Dateline: Washington Terrace Hotel, Washington DC, 27 April
Book officially on sale today. Barnes & Nobles had sales rank of 756 yesterday, but now it's up to 915 today. Amazon was 1,800 or so yesteday, then down to 1,100 last night, and now down to 121. That feels good.
Slow start to day. Fox News Live cancels 10am hour interview, so I hit Brooks Brothers down Rhode Island Ave for a trio of additional shirts and two more ties. I meet up with media handler Ken at 10:45, wearing my new black suit. We head to Heritage Foundation, a place I have never visited, despite my status as "neocon prophet".
Kent, whom you remember from the Premeditated Media Tour of March, and I head upstairs to Laura Ingraham's radio studio. Kent knows where the Green Room is, so we hang out for five minutes. I keep practicing my memorized 3-minute spiel on the book. I know I won't get to use it, because the opening question is certain to be on Iraq.
Producer Ken Habib escorts me into Ingraham's studio. She's behind a thin, modern desk working her email and prepping for the segment while the commercials are rolling. Her engineer is in the corner. As everyone says, she is good looking in person. She's dressed casually, so I seem a bit formal in my suit.
She chats me up a bit, small talk to feel me out. She says I seem awfully serious (the universal first impression) and then informs me her show is "high energy."
I get the hint.
When we start rolling, she intros the book and me deftly and then asks about the situation in Iraq. I jump in a bit weakly, as I often do, but then quickly pick up speed. Ingraham mimes some advice on how close to get to the mike, which I hit with my hand while gesticulating at one point.
It is over in a flash. She asked good questions and, to me at least, it seemed like the segment hummed.
We chat a bit afterwards and I sign her book. She complains I don't write her something personal, so I add a line to "Laura" about helping me sell the book. Then she asks me for good questions for Rumsfeld, whom she'll have on later in the day, so I give her a few angles which she writes down and seems to appreciate. She says the segmen went well and thanks me and I am back in the Green Room with Kent.
Habib quickly comes in and says he thought it was a great segment, speaks of a possible return engagement, and says he'll spread the good word on me to other shows. He says I gave really good material and that because I'm not too partisan, he could see me doing a lot of shows. It was a nice compliment, and I was grateful to receive it.
So we left feeling very solid about that performance.
Next Kent drives me over to the CSPAN studio. We park and hit a great restaurant for lunch. Kent is a very amiable conversationalist, so the time passes quickly.
Then up to CSPAN. Wait for a bit in the Green Room, then Brian Lamb strolls in. Very charming guy he is, and I am immediately at ease.
We head into the stuio room where we take our two chairs. He instructs the tech to dust my forehead for the shine, and then we're off and running for an entire hour without a single break.
Lamb, whom I've watched many times, is really fun to interact with in an interview. He surprises me with all sorts of background questions about my career, politics, family, what it's like to give briefs, plus he deftly explores the book in some detail. His copy is dog-eared in about 50 spots, and the front and back matter pages are crammed with notes in pen. This guy has done his research in spades!
I enjoy the interview immensely and feel quite relaxed throughout. The hour passes in a breeze, and then we are required to chat with the sound off as the credits roll and we're still on camera.
Lamb's young producer appears at the door with an instant tape of the show and my special CSPAN coffee mug. Impressive!
Then Lamb shocks me as we chat in the Green Room: he suggests maybe I should give the brief on CSPAN and they'd run it at a good viewing hour--maybe following up with Q&A. I said I'd be thrilled to do so and subsequently call both Putnam and the Office of Force Transformation in OSD to get both on the case. I will admit right up front: I will be doing more than simply crossing my fingers on this one; I will be moving like lightning to make this happen as soon as possible.
After CSPAN it's a short ride to CNN. Kent had already passed me the word that my segment on Paula Zahn's show was cancelled but that CNN was going to offer me something else.
We see Wolf Blitzer and Candy Crowley wandering around as we head upstairs. As I hang in the Green Room I get a call from CNN Headline News on my cell, so I do the pre-interview with them for tonight's brief segment (2-3 minutes) on the 9pm show.
Then the CNN Pentagon producer Jim Barnett (no relation) steps in and introduces me to his assistant who will interview me on camera (while he remains off camera) for about 45 minutes worth of material that Barnett says will air in 2-3 segments on the Pentagon in coming days on CNN. So keep an eye out and let me know about any sightings!
The assistant producer is a good interviewer and I'm fairly relaxed because I know the tape will be excerpted for the best bits.
As we leave CNN, the assistant producer says he liked my book so much upon briefly scanning (he was working off Barnett's questions) that he already ordered a copy for his dad, which seemed like a nice compliment to end our afternoon on.
After that, Kent drove me back to the hotel, where I penned this quick blog through the TV Internet service in my room following another fabulous meal via room service. It is becoming clear to me I will be putting on weight on this tour . . .
Kent picks me up at 8:30 and we head back to CNN. I will do the Headline News segment remotely with whatever anchor(s) is(are) on tap in Atlanta for that segment. I will probably wear the blue suit and shower again beforehand to wake me up. The allergies hit me bad at night.
Immediately after the Headline News segment, we head back to the CSPAN building, where CNBC is also located. I will tape a segment almost immediately with Dennis Miller, who will be remote in Burbank. It will not appear tonight, but tomorow night (Wed, 28 April). I will work hard to stay psyched that late. May give into some antihistamines and just assume the adrenaline will kick in.
I am far more scared by Headline News because that's live and so short.
Wish me luck . . .
