The campaigns roll through...

Pennsylvania has become the political pundit pit stop du jour...

With Barack and Hilary making campaign stops just hours apart in Wilkes-Barre yesterday, I am reminded of the last time Bill Clinton was in Wilkes-Barre.

After the floods of January '96, President Clinton came to town to survey flood damage and bring relief to that part of Luzerne County.

Three days prior to his visit, the announcement was made that he'd be coming to King's College. The whole school had very little time to prepare, but ended up pulling it off well.

Having just been hired by two radio stations in Scranton, they put my name in for a press pass. After clearing security and finding a pay-phone, I called the stations, and they put me right on air. It was my first time on commercial radio that didn't involve calling in and trying to win a contest or just to bug the DJ's. It was about 90 minutes before Bill had arrived to the school... he was part of a private session in the campus chapel, before meeting the entire crowd in the Scandlon Gymnasium. On air, I described the scene and the lines of people waiting to get in. My fellow Mass Communications major students were all over the place, working on projects and gathering information for various class projects. I headed upstairs to media headquarters... we got transcripts of all of Clinton's speeches. I could see why the term POTUS was used all the time, it was an acronym for President Of The United States. It was easier to type... keep in mind, this was right around the time when the internet grew popular. Good old paper and pen was still the way to go.

I quickly got into conversations with Wendell Goler, who is now with Fox, and a few other media reps. In the room next to me were NBC's Brian Williams, ABC's Ann Coulter, and CBS radio's Mark Knoller. It was fun sharing details about the area with everyone. One moment, I turn to my left, and there's Chuck Taylor from ABC radio, who was helping me with audio cuts. I turn another way, there's Governor Tom Ridge walking by. Next thing I see, a reporter from Pittsburgh is putting make-up on for his report. I peer across the gym, there's a fellow student named Patrick Murphy (no, not the diamond guy). Murphy is now Pennsylvania's 8th District Congressman. Murphy got to introduce the President. Clinton spoke for about an hour, and had everybody inside feeling good about his visit.

By the way, in an unusual twist, Murphy is endorsing Obama, not Clinton.

It was a memorable day for Wilkes-Barre... and for me.

12 years later, here's Wilkes-Barre thrust into the spotlight again. I'm sure that just like that day in '96, news vans from Philly, Harrisburg, and all over made the trip up and parked along Franklin and Main Streets. Who knows, maybe there was a young journalist somewhere among the crowds getting his first glimpse of being among the media. Only time will tell.

Buckle up,
TS