| After complimenting me on the speech, he said he knew I had worked for Senator Fulbright and thought he shouldnt be trying to unseat himThen he stunned me by saying, In twelve years or so, you may be facing the same decision regarding running against meIf you think its the right thing to do, go on and run, and remember I told you to do itDale Bumpers was one smart cookieHe could have made a handsome living as a psychologist
The next seven weeks were a blur of rallies, sale barns, pie suppers, money-raising, and retail politicsI got a big financial and organizational boost when the AFL-CIO, at its meeting in Hot Springs, endorsed meThe Arkansas Education Association also endorsed me because of my support for federal aid to education
I spent a lot of time in the counties where I was less well known and that were less well organized than the Ozark Mountain counties: Benton County in the extreme northwest, the counties bordering both sides of the Arkansas River, and the southwest counties in the Ouachita MountainsIn Yell County my campaign was run by my cousin Mike Cornwell, the local funeral-home operatorSince he had discount hermes buried all the kinfolk there, he knew everyone, and he had an upbeat personality that kept him going in the uphill battle against his neighbor in Danville, David StewartThere were an amazing number of people who took active roles in the campaign: idealistic young professional and business people, gifted local labor leaders, county and city officials, and die-hard Democrats, from high school students to seniors in their seventies and eighties
By primary election day, we had outorganized and outworked the oppositionI got 44 percent of the vote, with Senator Rainwater barely edging out David Stewart for a spot in the runoff, 26 to 25 percentMayor Scanlon, who had no money but waged a game fight, got the rest
I thought we would win handily in the June 11 runoff unless there was a very small turnout, in which case anything could happenI didnt want my supporters to take the vote lightly and was alarmed when Will Goggins, the Democratic chairman of Searcy County, announced that all the voting there would be done in the courthouse on the square in MarshallThere was no way people living out in the country would drive thirty or forty balenciaga bag miles over winding roads to vote in just one raceWhen I called and tried to talk him into opening more polling places, Will laughed and said, Now, Bill, calm downIf you cant beat Rainwater without a big turnout here, you dont have a chance against HammerschmidtI cant afford to open rural polling places when only two or three people will voteWell need that money in NovemberYoull get whatever votes we cast
On June 11, I won 69 to 31 percent, carrying the small turnout in Searcy County 177 to 10After the November election, when I called Will to thank him for all his help, he said he wanted to put my mind at rest about something: I know you think I rigged that runoff vote for you, but I didntActually, you won 177 to 9I gave Rainwater another vote because I couldnt stand to see anyone not in double figures
The primary campaign was exhilarating for meI had thrown myself into one unfamiliar circumstance after another and learned an enormous amount about peoplethe impact of government on their lives, and how their views of politics are shaped by both their interests and their valuesI had also kept up with my teaching louis cartier scheduleIt was hard, but I enjoyed it and believed I did it pretty well except for one inexcusable mistakeAfter I gave exams in the spring, I had to grade them while the campaign was in full swingI took my Admiralty exams in the car with me, grading them as we rode or at night when the campaign work was overSomehow in the travel, I lost five of themI offered the students the option of retaking the exam or getting full credit without a specific gradeThey all took the credit, but one of them was particularly upset about it, because she was a good student who probably would have made an A, and because she was a good Republican who had worked for Congressman HammerschmidtI dont think she ever forgave me for losing the exam or for running against her old bossI sure thought about it when, more than twenty years later, that former student, federal judge Susan Webber Wright, became the presiding judge in the Paula Jones caseSusan Webber Wright was plenty smart, and maybe I should have just given her an AAt any rate, for the general election, I took leave without pay from the law school
During the summer I kept up the hectic pace, with large gucci bag breaks for my brothers high school graduation, my tenth high school reunion, and a trip to Washington to see Hillary and meet some of her co-workers on the impeachment inquiry staffHillary and all her colleagues were working themselves to a frazzle under Johns stern demands to be thorough, fair, and absolutely closed-lippedI was worried about how exhausted she wasshe was thinner than I had ever seen her, so thin her lovely but large head seemed to be too big for her body
Over the weekend I took her away for some rest and relaxation to the Outer Banks of North CarolinaWe had a great time together and I was beginning to think Hillary might actually join me in Arkansas when the inquiry was finishedEarlier in the year on a trip to Fayetteville, shed been invited by Dean Davis to interview for a position on the law facultyShe came back a few weeks later, impressed the committee, and was offered a job, so now she could both teach and practice law in ArkansasThe question was whether she wouldAt the moment I was more worried about how tired and skinny she was
I went back home to the campaign and a far bigger health problem in my chanel jewelry fa |
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