00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:55.160 of and the things that are in stage, which can go down the wrong 328 00:26:55.200 --> 00:27:00.599 path. But like, yeah, I think if you're if you're just setting 329 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:03.359 having two people who are just like in a world and kind of acting, 330 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:11.160 it only takes two seconds for like a natural conflict or a natural hiccup to 331 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:15.119 happen, and and then you can capitalize on it. I think that so. 332 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.400 So one of the reasons I chose Bob dole As as my guy today 333 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:22.000 is that he's just a very dry wit. He's a very quick wit, 334 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:27.000 which I think allows him to capitalize on some of those oddities that are happening, 335 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:33.720 but he usually turns them around in on himself. There's a particular fun 336 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:40.279 one that I like, which is he runs for president Republican nomination. He 337 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:45.279 does terrible, absolutely terribly, and a reporter asks him, hey, how 338 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:48.839 did that feel, and he says, well, I slept like a baby. 339 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:53.200 Every two hours I woke up and cried, I think, very funny. 340 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:59.480 Yeah, but he's always got in a lot of ways, Bob Dole's 341 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:02.000 a better stay end up than he is an improviser. But we gotta work 342 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:04.880 with what we got here too, you know. And and I think

Bob 343 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:10.000 Bill's just going to have that that ability to come in, to come into 344 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:12.680 a situation and and react to it, which I think is useful for an 345 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:18.759 improviser. Yeah, off the cuff, pop Ferguson is that way, maybe 346 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:26.279 in a more high level way. He just he's a populist, I would 347 00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:30.519 say, like when he was got involved in politics kind of just because he 348 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:34.119 was he was a banker in town and so kind of just at the center 349 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:40.160 of things. And then when it when he decided to actually run for something, 350 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:45.200 um, it turned out that he was always winning in all of these 351 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:51.240 debates that were happening. So he was just good at the speak speaking part 352 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:53.960 of it, at the riling the crowd. He was good with an audience 353 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:59.680 kind of thing. I think it also shows which is I kind of I 354 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:03.079 feel that's in a way maybe at the center of what we when we say 355 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:07.640 populism, what we mean, Yeah, reacting to we we we tend to 356 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:15.599 mean a person whose policies are not derived from a core ideology but instead from 357 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:21.559 what the people around want. And so it's hard to predict and it can 358 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:26.119 change on a dime, and it's usually involves stoking fear or something else. 359 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:30.720 But yeah, yeah, but there's been like a populist party at certain times 360 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:34.640 in the past, hasn't there. Yes, there has, although it's not 361 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:41.599 the same word, right in the same way that Paul Ferguson's American Party doesn't 362 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:47.559 necessarily represent the core values of America. The populist Party of the late eighteen 363 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:52.839 hundreds was of of the people. It was of farmers. Yeah yeah, 364 00:29:52.920 --> 00:30:00.359 yeah, because because populism, I feel I can't be like an ideolog you're 365 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:04.319 claiming, really it can be the one that gets that gets identified. Yeah, 366 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:10.599 yeah. Like Trump is a populist, Yeah, Trump is a populist. 367 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:14.480 Of Bernie Sanders is a populist. Yeah yeah, in a lot of 368 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:21.839 ways less wise, but yeah, like he's fairly ideological, ideologically like consistent, 369 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:26.759 but he also it's very like it's very like audience oriented. Right now, 370 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:30.400 I feel like both of the two men we just described would be bad 371 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:36.000 improvisers. Yeah, what, Trump's just not a team player. I think 372 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:40.000 we can all agree on that. Yeah, And I think Bernie Sanders probably 373 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:44.559 just really keeps trying to bring the scene around to the one thing that he 374 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.599 thinks is funny or the one thing that he's trying to talk about, right, 375 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.960 Yeah, Yeah, which a lot of practice politicians would fall into that 376 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:59.839 trap. Yeah, for sure. A lot of politicians are too marzipan esque 377 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:10.279 to have the like vulnerability and spontaneity that true improv requires. I'm I'm struggling 378 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:15.799 to think of any politician that I think would be legitimately good at improv. 379 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:18.640 Maybe Ed Markey, who's a current senator from Massachusetts. He's kind of old, 380 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:22.640 but he he can roll with punches pretty well. And that part of 381 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:26.880 it, like with like you're saying that Trump like he's not enough of a 382 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:32.119 team player, Like he's not a listener, but he the part of it 383 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:40.799 where he he makes it, He owns whatever is happening. He is. 384 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:44.960 That is a quality that is important, and I think that part of it 385 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:48.400 he he would have pretty well. I I think he's the sort of guy 386 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:52.720 who's gonna, not to put too fine a point on it, deny the 387 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:56.480 reality of the scene. Yea, to make it whatever he wants to be, 388 00:31:56.599 --> 00:31:59.200 like, as long as people are feeding into what he wants to talk 389 00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:01.519 about. I think he can do it. But I but I don't think 390 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:07.799 he can just come in into India scene. Yeah that's a big as long 391 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:14.440 as yeah, yeah, exactly so. So one one fairly large drawback I 392 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:19.720 think for Mr Dole is going to be that he's really got the one character. 393 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:22.559 And you know, if he's in a montage or if he's in a 394 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:24.960 herald or even a Laurent, Like, if he's in a Laurent, he 395 00:32:25.079 --> 00:32:28.799 just has to play that one character. He's gonna be okay. But he's 396 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.480 always going to be Bob Dole here talking this voice and the jokes are gonna 397 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:37.759 work for this pattern and it's going to be okay. Yeah, I feel 398 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:43.319 like I have that problem. You you like, at certain attitudes, I 399 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:46.599 wouldn't say that you're playing the same character. I think you've got your your 400 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:50.880 fast ball, your special pitch that you like to throw as frequently as you 401 00:32:50.920 -->

00:32:54.079 can. But if the situation demands it, I think you respond differently. 402 00:32:54.119 --> 00:33:01.160 But hey, I don't know. I feel I struggle with character and especially 403 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:07.359 just like if a scene starts rolling and there's something funny that latch onto, 404 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.519 it becomes more like important, and then I worry and then I can lose 405 00:33:10.599 --> 00:33:20.359 sometimes character I was, I was doing, what about you? How's how 406 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:27.119 like? How's I feel like? I haven't heard about yeah shows recently? 407 00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:30.880 Yeah, so they're they're okay, magical lying out. So we've been to 408 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:35.680 a medical lying area eight years now, eight years over eight years, about 409 00:33:35.720 --> 00:33:38.759 eight and a half years. And I keep finding new things to try and 410 00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:43.079 tune up in the show. And the thing that I'm focused right now on 411 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:46.240 is endings. And the thing that I've noticed that improvisers aren't trying to end 412 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:51.119 to their scenes, which in some way makes sense because they don't know how 413 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:55.440 long they're scene is supposed to be. Yeah, but they they're they're not 414 00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:01.680 delivering closure for their characters, which means it's hard to finish a scene satisfactorily. 415 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:07.319 Yeah, That's what I'm attempting to work on. But someone who had 416 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:14.239 a very clear ending is Bob Dole, who resigned from his so he was 417 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:17.920 a Senate Majority leader, so the same position Mitch McConnell was in truck Schumer's 418 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:22.480 and currently he was the Senate majority leader for the Republicans up until Mitch McConnell. 419 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:27.360 He was the longest serving leader of the Republican Party in the Senate in 420 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:31.599 ten years I think approximately maybe twelve. And he gets the nomination in ninety 421 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:36.599 six, and he wants to use the power of the Senate and the visibility 422 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:40.199 of the Senate to help his campaign, but Senate Democrats use a lot of 423 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:46.400 procedural tricks to limit his ability to do that. So he ends up resigning 424 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:53.280 from the Senate to run for president full time, saying that it's time for 425 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:58.639 him to either go to the White House or go home. And indeed he 426 00:34:58.719 --> 00:35:01.960 goes home. H although he he gets the one thing that I think every 427 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:08.360 improviser has innately, How how does one become an improviser? Bob Dole says, 428 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:12.679 I was thinking this is during his concession speech. I was thinking, 429 00:35:12.679 --> 00:35:15.480 on the way down in the elevator, tomorrow will be the first time in 430 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:19.480 my life I don't have anything to do. Most improvisers don't have anything useful 431 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:25.079 to spend their time on. Bob Dole would fit right in. I think 432 00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:32.719 paup Ferguson is like an improviser with the endings thing, and that he didn't 433 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:37.960 really ever feel like that was something to think about. He would know, 434 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:43.679 it's just things would be ended for him. Someone would throw the lights or 435 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:47.920 sweep. But but then but he's not yielding that stage and his lights go 436 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:53.519 down, and then he lets to other people do seen and then he jumps 437 00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:58.159 right back in. Yeah, well let's expand that metaphor why don't you talk 438 00:35:58.199 --> 00:36:04.880 about Pap Ferguson and also about fergus Yeah, so so pot Ferguson then whispers 439 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:09.880 his idea to the person next to him in the wing and says that they 440 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:14.280 have to go do that scene because it's gonna be really funny. But he's 441 00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:16.679 been in too many scenes and that person is like, well, I guess 442 00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:22.199 since i'm your wife and it is nineteen, I should do that. And 443 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:29.519 that was the story of math Ferguson, who missed being the first governor female 444 00:36:29.559 --> 00:36:35.320 governor in all of America by fifteen days to someone who wasn't even elected to 445 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:40.639 someone who was appointed and wyoming. But yeah, but I think they technically 446 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:47.079 like started at the same time. So but yeah, she liked campaigned like 447 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:52.480 very awesome, very cool. That she is first female governor. But she 448 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.760 did campaign Basically they would introduce her and then she would introduce her husband, 449 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:02.840 and that he would talk out. The reason that she's running instead of him 450 00:37:04.119 --> 00:37:07.320 was because he had been impeached. So he ran and then he was reelected, 451 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:14.960 and he was pretty corrupt, and it was becoming increasingly clear that he 452 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:19.559 was pardnering people, maybe if they paid him, maybe if they were his 453 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:25.800 friend. He was he was giving people positions that maybe he promised them because 454 00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:31.239 of ways that they helped him during the election. And then he at one 455 00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:37.079 point needs to boot someone for that very purpose of giving a friend that position, 456 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:42.719 and his friend had no

experience. It was like an archivist, and 457 00:37:42.880 --> 00:37:45.840 the person who had the job was very, very experienced, and so that 458 00:37:45.920 --> 00:37:49.800 actually caused like a bit of a It caused people to sort of notice, 459 00:37:50.480 --> 00:37:54.000 and that eventually led to his impeachment. That it was like, you can't 460 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:59.440 just like choose whoever you want for everything. Um. I think that combined 461 00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:05.559 with he was also trying to get revenge on someone who ran against him by 462 00:38:05.559 --> 00:38:09.559 getting them removed from their position, I believe. And it's weird because like 463 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:14.800 him just trying to trying and failing to get someone removed from a position seems 464 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:19.360 like a weird thing to get impeached for, but like he was, it 465 00:38:19.400 --> 00:38:23.440 wasn't it was enough. There was like twenty different counts of of infractions, 466 00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:29.199 and someone found a million dollars that seemed to have arrived in his pocket at 467 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:32.639 some point. So honestly, yeah, all of these things have happened inprov 468 00:38:32.719 --> 00:38:37.800 theaters at one time or another day. Are not so much corrupt organizations but 469 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:46.400 extraordinarily poorly run organizations by people who frequently play favors with the community. Yeah, 470 00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:52.320 yeah, I mean tangential. But yeah, certainly we were both front 471 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:58.440 row seats for the sort of like me too movement fallout of of like improv 472 00:38:58.599 --> 00:39:04.320 theaters across the entire country. Yeah, it is first because there's such tight 473 00:39:04.360 --> 00:39:07.519 knit communities, I guess, and just the right size. It's basically like 474 00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:13.119 and because it's such a vulnerable environment. It's kind of like at the center 475 00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:19.119 of everything is vulnerability. So it was it was like nuts. Yeah, 476 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:22.000 stage time is hard to come by, especially in certain markets, so you 477 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:27.280 want to be friends with people. There's a lot of teacher students stuff. 478 00:39:27.400 --> 00:39:30.480 Yeah, because everyone's the same age and and stuff. So it's not like 479 00:39:30.519 --> 00:39:36.559 a weird thing to be a teacher and a student who end up dating in 480 00:39:36.599 --> 00:39:40.159 the same way it is in other contexts. But but there's still like a 481 00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:47.679 power thing. So there's something. But yeah, a lot of theaters fell 482 00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:53.000 apart or you know, split and stuff or just fights. There were a 483 00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:59.239 lot of fights. Yeah, you see be closed due to money mismanagement, 484 00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:01.400 or

didn't fully closed. But they shuttered a lot of their locations, including 485 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:07.119 all of their locations in New York, due to money this management, yes, 486 00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:14.119 for sure. And Stephen, who's of course, appeared on this program, 487 00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:16.639 I used to run a theater in Houston. He also is a graduate 488 00:40:16.639 --> 00:40:21.719 of the Second City program. And I am a person who works in live 489 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:27.280 production professionally. My job is to make sure shows happen, and so I 490 00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:31.559 would often lament how poorly certain things were run at the theater in Houston, 491 00:40:31.559 --> 00:40:36.320 and he would say something along lines of yeah, I thought it'd be more 492 00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:39.880 professional when I went to Second City, but it's not. It's just more 493 00:40:39.960 --> 00:40:45.800 money. Yeah, it's funny. I mean, I guess the thing is 494 00:40:45.880 --> 00:40:53.920 being present and being present does not beget no long term planks. Yes, 495 00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:58.119 right, you got to make sure that the soilet paper in the bathrooms, 496 00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:01.599 etcetera, etcetera. Well, Dennis, do you have anything more to say 497 00:41:01.599 --> 00:41:07.760 about Mr pop Ferguson. He as as far as what he spoke to as 498 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:10.480 well, I've found it very amusing. You know, we talked talking about 499 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:15.320 the populism. He did a lot of white supremacy talking, but him, 500 00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:21.400 they were both anti the KKK. So it seems like it was maybe something 501 00:41:21.440 --> 00:41:24.920 he was doing when it was working. And then when he got his first 502 00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:31.199 election, he went really hard on being the wet candidate because it was a 503 00:41:31.239 --> 00:41:37.639 prohibition was ended up being the big conversation in Texas, and he realized if 504 00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:42.519 he were in as a Democrat that was wet, he would be the only 505 00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:45.920 one. And so that's how he ended up winning the governorship in the first 506 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:49.400 place. It was because it was definitely going to be a Democrat at that 507 00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:54.079 time, but it was, but it was But so then he was like, 508 00:41:54.159 --> 00:41:57.880 if I'm only one, yeah, who's not going to try to do 509 00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:00.760 prohibition? Then I could do it. So all of a sudden, that's 510 00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:05.599 this big thing. Even though him and Mort Ferguson or teetotalers. Yeah, 511 00:42:06.199 --> 00:42:08.719 I feel like it just kind of he's just doing it works, he's finding 512 00:42:08.760 --> 00:42:13.880 it, and he drops whatever he needs to drop, and he moves forward. 513 00:42:14.119 --> 00:42:19.400 And and then of course running his wife is after getting impeached as and 514 00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:23.599 completely wild improvisational move. Yeah, it is, and it makes me one. 515 00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:30.920 I'm just gonna look up to make sure that this is my actual idea. 516 00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:39.119 But I am surprised that there isn't a HBO limited series called mon Pa 517 00:42:39.679 --> 00:42:45.079 following doing this and setting them up as very Trump like figures. It seems 518 00:42:45.159 --> 00:42:47.960 like kind of a no brainer sort of show. Yeah, that would be 519 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:52.159 fun, and it's It was very much a wild West time. Especially when 520 00:42:52.199 --> 00:43:00.079 mort ferguson Um was governor. Crime got really bad because she expanded the Texas 521 00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:07.480 Rangers or like reduced their number dramatically and U and then they pardoned like four 522 00:43:07.559 --> 00:43:13.440 thousand people or something, so they just kept doing that whole situation. Wow. 523 00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:17.639 Crazy. When I wanted to the last thing I'll say about him that 524 00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:27.039 I do think he has a comedic flair mhm um because he named his children 525 00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:32.360 obviously with the help of God and God my mom was a good one. 526 00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:42.519 Yeah, I'm just trying to find it. Yes, Weeda, Weeda Wallace 527 00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:51.760 Ferguson, and it's so middle name Wallace for this young woman. Yeah, 528 00:43:52.119 --> 00:43:58.599 and it's not an uncommon women woman's name Wallace. Yeah, I've I've met 529 00:43:58.639 --> 00:44:02.480 a Wallace or two? Is they? Oh my gosh, it's hilarious. 530 00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:06.880 We should have one on the pod. Alright. Hey, if you're a 531 00:44:06.920 --> 00:44:10.239 female Wallace out there, reach out. It's just that easy. But first 532 00:44:10.320 --> 00:44:15.239 name Wada. I don't know if I've seen that one before. Yeah, 533 00:44:15.239 --> 00:44:21.800 I have not not seen that. Owe you idea Da. And then their 534 00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:29.840 other child was Doris. What fergus in Um, But Doris spelled like Horace. 535 00:44:30.480 --> 00:44:37.599 It's like it's d O R R A C, which I also just 536 00:44:37.679 --> 00:44:43.880 finding super amusing, unusual, so comedic flair. There you have it. 537 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:51.639 What I will say about Mr Bob Dole is that I think he I think 538 00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:58.920 he is the only person that we've talked about fully this season choosing my words 539 00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:04.280 carefully here who has been professionally funny. There's been a lot of comedians to 540 00:45:04.360 --> 00:45:08.360 run for president, and I know that we talked about Pat Paulson at last 541 00:45:08.440 --> 00:45:13.800 year's stocking stuff. Whether he is not officially on the list, but Bob 542 00:45:13.840 --> 00:45:20.280 Dole after he loses the

election, becomes a spokesperson for a number of products 543 00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:24.440 and stars and humorous commercials that kind of poke fun at his his whole attitude. 544 00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:30.679 Memorably, Dennis did did you know that viagra only came on the market. 545 00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:35.800 I learned this while researching this episode. It feels like a medicine that 546 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:40.400 should have been around forever, And by forever, I mean the late eighties. 547 00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:44.280 I guess I don't know what I would have guessed, but I don't 548 00:45:44.320 --> 00:45:46.960 I don't feel too surpressed. I think I would have guessed sometime in the 549 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:51.639 seventies or the eighties if it were made. But but viagraph first comes out 550 00:45:51.679 --> 00:45:58.800 onto the market and they are struggling to get the message that hey, this 551 00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:02.760 thing makes your penis work to the American people. So they hire Bob Dole 552 00:46:04.840 --> 00:46:09.320 to be their spokesperson, who's dress recently lost the presidential election. And the 553 00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:15.079 commercial itself that he is in is very touching. It's a very serious commercial 554 00:46:15.079 --> 00:46:16.400 where he comes out and says, well, I know a thing or two 555 00:46:16.440 --> 00:46:20.760 about courage. We didn't talk about this. Bob Dole's World War Two veteran 556 00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:27.599 who sustained such heavy damages in in the battlefield that he was left for dead 557 00:46:27.840 --> 00:46:31.079 because they assumed that he could not survive, and he was paralyzed from the 558 00:46:31.119 --> 00:46:36.480 neck down for a while until he got rehabilitation, etcetera, etcetera. It's 559 00:46:36.519 --> 00:46:39.960 a it's a very big, great moving story, but it does not fit 560 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.239 in with the idea of him as an improviser and so largely skipped it. 561 00:46:44.480 --> 00:46:46.800 But he says, I know a thing about courage, and uh, you 562 00:46:46.880 --> 00:46:52.239 know, when when I had prostate cancer, my first concern was beating that 563 00:46:52.360 --> 00:46:55.119 cancer, but there were some other things too. And I feel like a 564 00:46:55.159 --> 00:47:00.239 lot of men don't want to talk about erectile dysfunction by It's something that's important 565 00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:02.400 to a lot of you, and it just takes a little bit of courage 566 00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:07.719 to talk about it and to maybe find a road to a road past it. 567 00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:12.960 And then Viagra, So he is a Viagara spokesman for several years following 568 00:47:13.119 --> 00:47:17.280 his his defeat in the presidential election, and then in two thousand and one 569 00:47:19.119 --> 00:47:22.519 for the Super Bowl, Pepsi hires him and they shoot a commercial that looks 570 00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:30.079 very similar to a Viagara commercial. Bob Dole says, I'll probably play some 571 00:47:30.159 --> 00:47:34.639 of it in Disapomenta. Hi. I'm Bob Dole, and I've always spoken 572 00:47:34.639 --> 00:47:37.760 to you frankly, no matter what the subject. That's why I'm eager to 573 00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:42.079 tell you about a product, the foot real joy back in my life. 574 00:47:42.519 --> 00:47:46.239 It helps me feel useful, vigorous, and most importantly, vital Again. 575 00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:52.760 What is this amazing product, my faithful little blue friend, I school PEPSI 576 00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:59.880 colavitalizing effects of So. So, he's he's a funny guy, and I'm 577 00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.599 to try and play some of his jokes. There's another really a good joke. 578 00:48:05.199 --> 00:48:07.800 I'm not going to play this one because it's a little slow to build 579 00:48:07.880 --> 00:48:12.519 up. But he loses the presidential election to Bill Clinton. Right a few 580 00:48:12.599 --> 00:48:20.119 days before Clinton's second inauguration, he gives Bob Dole the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 581 00:48:20.199 --> 00:48:23.280 which is the highest honor the president can give somebody. So it's the 582 00:48:23.320 --> 00:48:28.199 week of inauguration in d C. And Bob Dole is attending the ceremony to 583 00:48:28.239 --> 00:48:31.480 get this award, and it's customary for the person receiving the award to get 584 00:48:31.519 --> 00:48:36.639 up and speak, and so he gets up at the podium and he says, 585 00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:40.559 uh, Robert J. Dole, do solemnly swear to Oh sorry, 586 00:48:40.760 --> 00:48:46.559 I thought this was another speech was giving another speech here this week. Oh 587 00:48:47.519 --> 00:48:53.199 finally, two quotes, one from Mr Dole and one from current President Joe 588 00:48:53.239 --> 00:49:00.360 Biden. The Bob Dole says, in relation to the trauma he experienced World 589 00:49:00.360 --> 00:49:06.360 War One and the doctor who helped him through his therapy, Kellikian inspired me 590 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:07.639 to focus on what I had left and what I could do with it, 591 00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:14.000 rather than complaining what had been lost, which I think is at its best. 592 00:49:14.079 --> 00:49:17.639 That's what improvisation is about. It's not getting bogged down in the ideas 593 00:49:17.719 --> 00:49:22.440 that you had that you can no longer do because somebody threw them all out 594 00:49:22.480 --> 00:49:27.400 the window by saying something. It's about focusing on what you can do in 595 00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:30.880 this scene with what has been created. And then, Joe Biden said in 596 00:49:31.079 --> 00:49:37.239 a an address of following the death of Bob Dole, of course, Bob 597 00:49:37.280 --> 00:49:40.239 Dole is in the Senate from the early sixties until and so he served with 598 00:49:40.280 --> 00:49:45.440 Biden for twenty some years in the

Senate. Joe Biden says to me, 599 00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:47.760 he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance or a 600 00:49:47.800 --> 00:49:52.199 humorous line at just the right moment to settle freight nerves, which I think 601 00:49:52.320 --> 00:49:55.280 is also a good idea for improvisers to be able to do. Yeah, 602 00:49:55.320 --> 00:49:59.920 well, Dennis, where can people catch your improv show? And how long 603 00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:06.039 can they catch it for? It is the next three Sundays in additional last 604 00:50:06.079 --> 00:50:12.960 Sunday, but that one is too late. Um, and I won't be 605 00:50:13.000 --> 00:50:16.639 at this one because I will be at Bybecque Festivals. Right, but this 606 00:50:16.719 --> 00:50:20.840 isn't even coming out for a week, so they will have actually missed half 607 00:50:20.920 --> 00:50:27.480 of the right by the time this episode comes next two Sundays at one pm. 608 00:50:27.639 --> 00:50:32.800 What don't tell me you're busy at one pm on a Sunday one pm? 609 00:50:32.880 --> 00:50:37.760 Yeah, it's I don't really know what the deal is with that. 610 00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:43.559 Maybe it's just you know, didn't didn't earn prime time. It is at 611 00:50:44.440 --> 00:50:49.400 they didn't have the theater space at the time. Also that they just that 612 00:50:49.519 --> 00:50:54.440 they just got So it's at this very funky, amusing ven. You would 613 00:50:54.480 --> 00:51:01.719 call it game on it's a it's a maybe that's what you're want to say. 614 00:51:01.760 --> 00:51:08.760 It's a game show like place. Yeah, is Alex right, Jake 615 00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:16.199 Jake Washer exactly? Yeah. Yeah, So basically him and his a couple 616 00:51:16.199 --> 00:51:22.000 of his friends who I did improv stuff classes with have gotten have become very 617 00:51:22.079 --> 00:51:29.039 much like the people who run that place, and so they turned it into 618 00:51:29.239 --> 00:51:35.119 also a theater that always streams everything on Twitch in addition to having an audience. 619 00:51:35.599 --> 00:51:37.880 Is kind of their different angle on it. Well, very cool, 620 00:51:38.280 --> 00:51:43.920 but I think because it's also a game show place, they maybe that's part 621 00:51:43.960 --> 00:51:46.199 of the reason it's at a funny time. Yeah, that makes sense. 622 00:51:46.719 --> 00:51:53.239 It's all those Sunday night games show kind of I love watching card Sharks Sunday 623 00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:59.320 nights. Well, you can see Dennis the next two Sundays, a game 624 00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:02.199 on in Austin in Texas, or if you want to see some improv in 625 00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:07.440 Houston, you can see that on the second Friday of every month Aureka Heights 626 00:52:07.440 --> 00:52:14.480 Brewing Company here in Bayou City. That was fun when then joined for that. 627 00:52:14.800 --> 00:52:16.559 Yeah, it was really fun. And if you come, maybe you 628 00:52:16.599 --> 00:52:25.280 can join the show. I doubt it, but hey, hey, al 629 00:52:25.400 --> 00:52:30.599 right, everybody, Thank you very much as always for listening. Presidential neth 630 00:52:30.639 --> 00:52:45.079 Matchion until next time, Bye bye. Thank you for listening to Presidential Death 631 00:52:45.079 --> 00:52:49.440 Match. Presidential Death Matches hosted by Eron Garrett and Dennis Buddy and edited by 632 00:52:49.760 --> 00:52:52.440 Erin Garrett. If you like the show, please considered giving us a review 633 00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:57.079 wherever it is you can do that, would really appreciate it. If you 634 00:52:57.119 --> 00:53:00.639 didn't like listening to the show, why don't you come on back and give 635 00:53:00.719 --> 00:53:02.719 us another try. We really grow on you. If you want to reach 636 00:53:02.760 --> 00:53:07.000 out to us, you can do that at contact at Paranoia theater dot com. 637 00:53:07.400 --> 00:53:09.239 You can also support the show in a variety of ways, including a 638 00:53:09.280 --> 00:53:14.039 Paranoia theater dot com slash store. We hope you enjoyed it, and we 639 00:53:14.079 --> 00:53:15.199 hope to hear Promius soon.