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When Politics Get Personal
We're making the political personal at The Story. That's why we're interested in stories like these: your stories about politics and political figures.
Backroom Deal Breaker
Monday, September 29 2008
Backroom Deal breaker
Kelly Hicks
Kelly Hicks left her real estate job to work on a campaign for a local politician - someone she thought would make her town a better place to live. She was shocked when she learned he was in the back pocket of developers. For years afterwards, she didn't vote. Kelly talks to Dick about the backroom meeting that crushed her political idealism, and how she later recovered her faith in politics.
You're Not Nixon
Friday, September 26 2008
You're not Nixon!
George Akers - larger >>
At a time when many people are sorting out which candidate they identify with, George Akers remembers being regularly identified as a candidate by other people: he bears an uncanny resemblance to Richard Nixon. The resemblance was usually the stuff of harmless jokes. But in 1970, George was on a picnic with his university students in a park near Camp David. On a whim, the group drove to the gate at Camp David, and to their astonishment were let in. George tells Dick about his encounter there with Marines, Secret Service men, and black helicopters.
- See a photo of George in front of a poster of Nixon
Meeting Charisma
Wednesday, September 24 2008
Meeting Charisma
Carolyn Maki
Carolyn Maki remembers the day she came face-to-face with charisma in the political scene. It happened when she was a high school student. And the politician? Let's just say it was someone her dad was not fond of. Carolyn talks to Dick about meeting Hubert Humphrey.
Voting at Home
Tuesday, September 9 2008
Voting AT HOME
For Sue Leroux, voting brings back fond childhood memories. She grew up in Lancaster, Ohio, in a neighborhood where there were no public buildings. So Sue's parents agreed to have the neighborhood polling place in their cinderblock basement. Before each election day, her parents transformed the normally unkempt basement into a festive space, where blue-haired ladies snacked on coffee cake. Sue grew up thinking of voting as a sacred rite - a feeling that has stayed with her all her life.
- See a photo of Sue and her three brothers from 1955 standing in front of their house
The Ice Cream Line
Wednesday, August 20 2008
THE ICE CREAM LINE
Bill Myers
Back in the 1950s, Bill Myers endured racism on a daily basis - he once stood in line for ice cream on a hot day, only to be turned away at the counter. He tells Dick Gordon about a similar indignity he faced at the polls.
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