Political Encounters

[Dill]

(05-15-2017, 05:20 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've been fortunate in my life in that I have met a quite a few politicians. I would say that my proximity to Washington makes this very possible, but I have to say that having some of the experiences I have had has caused me to get more engaged in the process. How many elected officials have you "rubbed elbows" with and who was it if it was someone that many people on the board might know? And do you think that this influenced you to become more active in political dialogue?

My list is:
George W. Bush
Al Gore
Sen. John Warner
Sen. (then Gov.) Tim Kaine
Sen. (then Gov.) Mark Warner
VAAG Ken Cuccinelli
Gov. Bob McDonnell
LG Ralph Northam
Rep. Bob Goodlatte

And then several state reps and senators and local officials. Too many of them, really. I think my favorite non-political moment was meeting Mark Warner. He had broken his arm while bicycling in 2005, and some of us Virginia Scouts and Scouters at the National Jamboree got to sign his cast. My favorite political was actually getting to sit down with John Warner and discuss issues. I was a high schooler and was there with a group and we got to go into a conference room with the man himself, about 6 of us, and have a conversation with him about issues. It was a lot of fun.

What counts as "met"? I've been in the same room with Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, Max Baucus and Leon Panetta. Kohl is the only one I tried to speak to and our own SS stopped me. Maybe some I don't remember. I did a news conference with Washington State Representative Jim McDermott in 1989. That was fun.