It was a bright sunny Tuesday in April of 1996 when I got the call. “Sam Donaldson wants to interview you!” My attorney said excitedly. “I’m not doing any more of those freakin interviews and besides who’s Sam Donaldson?” I said in the most cocky tony imaginable . A fax came through just then on the Fax machine. It was a transcript of Donaldson heckling President Bush! “OK, I like this guy, lets do it!” I said. A couple days later a stretch limo pulls up to my office several hours after the camera crew had arrived and prepped. “Mr. Donaldson is almost ready for you.” Said the somewhat nervous producer lady. And then as if by an act of God , a seemingly wax figure of a man exits the limo and enters into my office. I was taken by his caked on makeup and bad hairpiece but almost immediately after I got over those cursory aesthetic judgements I realized that this was not the usual pirhanna rookie that they usually sent over to interview me. This was a “professional” and a seasoned veteran of Journalism. He had paid his dues, endured his scars and worn the beige vest with all the pockets while running from people yelling in strange languages. He had seen it all.His professionalism and courtesy were unrivaled. He didn’t look at me with “that look ” I so often got from reporters and his tone with me was the same I was sure that he used with everyone. There was no condescending rhetoric used . He had no tolerance for “any bullshit” as he was quick to point out. I found his reporting to be fair and mostly unbiased. Check out the video. I was sooooooo nervous….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZD-gY9pZBs

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