I joke constantly that doing the Northern Alliance Radio Network is the easiest talk radio gig in the world, because you rarely need to do any actual show prep.  John, Chad, Brian, Ed, King, Michael and I blog about the stuff all week; we’re completely, constantly immersed in our material. Prep is almost redundant.

Counterintuitively, last night was even more so.  Palin’s speech was a huge slab of red talkradio meat that could have sustained an hour or two without any notes.  McCain’s speech had its notes as well (later post).

And the guests?

We landed Hugh Hewitt and Duane Patterson – but that’s no challenge.  They’ll do any media they can get.  They’d appear on Pacifica, I think.

We followed them up with a couple of women – east-coast Democrats, actually – who’d gone to Denver in an RV to support Hillary.  They worked hard to get the roll-call vote, and were disappointed with the treatment they felt Mrs. Clinton received.  They loaded back up in the RV, and started driving home (Pennsylvania and Delaware) – and, listening to the radio, became ever more revolted by the treatment they heard their own side giving Sarah Palin.  They got to Terra Haute before they realized they needed to do something.  They put “Saint Paul” into their Garvin (they had no idea where the city was), swerved northwest, and drove all night to get to Saint Paul, on their mission – to convince fellow Hillary supporters to turn out for the Palin/McCain ticket.  That interview was a hoot; sort of like interviewing Edith Bunker and Linda Richman.  A hilarious couple of ladies, and great people to have on your side.

And then…Paul Shanklin and Michael Ramirez.  Simultaneously.  If you’ve been hiding under a rock; Shanklin is Rush Limbaugh’s parodymonger, writing spoof songs featuring dead-on impressions of political figures (usually Democrats) for the past umpteen years; Ramirez is a big cheese at Investors Business Daily, one of the best editorial cartoonists in the business, and a pretty funny guy himself. 

The Northern Alliance – at least, Volume II, Ed and I – don’t do a lot of interviews.  But over the years on the NARN, I’ve inteviewed quite a few people that I admire a lot, in many ways; a partial list (because over four and a half years, I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few) includes David Bellavia, Mitt Romney, Victor Davis Hansen, Christina Hoff-Summers, Norm Coleman, Michelle Malkin, Mona Charen, Steven Vincent, Mike Nelson (yes, that one, of Mystery Science Theater fame), John Lott…and on, and on.  Of course, Ramirez is a giant in the field, and Shanklin – well, I used to do parody songs myself, back when I was with Don Vogel.  And Shanklin is the best ever.  And interviewing people for whom you are an unabashed fanboy is an interesting exercise; trying to sound excited but not obsequious (or worse, like Chris Farley’s awestruck cable interviewer character) can be hard, at least for me.  I try to “humanize” them – often (I’m not making this up) by remembering that their underwear is just as likely to be riding up as mine is right now. 

That usually helps.

Anyway – interviewing Shanklin and Ramirez together was sort of like sharing a table with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal (and Ed, feel free to book both of them any ol’ time here).

And after all that, we had Mac’s speech.   More on that later.

Another interview with Hugh and Duane, and it was time to head out.  Here’s the point where I give the shout-out to the Patriot crew that actually did the work this past week, the setting up and tearing down and moving stuff; program director Nick Novak, producer Matt Reynolds, promotions director Kate Fisher, majordomo Jay “Long Suffering” Larson, and Salem Radio’s extraordinary robogeek engineer Anthony Ochoa.  Since I hadn’t the faintest idea how to tear the gear down (and Ochoa would have dissected and killed me in that order if I’d tried), I retired to the “Captain’s Quarters”, a media/delegate reception area in the basement of the Wilkins Arena, with an open bar, swedish meatballs and jalapeno poppers.  It was packed with people – media, delegates, staffers, everyone.  I mixed it up for a bit – but after the week I’d had, I was too tired to socialize all that much. 

It was, truly, an action-packed evening.