Nixon and Watergate

Send us a textHAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!!!Last year ws a year of extremes but overall we saw our show expand to include a new local broadcast and we completed several projects we hope to bring you in this coming year of 2026. Please join us here for another exciting year at "Randal Wallace Presents" , "The Richard Nixon Experience" and " Grand Strand Politics" Here is what is on tap for next years: BOB DOLE — A Three-Season Audio Documentary SeriesTwo Upcoming InstallmentsSeason TwoBob Dole: The Life That Brought Him ThereBefore the campaign. Before the slogans. Before the headlines — the life.Season Two traces the extraordinary, often overlooked journey that forged Bob Dole long before he became a presidential nominee. From a Kansas boy who left for World War II and returned with devastating injuries, to a patient rebuilding himself at Percy Jones Army Hospital alongside other wounded veterans, this season tells the story of how grit, discipline, and moral clarity shaped one of America's most consequential political figures.This season follows Dole's ascent from Russell County Attorney to Congress, and then to the United States Senate, charting his rise through the Republican Party during some of the most volatile decades in American history. We examine his tenure as RNC Chairman, his role during Watergate, and his legendary razor-thin 1974 Senate reelection victory over Dr. Bill Roy — a race that changed the trajectory of his career.Listeners will also hear the inside story of Dole's vice-presidential campaign, his years as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and his time as both Majority and Minority Leader.Built from original interviews with U.S. Senators, senior Dole staffers, and journalists, alongside rare archival audio and historic news coverage, The Life That Brought Him There is not just biography — it is the story of how leadership is forged.This is the season that explains who Bob Dole was before America decided what to make of him.Season ThreeBob Dole Campaign 1996: The Campaign of a LifetimeA front-row seat to one of the most dramatic presidential races of the modern era.Season Three is an immersive, deeply reported account of Bob Dole's 1996 run for the presidency — a campaign built on legacy, urgency, and the belief that a lifetime of service still had one final chapter to write.This season takes listeners inside the primaries, strategy fights, and pressure-packed moments that defined Dole's quest to defeat a sitting president. Through exclusive oral histories from Dole insiders, U.S. Senators, campaign veterans, and journalists, we reveal how the campaign was really run — and how close it came to changing American history.Adding a rare dimension, host Randal Wallace brings listeners along through his own experience as a volunteer in the pivotal South Carolina primary, where the campaign was nearly derailed — and later across the long, grinding road to the Republican nomination and the general election. Using archival news coverage, historic speeches, behind-the-scenes stories, and firsthand testimony, The Campaign of a Lifetime reconstructs the race as it actually happened — not as it was simplified afterward.Plus we look at the the three books our host has Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThis episode of our podcast is a tribute for a giant figure in the history of North Carolina. Governor Jim Hunt served for 16 years and he led the way in education reform in our region of the country. The modern North Carolina owes much to his leadership in the state. It also is a tribute to one of the great reporter of our time, journalist Peter Arnett. He had a distinctive voice that you recognized from the moment he spoke his first words in any report. He was on the front lines of war zones, revolutions, and manhunts all over the world from war torn regions of the Middle East, to Africa, South America, and Europe. He won two Pulitzer prizes. He passed away at age 90. This episode is also dedicated to three friends:  Dr. Fred Paul Norman, who helped me lose 100lbs and is the founder of the Myrtle Beach Diet Center in the community where we record these shows, Gerry McDaniel who was an activist in our community for years and former Vice President Dick Cheney who we forgot to mention in our 2025 wrap up episode despite having done two shows when he passed away earlier this year.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textHappy New Year 2026!! In this episode we say farewell to many iconic figures on the national scene, and here locally where we record this show. Sadly, we had so many passings in 2025 we are having to divide the New Year show in half this year. This episode we look back at the many people we lost this year. This episode is especially dedicated to a good friend from my college days at Lander University, who was also my first party Chairman in the College Republicans, Brian McCarty, he was one of those few figures both in life, and especially in politics, that you never heard a hard word said about nor did he have one to say about anyone else. He will be missed by all who knew him. In our episode tomorrow night we will look forward at the many projects in store for next year.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textErnest Hemingway's life was a testament to his belief in living authentically and drawing from rich, personal experience for his writing. His three primary homes in Key West,  Havana, and Ketchum were more than just residences; they were essential backdrops and sources of inspiration for his work, each intrinsically linked to his lifestyle and creativity. Unifying these locales, and a symbol of his deep connection to the sea, was his beloved fishing boat, the Pilar.In Key West, Florida (his home during the 1930s), Hemingway found a laid-back, "bohemian" atmosphere that fostered a disciplined writing routine in the mornings and deep-sea fishing adventures in the afternoons with local friends, later dubbed the "Key West Mob". The house on Whitehead Street, a National Historic Landmark, provided a stable base where he wrote works like To Have and Have Not and numerous short stories.His time in Key West served as a gateway to Havana, Cuba, where he eventually moved and lived for over two decades, longer than anywhere else. His home there,  Finca Vigía (Lookout Farm), offered the quiet and space where he wrote some of his most celebrated work, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Old Man and the Sea. It was from the nearby village of Cojimar that he and his captain, Gregorio Fuentes, would set out on the Pilar.The 38-foot custom Wheeler yacht, the Pilar, was a constant companion for 27 years, serving as an escape from the pressures of fame and the setting for big-game fishing exploits that earned him a reputation as a founder of sportfishing. The boat was a personal and literary anchor, its name a nickname for his second wife Pauline and a character in For Whom the Bell Tolls. It became a literal and figurative vessel that carried him to the experiences he translated into raw, real stories.Finally, Ketchum, Idaho, became his autumn retreat and final home in the late 1950s, after planning to leave Cuba amidst political tensions. In the rugged landscape of Idaho, he hunted and fished the rivers and plains, finding a different kind of solace. It was here, struggling with deteriorating health and depression, that he ultimately ended his life in 1961, leaving behind a legacy deeply tied to the physical locations that shaped his life and literature. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a text Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThis episode is the first of three episodes that centers on the biggest star in all of American Literature, the great Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway's writing tips center on a minimalist style, a disciplined work ethic, and his famous "Iceberg Theory" (or theory of omission), which suggests that the deeper meaning of a story should be implied rather than explicitly stated. Here are his core writing tips and advice:Style and TechniqueBe brief and use simple language: Employ short sentences and paragraphs to create a direct, clear, and impactful prose style. Avoid flowery or ornamental language, adverbs, and adjectives wherever possible.Write one true sentence: When experiencing writer's block or starting a new piece, focus on writing one simple, honest, and factual sentence you know to be true. This can provide the anchor to build the rest of the story.Show, don't tell: Instead of describing emotions or themes directly, present the specific actions, dialogue, and details that allow the reader to infer the underlying meaning and emotion for themselves.Master the "Iceberg Theory": The visible part of your story (the words on the page) should only be a fraction of the whole. The majority of the meaning, informed by the writer's deep knowledge of the subject and character motivations, should reside as subtext beneath the surface.Use vigorous English and strong verbs: Employ active voice and precise, powerful verbs to drive the narrative and avoid passive constructions or weak language. Process and DisciplineEstablish a consistent routine: Hemingway was highly disciplined, waking early (often between 5:30 and 6 a.m.) to write in a quiet, distraction-free environment for several hours each morning.Stop while you're still "going good": To avoid writer's block, always stop writing for the day when you still know what will happen next. This leaves something in the "well" for the next morning, making it easier to start again.Edit ruthlessly: Expect the first draft to be poor and embrace the revision process. Hemingway famously rewrote the ending of A Farewell to Arms 47 times, believing that all good writing requires meticulous editing and rewriting.Read widely and compete with the "dead greats": A writer should read everything to understand what has been done and set a high standard for their own work by competing with established masters.Live first, write later: Draw heavily on personal experience, observation, and research. The authenticity in his writing came from truly knowing his subjects (hunting, fishing, war, love) and filtering them through an intimate viewpoint. By adhering to these principles, Hemingway aimed to create prose that was honest, authentic, and emotionally resonant, allowing the reader to experience the story as if it happened to them personally.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textTwo Great authors and one inspirational city are the focus of this episode. Sinclair Lewis Sinclair Lewis's writing advice, often delivered directly to his students or in letters, focused on the practicalities of a writing life and the raw discipline required. Some of his most memorable guidance includes the reminder that "real writers" are unstoppable and the emphasis that writing is simply hard work. Focus and disciplineDon't fool yourself. Lewis advised writers, "You can fool the critics but never yourself". Embrace the hard work.Ignore discouraging words. Turn off distractions. Writing craftWrite with your ear. Lewis insisted that writers and readers should use their ears, not just their eyes.Write what truly interests you. He advised, "Write about what really interests you... and nothing else". Be painstakingly clear. Save your drafts. He suggested that if you give up on a piece of writing, you should put it in a drawer instead of throwing it away. He found that much of his best work came from revising or rewriting things he had abandoned years earlier.Know your words.Consider not using a typewriter.Advice to his studentsWhen Lewis taught at the University of Minnesota, he had some pointed words for his class. : Compete with the best. Possess a "divine egotism". Lewis encouraged a form of confidence and ambition in his students.Live righteously. Tennessee Williams Based on his journals and interviews, Tennessee Williams' writing advice centers on honest, emotionally-driven storytelling and consistent practice. He encouraged writers to focus on the human heart, avoid distractions, and embrace the fragile, conflicted parts of themselves and their characters. Write honestly and from withinFocus on inner tension. Be autobiographical. Identify with vulnerable characters. Williams found it easier to write about people who were fragile, lonely, or on the verge of hysteria,Embrace the full messiness of your characters. He encouraged writers to let their characters "fight," "claw their way toward something," and be "messy and holy and tired" instead of being quiet and acceptable. Overcome your inner criticBelieve in your first draft.Believe in yourself.Recognize the dual nature of your work. After the first draft, Williams noted that a play is never as good or as bad as you think it is. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, and a writer must push past these self-assessments. Cultivate a strong work ethicWork every day.Revise relentlessly. Be a "wasteful writer." Williams admitted to generating a lot of material that he didn't use, going through multiple drafts before finalizing a work. For him, a lot of writing was necessary to arrive at what was good. Capture and express emotional truthDon't bore the audience. Tell the truth, even if it's shocking. Find inspiration in small observations. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThis episode gathers some great advice from the best authors of our current time. It is a fun episode. The collective writing advice from these authors emphasizes core principles of discipline, clarity, honesty, and reader engagement, while acknowledging that individual processes can vary (e.g., plotters vs. "pantsers").Common and Diverse ThemesDiscipline and Consistency: King, Mosley, and Oates all stress the importance of a regular, consistent writing schedule, often daily, to build momentum and allow ideas to "bubble up" from the subconscious.Clarity and Simplicity: Vonnegut, King, and Mosley advocate for clear, simple language, avoiding jargon or overly "fancy" words to ensure the reader is engaged and can easily understand the story.Reader Empathy: A central tenet for Vonnegut and King is to respect the reader's time and attention, making sure every sentence moves the story forward or reveals character, and that the reader feels their time was not wasted.Honesty and Personal Voice: The authors encourage finding your own natural voice and writing about subjects you genuinely care about, believing this authenticity is what truly connects with readers.The Primacy of Story/Character over Plot: King and Mosley are notably skeptical of rigid plotting, preferring to place interesting characters in a situation and discover the story as they write. Conversely, Vonnegut suggests starting as close to the end as possible, implying a clear destination is necessary.Rigorous Editing: There is universal agreement on the necessity of editing. King suggests cutting 10% of a first draft and letting it "marinate" before revisiting, while Vonnegut talks about having the "guts to cut" anything that doesn't advance the narrative.Individual Author HighlightsKurt Vonnegut: Famous for his "8 Rules," including the instruction to make awful things happen to characters "so that the reader may see what they are made of" and to use the time of a stranger wisely.Walter Mosley: Emphasizes that writing is a form of self-discovery and encourages writers to "write without restraint" in the first draft, exploring the darker sides of characters to make them believable.Stephen King: Strongly advocates for reading a lot and writing a lot, viewing writing as a form of "telepathy" where the writer transmits thoughts to the reader. He advises avoiding passive voice and adverbs.Lee Child: Stresses that "character is king" and that the writer's main qualification is being a reader. He also has specific advice on pacing, suggesting writing "fast stuff slow, the slow stuff fast".John Grisham: (Specific tips were not available in the provided snippets, but his work is a prime example of effective, fast-paced plotting that aligns with many of the above principles, particularly the idea of starting close to the action and keeping the reader engaged).Joyce Carol Oates: Focuses on using physical details and setting to reveal characters' interior psychological conditions, with details carrying implicit meaning within the story. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textPat Conroy's writing tips focus on using personal experience to craft honest, passionate prose. His advice emphasizes deep exploration of one's inner world, dedicated hard work, and the importance of reading widely. On finding your subjectWrite to understand your own life. Conroy wrote to make sense of his own story and invited readers to join him in the journey. He believed a writer's "central agony cowers in the limestone cave, licking its wounds, awaiting my discovery of it".Draw from your memories. Conroy frequently mined his difficult childhood, particularly his father's violence, as the central truth of his work. He wrote for the "people who can't speak" and explored where his life and relationships had gone off course.Use your life as fuel, not as a script. As a "creative non-fiction" writer, Conroy used his experiences to inform his fictional stories and craft complex characters, rather than simply presenting estranged family members with their names changed.Gather stories. Conroy was an avid collector of stories, treating them like "rare stamps" or a library of music. He was known to claim a good story for his own writing if he heard it. On the writing processWrite the first draft by hand. Conroy famously wrote the first drafts of his books on long yellow legal pads with a pen, preferring to lose himself in the narrative flowing from his hand.Dedicate yourself to hard, fanatical work. Conroy described writing as "hard labor and one of the most pleasant forms that fanaticism can take." He believed nothing lazy should ever enter his books.Practice with an "ironclad" schedule. Writing requires discipline and a consistent schedule. Conroy committed to a routine no matter where he was, knowing that the process "does not permit much familiarity with chaos".Go deeper, then go deeper again. He instructed writers to dive past the surface of their narratives. Your job, he said, is to discover the angels or demons—the enigmas—buried within you.Write for yourself. While Conroy loved his readers and answered every letter he could, he believed that ultimately, you write for yourself. Your art is "desperately trying to make its own voice heard to you"—you just need to listen. On language and craftListen to the sound of your sentences.  He insisted words had to "come out right".Pursue amplitude and exactness. Early in his career, Conroy was drawn to extravagance, but over time, he learned that "exactness is a virtue in even the most word-possessed writer". His writing balances lyrical, lush prose with simple and well-stated truths.Capture the spirit of a place. Conroy was a master of place, especially the South Carolina Lowcountry. He advised writers to make locations concrete, exact, and so vivid that they are indispensable to the story.Trust the power of story. The most powerful words, according to Conroy, are, "Tell me a story." On reading and learningRead everything, especially your contemporaries. Read 200 pages a day. Embrace the long apprenticeship. Conroy believed that his first, "naive" book, The Boo, taught him that he had a long way to go and would have to work as hard as any writer alive to master his craft.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textJames Bond meets Harry Potter in this episode of our series. Two favorites of mine from across the pond in this special edition. Ian Fleming's writing tips emphasize speed, research, clarity, and sensory detail to keep the reader engaged and "turn over the page". He wrote primarily for "pleasure and money," aiming to create compelling thrillers rather than "Literature with a capital L". Here are his key writing tips and habits:The Writing ProcessWrite Fast and Never Look BackEdit LaterEstablish a Routine Style and ContentBlend Fact with Fantasy: Use real-world facts, locations, and brand names to ground the more fantastical plot elements in reality. This gives the story authenticity and stimulates the reader's senses, a technique known as the "Fleming effect".Prioritize Clarity and ConcisionFocus on Sensory Details:  Describe food, drink, clothes, and locations to provide a vivid, vicarious experience.Create Strong VillainsHook the Reader: The most important rule: "You have to get the reader to turn over the page". He used plot hooks (often involving sex or violence) at the end of chapters to compel the reader to continue.Vary Sentence LengthListen to Your Audience: Fleming was sensitive to feedback from his readers and adjusted his approach based on their expectations, such as ensuring Bond traveled to exotic locations after a UK-only novel ( Moonraker). MindsetWrite for Pleasure and Money: He was unashamed about his motivations, believing a writer's life was a good one, offering a decent living if film deals and other rights were secured.Be Aware of the WorldView Writing as a Craft: He considered himself a "writer" rather than an "author" or "artist," viewing writing as a craft where one constantly learns by studying peers. J.K. Rowling emphasizes discipline, extensive planning, and resilience as core to her writing process. Her tips focus on the craft and the emotional connection to the story. Key writing tips from J.K. Rowling include:Read Extensively Rowling consistently advises aspiring writers to read as much as possible. This helps you analyze what works and what doesn't, discover your preferences, and eventually find your own distinctive voice.Plan Meticulously Rowling is a thorough planner who mapped out the entire seven-book Harry Potter series before completing the first novel, using detailed, color-coded spreadsheets and outlines. Knowing the overall arc and destination provides structure, allowing for creative freedom along the way.Be DisciplinedRewrite and Edit Develop Complex Characters Give characters flaws and contradictions, making them morally complex and realistic. This allows readers to relate to them on a deeper, more human level.Write What You Know (Emotionally) While not a literal tip to only write from personal experiences, Rowling suggests drawing from your own emotions, truths, and instincts. She used her personal struggles with depression as the raw material for the Dementors, for example.Minimize Adverbs Be Resilient a Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we look back at the man who can lay claim to having written the longest sentence in American Literature. He also wrote the story, "A Rose For Emily" which is a play that our host, Randal Wallace,  once played the part of Homer Barron, the unfortunate beau of Ms. Emily, who they would later find dead in her bed years after he disappeared.  William Faulkner offered extensive advice on writing during his time as a writer-in-residence at the University of Virginia and in various interviews. His tips emphasize passion, discipline, and a ruthless dedication to craft over commercial success or style. Core PhilosophyBe writing, not "a writer": The act of writing is about movement and activity; adopting the static label of "a writer" can lead to stagnation.Write for pleasure, not money: Relying on writing for income or external approval can compromise artistic integrity. Keep your writing amateur in spirit and get another job to pay the bills.Embrace failure as growth: You will never achieve absolute perfection, and that is a healthy condition. The goal is a "splendid failure" that drives you to improve with each new work, always striving to be better than your past self.Be ruthless for your art: The writer's only responsibility is to their art. Everything else—honor, pride, security—goes by the board to get the book written. Craft and TechniqueFocus on core human conflicts: Faulkner believed that enduring stories focus on "the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself," such as love, honor, pity, and sacrifice.Prioritize character: According to Faulkner, if you understand your characters, they will drive the narrative, and the writer's job is to record their actions and words.Don't overthink style: Style should serve the story and is not a goal in itself. There are no mechanical rules for writing.Use dialect sparingly: A few touches of recognizable dialect are better than extensive use, which can confuse readers. Process and HabitsRead extensively: Faulkner advised reading all kinds of literature, good and bad, to learn from other writers.Stop while you're inspired: To maintain momentum, stop writing for the day when you're in a good flow and know what you'll write next.Make time for writing: Faulkner contended that anyone claiming they lack time to write is mistaken; even ten minutes can be used, and ideas should be written down immediately.Combine experience, observation, and imagination: These elements are crucial for a writer, and they can compensate for each other's absence.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we examine the life and work of two authors who actually knew each other and corresponded as they wrote their literary masterpieces. Nathaniel HawthorneFrom a modern perspective, Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing tips emphasize the importance of deep psychological exploration, moral complexity, and meticulous craft. His advice challenges writers to move beyond simple storytelling and engage with the more difficult truths of the human condition. Embrace the difficulty of good writingHawthorne's most famous writing maxim is: "Easy reading is damn hard writing". Editing is keyThe illusion of easeFocus on psychological and moral depthAs a key figure in Dark Romanticism, Hawthorne's work delves into the complexity of the human mind and its dark side. Explore complex inner strugglesExamine sin and guiltUncover hypocrisyUse symbolism and allegoryHawthorne masterfully used symbolic imagery and allegorical narratives to create layered, meaningful stories. Go beneath the surfaceEmploy symbolsCraft evocative narrativesDevelop a strong writing ritualHawthorne was known for his very structured, solitary, and monotonous daily routine, which created the ideal conditions for deep and sustained thought. Embrace solitudeMake it a habitRecognize the power of wordsHawthorne viewed words as an instrument of immense power that a writer must learn to wield skillfully. Combine words carefullyLet the narrative unfold naturallyHis storytelling technique was focused on telling a story as a process, allowing it to reveal itself naturally. Character-driven choicesCreate richly detailed narrativesHawthorne's elaborate, ornate prose style was intentional, designed to force readers to examine every word. Craft intricate sentences: His notoriously long, winding sentences were used to add layers of meaning and complexity to his ideas.Encourage reader interpretationHerman MelvilleFrom his letters, essays, and fictional works, Herman Melville's writing tips emphasize originality, ambition, and the pursuit of truth beneath surface appearances. He encouraged a deep, unyielding commitment to art, even if it meant commercial failure. Pursue originality over imitationMelville deeply valued originality and considered it a measure of a writer's potential for greatness. "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation".Choose a "mighty theme"For Melville, a book's substance was directly related to the ambition of its topic. He advised writers to grapple with "great and enduring" subjects "To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme".- Uncover the truth beneath the surfaceTruth is often elusiveChallenge assumptions Embrace creative struggle and even failureUse your own experiencesBe prepared for your work to be misunderstoodWriting from the heart, Melville was famously undervalued in his lifetime, and in a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, he resigned himself to this fact.   Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThese three writers all wrote just one novel of renown but they were gargantuan titles. We celebrate their impact on American Literature in this episode. Harper Lee offered several writing tips centered on persistence, humility, and the importance of craft over reward. She emphasized a love for language and a dedication to writing for oneself. Key Writing Tips from Harper LeeDevelop a thick hide Write for yourself A writer worth their salt writes to please an audience of one: themselves. Writing is a self-exploratory process, an exorcism of "divine discontent," not a pursuit for external validation or monetary gain.Be a steady, slow worker Embrace the revision process Master the English sentence Write what you know and use vivid imagery Nurture the creative spirit  Fundamentally, Lee's advice was to focus on the integrity of the work and the process itself, hoping for the best but expecting nothing in return.J.D. Salinger's writing approach prioritized authenticity, a distinctive narrative voice, and emotional depth achieved through minimalist prose and realistic dialogue. His tips for writers can be distilled into the following principles: Write for yourself, first and foremostPrioritize a strong, authentic voiceEmbrace minimalism and precisionKnow your characters inside and outUse naturalistic dialogueWork with focus and disciplineRead extensivelyMargaret Mitchell's writing tips and style emphasize thorough research, relentless rewriting, and a simple, direct prose. She prioritized her creative work and was known for working methodically on a single project at a time. Key Writing TipsPrioritize writing above all elseEmbrace rewriting: She famously said, "I do not write with ease, nor am I ever pleased with anything I write. And so I rewrite". She emphasized that "Pulitzer-type writing... comes in the rewriting".Research thoroughlyWrite with simplicity and clarityFocus on the story and what mattersPlan meticulously but be flexibleWork with discipline and enduranceAvoid digressionsWork on one project at a timePersonal Habits and Style"Show, Don't Tell" (selectively)Character and dialogue-drivenGumption is keyAnswer fan mail Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThis episode looks at two literary giants and includes their writing tips. It also features the only writer in our entire series our host, Randal Wallace,  actually met, Maya Angelou. Mrs. Morrison was at the time of her passing, America's only living Nobel Laureate for writing. This is an inspiring episode for any aspiring authors and for everyone else too. Toni MorrisonToni Morrison advised writers to embrace the revision process, to write without considering an audience, and to trust the stories that demand to be told. Her writing method was deeply personal, relying on a pre-dawn ritual and an intimate focus on her characters. Begin with self-authorshipWrite the book you want to read. Ignore the "white gaze."  for honesty and truth rather than for applause.Write for the characters, not an audience. Trust the creative processFind your ideal creative space.Start with an image. Be open to what your writing tells you.Embrace revision and growthRevision is where the real work begins. Know the difference between revision and "fretting." Recognize missed opportunities. Maya AngelouMaya Angelou emphasized discipline, emotional truth, and mastery of language as essential for writers. Her own writing process was a dedicated ritual that supported her creative work. Embrace a disciplined routineAngelou held great respect for the craft of writing and maintained a consistent, structured process.Create a separate workspaceWrite consistentlyEdit and reviseWrite from the heartFor Angelou, the goal of writing was to reach the reader's heart and help them feel connected to the shared human experience.Tell the truth, not just the factsShare your story to help others : She said, "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song".Move beyond bitterness. Master the craft of languageAngelou believed that creative inspiration was nothing without the discipline to master one's tools.Use words to create emotion Take familiar words and make them new: Engage the sensesBelieve in your creative capacityAngelou taught that creativity is an endless resource that only grows through use.Creativity is a muscle: She famously stated, "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have".Dare to be creative: Make writing a necessity:   Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThis episode looks at three giants of American Literature who all wrote about the struggles of forgotten America. One of them, Mark Twain, is considered the Father of American Literature. John Steinbeck is known for sharing six practical writing tips in a letter to a friend in 1962. These rules prioritize flow, discipline, and authenticity over immediate perfection: Focus on the daily work: Write one page each day instead of thinking about the entire length.Write the first draft rapidly and freely: Avoid correcting or rewriting until the entire draft is complete to maintain flow and rhythm.Imagine a single, specific reader: Address your writing to one person you know or imagine, rather than a general audience.Bypass difficult scenes: Skip troublesome sections and return to them later; they may not fit the overall work.Be willing to cut favorites: Be cautious of scenes you are overly fond of, as they may be "out of drawing" or not fit the overall piece.Read dialogue aloud: Speak dialogue out as you write it to make it sound like natural speech. Steinbeck also highlighted the importance of discipline and persistence. He viewed writing as a "clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness". Thomas Wolfe, the novelist (1900–1938), is primarily known for his voluminous, autobiographical fiction. His editor, Maxwell Perkins, heavily shaped his sprawling manuscripts into publishable novels like Look Homeward, Angel. The "writing tips" associated with Thomas Wolfe often relate to his personal habits and the nature of his expansive, autobiographical style. Here are the key takeaways regarding Thomas Wolfe's approach to writing:Write everything, use everything. Embrace the "flood" of language.Trust your instincts over convention. Establish a consistent routineWriting is life. Wolfe's legacy is one of a "splendid failure" in terms of self-editing and structure, but a master of language, description, and the power of memory in autobiographical fiction. Mark Twain, the Father of American Literature: Mark Twain's writing tips emphasize clarity, simplicity, and revision, encouraging writers to prioritize the reader's experience above all else. His advice often uses humor and sharp wit to make memorable points about avoiding common writing pitfalls. Here are key writing tips attributed to Mark Twain: .Use plain, simple language"Kill" adjectives (most of them)"Use the right word, not its second cousin"Show, don't tellRewrite and revise: Writing is an iterative process.Start writing after you finishEnsure dialogue sounds humanMake all episodes and characters necessary.Avoid clichés and "stage directions" in dialogue:Write without pay (initially): He advised aspiring writers to "write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for".  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIs there a more terrifying writer in the world than Edgar Allan Poe, nor a more fun one to read with a child with than Theodore Geisel, "Dr. Seuss" ?  I don't think so. In this episode we chronicle two of the most extremely different authors of our entire series. Edgar Allan Poe wrote some of the strangest and most horrifying stories ever written. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" "The Mask of the Red Death" The Fall of the House of Usher", "Tell Tale Heart", The Pit and the Pendulum" the list goes on and on. But for all of that he is actually considered the father of the modern detective novel which is what he actually made his living doing. Though he struggled financially his entire life. His poetry is equally famous and perhaps no other poem stands out at all like "The Raven" which we will feature in this episode. The actor most closely associated with Poe is Vincent Price who made some of the best movies ever made in the 1950s and 1960s. Poe's life was as interesting as his writing and his death just as mysterious, we will tell you the story and feature his writing tips too, through the episode. Dr. Seuss, was a part of every child's life under the age of 8 in every home I have ever visited, you at least see one of his books. "The Cat in the Hat", "The Lorax", "Green Eggs and Ham," "Oh the Places we will Go" , "The Sneeches" , "One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish", "Horton Hears a Who?" , my personal favorite "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", and even a book found two decades after he passed away, hidden in a box at his house, titled "What Pet Should I get" What an extraordinary legacy to have had such an impact on the lives of children everywhere, with characters that never existed until he dreamed them up, mixed with timeless themes, that match perfectly with his rhymes. In this episode we introduce you to the man, his books, and his writing advice.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode our host honors two of his family members who passed away in recent times. Aunt Margie Wallace - My Aunt was a substitute teacher in Darlington County for two decades after finishing a 30 year career at the sewing plant there. She was known to all the students there as "Grandma" and they turned out to her funeral in mass. She was a delightful, thoughtful lady and it is an honor for our show to remember her with this broadcast. Uncle Kenneth Huggins - My Uncle worked at the Sonoco Products Company for decades, was an avid Atlanta Braves baseball fan, and active duck hunter. He was a camper and outdoorsman. He was also a lot of fun. Some of my happiest memories of childhood are visits to his house when I was small. We tell a few of those stories in this episode which features the eulogy we gave at his funeral. This episode also captures three women who were near and dear to our hearts throughout our lifetime, My Grand mother Hattie King, my mother Gloria Bulmer (who will be heavily featured in our coming series on the Great American Authors) and my Aunt Willie Mae Huggins who passed away nearly 26 years ago but who was married to my Uncle Kenneth and who was also the life of any party she attended. This is an episode about my family, one I was very lucky to have been born a part of and we hope you will enjoy the memories we share with you in this episode.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textWelcome to the first episode of our special Holiday Season, "The Great American Authors", Bob Dole's series will return in January 2026. In this episode we welcome you to our series, an introduce you to our host, Randal Wallace's,  English teacher Mother, Gloria Bulmer. She was also a writer and as part of a writing class, had some of her writing published in only one book by Coastal Carolina University, as part of a writing class in 1983, also one of her short stories won an award. Our host has that award hanging at his home. This series is dedicated to his mothers memory. Her influence led to the selection of the very first author to be profiled in our series, F. Scott Fitzgerald, my mother's favorite author. Fitzgerald wrote essays, short stories, and several novels: "This Side of Paradise", "The Beautiful and Damned,"" The Diamond as Big as The Ritz" ,"  Tender is the Night', "The Last Tycoon", and his biggest one of all "The Great Gatsby" which ironically flopped when it first came out in 1925.  The Great Gatsby was one of many books given to soldiers during Word War 2, to help keep them occupied, that led to a resurgence of Fitzgerald's writings. All that success coming, long after he had died. Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul , Minnesota, and we will take you there to hear about his early life story, then we will meet Zelda Sayre, whom he met while serving in his Army days in Alabama. They had one of those renown love affairs and it was her denial of his marriage proposal that spurred his first literary success. He had a surge of success before his writing stopped being popular, the money dried up, and he headed to Hollywood to be a screenwriter. His wife became ill and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he battled alcoholism. It was a tough life but a glamorous one. We will cover it all and listen in on the descriptions of the Jazz Age which formed the foundation of much of his writings, especially "The Great Gatsby." Throughout the series we will also give you lists of writing tips for each of the authors covered, so if you have any aspiring authors in your family, this series, which will have 16 episodes, may be something you want to let them know to tune in for over the holidays.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this our second episode honoring the life of Former Vice President Dick Cheney we listen to the various eulogies from his funeral in Washington D.C. at the Washington National Cathedral. They range from his cardiologist, former Press Secretary, a Former President of the United States, his grandchildren and daughter, a former Congresswoman in her own right. This is a moving selection of addresses.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textOn Sunday, November 15, 2025, I woke up to the news that legendary Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling Host Bob Caudle had died , peacefully, in his sleep at the age of 95. I can't explain it but this one was like losing a lifelong friend because in a way it was. Bob Caudle's voice is as familiar to me as any on Earth, he has been a fixture in our home for my entire lifetime, each Saturday for my entire childhood straight through to early adulthood I heard him say "Welcome Fans to another exciting hour of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling." He has stayed a fixture through my DVD collection and on "YouTube" whenever I have wanted to travel back in time to “the good old days” of Professional Wrestling. I am pretty sure I am not alone. Bob Caudle was like that great old recliner, comfortable and steady, that you don't pay that much attention to until it's gone. Bob Caudle was never the star, never tried to out shine the wrestlers, never made himself the story, but was always there presiding over all the chaos every Saturday when we fans tuned in. He always asked the questions we wanted to ask and said exactly what all of us wanted to say as all the insanity erupted. Bob Caudle was there steady as a rock. In the end, this very normal “old white guy in brown shoes” was , in fact, as big a star with all of us fans as the stars he covered, and in the eyes of us wrestling fans of Jim Crockett Promotions, there was no one more beloved, than this often befuddled host of the greatest territorial wrestling show in the history of wrestling. It has been like a part of all our collective childhoods vanished Sunday. But what a wild, fun ride it was, and I hope I speak for all of us fans of the Wrestling Network, Bob Caudle, you will be missed, and we will cherish your memory forever, for Bob Caudle provided the soundtrack of our childhood. So, to Mr. Caudle , here is our tribute to you, rest in peace, and “until next time so long for now.” (No copyright claimed nor intended for the clips used in this tribute to Bob Caudle. This is for historical use only. )  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textJoin us starting November 25, 2025 for a Christmas Holidays Special 16th Season as we venture into new territory. Over the end of November and through out December we will spend 16 episodes looking at the Great American Authors, From F. Scott Fitzgerald to Stephen King and all points in between. We hope you will join us as we take a little break from American Political History and take a deep dive into American Literature, its history, and learn some writing tips from some of the greatest authors our country has ever produced. This sixteen episode season will feature F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, Dr. Suess, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, J. D. Salinger, Margaret Mitchell, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Ian Fleming, J. K Rowling, Pat Conroy, Gene Hackman, Kurt Vonnegut, Walter Mosley, Lee Child, Stephen King, John Grisham, Joyce Carol Oats, Sinclair Lewis, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Quayle,  Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, James Patterson, and the announcement about our hosts own three books, a history companion book to this podcast, and two novels by Randal Wallace. We hope you will join us starting November 25 for The Great American Authors Special Season and Bob Dole will return in "Bob Dole The Life That Brought Him There" in January, 2026. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we look back at three people it is almost hard to imagine not being around. Hulk Hogan, if you are kid in my age range, middle 50s, was as big a star as ever roamed the Earth. He was the catalyst for Professional Wrestling's leap into mainstream society taking it from a cable television novelty, to starring in, what is still today, the largest indoor sporting event in all of history with an attendance of 93,173 to see Hulk Hogan wrestle 7ft 4 inch, Andre the Giant. Huge is an understatement at what an event that was for anyone who was watching it. We honor Hulk Hogan here though, for one of the last things he did in his long and storied career. He spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2024 on behalf of President Donald Trump. At the time, many of the political analyst were saying he was the first Pro wrestler to be involved as an endorser in Presidential Politics. That was far from the truth. Ric Flair had been a big supporter of George H. W. Bush and in 1992 he traveled North and South Carolina with him. We have an episode dedicated to that in our back catalogue from our 1992 Changing of the Guard Series.  We look back at Hulk Hogan with a great deal of fondness, he was a huge part of my childhood. Hulk Hogan was 71 years old.Jim Lovell, helped guide the Apollo 13 Moon mission back to Earth after disaster struck it and an oxygen tank exploded mid mission. The fabulous movie "Apollo 13" starring Tom Hanks and Directed by Ron Howard tells the story, as does an episode in our back catalogue of material. Jim Lovell always came across as a super nice man, known as "smiling Jim" by his fellow astronauts in the 1960s. I was honored to tell his Apollo 13 story during our initial Richard Nixon series. Jim Lovell was also on the first trip to circumnavigate the moon, and was a a part of the crew that took the famous "Earthrise" photo. We have an episode in our series on Lyndon Johnson that covers that mission. Jim Lovell was 97 years old. This year also saw the passing of my Mother, Gloria Bulmer's favorite movie star, Robert Redford. He was "The Great Gatsby." I have seen the movie several times, it was my mother's favorite. Redford was famous for many other huge blockbuster movies too from "All the President's Men" to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", to another of my mother's favorite movies, "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Shaw. He was the quintessential movie star. He also has an episode in our back catalogue, when we profiled one of my all time favorite movies, "Casablanca", and along with it another of my favorites, that was one of the few of his movies that flopped, "Havana". I loved the movie and never understood why it did so poorly at the box office. Redford also founded the Sundance Movie Festival, which has helped show some of independent films best work. For that we owe him a great deal of gratitude. Robert Redford was 89 years old. We invite you to comb through our back catalogue for all four of these episodes. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/9047347   Episode 42 Earthrise the story of 1968's Apollo 8https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/9474650  Episode 58 Richard Nixon the Man that Saved the Union : Apollo 13 Our Finest Hourhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/16716829  Episode 349 George H. W. Bush -  1992 the Changing of the Guard: On the Trail with Ric Flair and George Bush (and later Mike Huckabee)https://www.buzzsprout.com/1507867/episodes/16567204  "Casablanc Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode , we look back at three men who worked tirelessly for their religious beliefs and trying to make this world a better place in their own way, Pope Francis, Pope Leo 14th, and Political Activist Charlie Kirk, plus a rock star from the 1950s and 60s, Connie Francis. Pope Francis became the first Jesuit Priest to rise to the Papacy. The first from Latin America, and the first in centuries not to be born in Europe. He had a daunting task as the Catholic Church was facing a growing scandal of Priests abusing underage kids in their parishes. It would fall to Pope Francis to rebuild the Church's image. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in Buenos Aires in Argentina. His Papacy had controversy, but he was also known for his humility, concern for the poor, the refugee, and his belief in God's mercy to man. He continued to work through various health issues right up until his own death this year. Which leads us to a moment I certainly never thought I would see in my lifetime, if ever. The installation of an American Pope in Pope Leo 14th, Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago. It is an event that even moved me, and I am not a Catholic, that finally we have an American at the helm of the largest Christian Church in the World. We let you learn a little bit about him also in this episode.  Then we look back at the all to short life, and career, of political activist Charlie Kirk. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has been the saddest story and most heinous crime I have seen in my 46 years involvement in politics. Kirk while talking to a college at an outdoor event in Utah, was gun downed by a transgender activist. What was almost as shocking was how far our society has fallen that we saw widespread celebration on the left at the news of Kirk's death. It should give everyone pause. In this episode we look back at his life and his group Turning Point USA, and while I recognize his career was one that had some level of controversy to it, he said nothing that warranted, a father of two small children, being gun down in pubic. It was a shameful day for America. Finally, we will also look back at the singer Connie Francis, known for her hits "Pretty Little Baby", and "Who's Sorry Now", she had a remarkable career which included a campaign song for one of the people we have profiled during the run of our show. We will let you hear that at the end of this broadcast.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textFor decades the one thing that never seemed to change in Washington D.C. was constant presence of David Gergen. He was an aid to Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He was a political analyst for PBS and CNN. David Gergen seemed as permanent a fixture as the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. He wrote to extraordinary books Eyewitness to Power, and Hearts Tinged by Fire, which came out when he was 80 years old. I became a fan during the 1990s when he was a commentator alongside Mark Shields at PBS. they were an extraordinary pairing because they were reasonable despite being from opposite political backgrounds, and having decidedly partisan resumes' with the exception Gergen's time with Bill Clinton. David Gergen passed away earlier in 2025, and it marked the end of an era in politics. This episode we try to capture some of his moments, from debating Ari Fleischer, to promoting his books, or talking about the Presidents for whom he served over his long career. We will also take you back to 1992, just after Governor Bill Clinton finished his Democratic Nomination acceptance speech, as we tune in to some giants in political commentary summing up their thoughts on that monumental evening, Jim Lehrer, Robert McNeil, Mark Shields and David Gergen on PBS.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textLast week, former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away, he was 84 years old. There has been no more powerful a figure in the history of politics in the modern era. He transformed the Vice Presidency into a power center all its own. In this episode, we will look back at his life, his love of the outdoors, his life after the White House and his life long battle with coronary heart disease. Dick Cheney is also a heart transplant recipient. The family of our host, Randal Wallace, is a donor family, as his brother Keith Wallace was an organ donor, who passed away in 2012 of a brain aneurism. Organ donation is a cause near and dear to our hearts here at this podcast. This is a tribute to a great man and a giant political figure in our time. This is also the first of four episodes, as we begin our 16th Season, honoring several people we have lost in 2025.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this brief update we want to fill you in on our special non-political season to carry our show through the holidays, and some tribute episodes we have planned to look back at some of those we lost this year but have not had a chance to look back at as the season progressed. We look forward to 2026 for the return of Bob Dole in our final two seasons looking back at his life and career. Thanks for tuning in and please join us for an exciting special season over November and December of 2025. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn our season finale we zoom in on the fight over a Balanced budget Amendment on the 1995 Congressional agenda. You will hear Senators go round and round , from Pete Domenici, to Bob Dole, to Paul Simon, to even South Carolina's own Senator Ernest Hollings. All this debate rages as Bob Dole inches closer and closer to filing for President of the United States. We will take you right there, after an emotional moment between Bob  Dole and  President Bill Clinton over the love both men had for their mothers, to the announcement stage as Bob Dole starts out into the 1996 campaign. Then we travel back in time to the battle torn Italian country side  in April 1945 and an event that changed the trajectory of the life of second Lieutenant Robert J. Dole of Kansas forever.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we start to move you through the big moments of 1995 as we get closer to the kick off of the 1996 Presidential Election. Bob Dole has not totally made his mind up yet and its clear to his wife and staf he needs to make the definitive move. We will relive these moments as Bob Dole makes up his mind to run for a third time for President and we watch several of the more important accomplishments of the Republican Congress make its way through the system. This is the first of our two part Season Fifteen Finale, Bob Dole 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we set the stage for 1995 as Newt Gingrich becomes the biggest star in politics as he becomes the first Republican Speaker in 40 years. We will look back at his rise and watch him consolidate his position. Plus this also marks the move by Bob Dole to seriously look at his own run for the Presidency.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textAs we open this episode , we will see Bob Dole truly become the last man standing from an era of political figures who had dominated the scene for over two decades. There would be two Senate leadership races as George Mitchell retired as the Democratic Leader and Alan Simpson faced a challenge in his position as Bob Dole's number two man in Republican leadership. Both races would be decided by one vote. We will hear Senator Tom Daschle describe the situation that unfolded on the democratic side after his opponent, Senator Jim Sasser of Tennessee, was defeated in his election. That left Tom Daschle facing a last minute challenge from the much more Senior Senator from Connecticut, Chris Dodd. Daschle will tell the story in his oral history of how he won the election to replace George Mitchell as Democratic Leader. Then we will hear from both candidates in the race for Republican Majority Whip as Dole's longtime Whip faced a challenge from a rising political star in the Senate and former House Whip in Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. It would come down to one vote, and Simpson would lose. That race would leave Bob Dole the only leader left from a generation of leaders who had been at the helm of government for decades. Representative Bob Michel had retired in the most recent election cycle, Speaker Tom Foley was defeated, Alan Simpson lost his Whip post, George Mitchell retired, and in 1992 George H. W. Bush had been defeated for President. The only member of leadership in either party that was still there was Bob Dole, and it would again come to him to keep everyone on track as we head into 1995.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textAll eyes were trained on one man as the lame duck session began. It was the soon to be new Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. In this episode we introduce you to him and watch those first moves from the new star of politics in 1994.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThe power switch was swift as all eyes fell on the Republican leadership in the hours after the Republicans swept to to power in both houses of Congress. There was a push for moving the Contract with America's agenda to the forefront, talk of downsizing the staffs in Washington, and both leaders were busy ironing out what exactly their agendas were going to be. Then came an even bigger piece of news. That Senator Richard Shelby arguably the last Southern Conservative Democrat was ready to finally come over. Senator Phil Gramm had been trying to convince him for years but Shelby had remained loyal to the Democratic Party, but as you will hear, he just did not feel it was home any longer, and he was going with the ever rising tide in Alabama before he found himself politically homeless. Richard Shelby became a Republican, and he would  remain one for the rest of his career which lasted until 2022 when he retired from the Senate.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textWhen the sun rose on November 9, 1994, Washington D.C. had had a seismic shift in the politics it had known for nearly a half century. Even the House Speaker Tom Foley, of Washington State, had lost his seat in Congress. There is hardly words that can describe how brutal the night before had been for the Democratic Party and its President Bill Clinton. The Contract for America had nationalized the election and every congressional candidate had run on the platform in the Republican Party and they had all , to a man , won. The Democrats had had a few bright spots, Senator Ted Kennedy had survived his brush with political death from the challenge of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and LBJ's Son in Law Chuck Robb had beaten back Iran Contra Scandal figure Oliver North. But the bright spots had been few and far between. The Democrats had seen some of their brightest stars extinguished from Governor Mario Cuomo of New York , to Governor Ann Richards of Texas, Former Budget Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski was defeated, the Speaker had lost, Representative Jack Brooks lost, and a new Republican star named Lindsey Graham had quietly won a seat in South Carolina. Bob Dole would be returning to his position as the Senate Majority Leader as opposed to being just the Minority Leader, and with all this change captivating the attention of the nation, and its capitol city, Washington D.C., it left  President Bill Clinton standing at a podium proclaiming to whomever would listen that "the President is still relevant here." It was a case of total victory, and the Capitol was now "Under new Management."  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIt is election day 1994 at last, and this is the coverage of that historic night. For the first time in 40 years the Republicans will take control of Congress. It is a clean sweep too, the Republicans would win in every category and level of government. They would win the control of the House, the Senate, the Governors Mansions, and the State Legislatures, it was a total and complete victory. Bill Clinton was clearly on the ropes and the spotlight would move down Pennsylvania Avenue to a new star that was about to dominate the conversation for the next year, the new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives  from Georgia, Newt Gingrich. But that would all come later, after this night. On this night, without question, at least in my lifetime, this was the biggest night for the Republican Party ever. While Newt Gingrich would get the majority of the spotlight, and people would be looking for the reaction that would be coming out of the White House, from Bill Clinton. One man, in my opinion, could truly kick back and say, he had been the one continuous leader that had brought his party back from the brink after the disaster of 1992. Of everyone involved, this was truly Bob Dole's night.   Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textAs we close in on election day in 1994, both President Bill Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, hit the campaign trail as the de-facto heads of each party to try and pull their candidates through all across the country. We will look at them both as they have rallies across the country from Seattle, to Denver, to two national radio addresses. The stakes are sky high as both of them fight hard for their two teams as the balance of power in both houses of congress teeters on the verge of victory or defeat for both sides of the aisle.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn 1994, our host Randal Wallace, was active in the leadership of the Lander University College Republicans. That year the long term Congressman from the Third Congressional District of South Carolina , Butler Derrick, decided to retire from Congress. That made the race for  Congress a wide open one to fill the seat.It was then that he got involved in the Congressional campaign of a one term State House member named Lindsey Graham.  It was a political friendship that would continue on until this day. Graham would win in 1994 and again in 1996, 1998, 2000, and then he would move on to the United States Senate in 2002, 2008, 2014, 2020, and he will be up for re-election again in 2026. He would become a national political figure as one of the leading people in the Congress of the United States. He emerged as a House manager in the Impeachment Trial of Bill Clinton, he filled the seat of Strom Thurmond, and lead the Republican Party efforts to answer any number of major issues plaguing the country both domestically and internationally.  His greatest accomplishment is most likely his efforts to end the stalemate over Judicial appointments that led to control of the Supreme Court eventually ending up in the hands of a conservative majority. In this episode, we look back at the man many have called the Senator of the 21st Century, Lindsey Graham. We start at his race for Congress in 1994, and we gather up a lot of the biographical materials the press put together during Graham's short campaign for President in 2016, Sadly, we could find nothing on the 1994 race on audio, but we do have an unusual source, the memoir of our Host, Randal Wallace, written from his materials in 2007 in his unpublished Memoir "The Eye of The Storm." We also follow Lindsey Graham's life at various times over the next 31 years.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode, we will give you a taste of the dramatic races from all across the nation. Two Bush brothers were on the ballot, we had a barn burner for Governor in South Carolina, and the House and Senate had close races too. It was a dramatic campaign in an historic year at the polls.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we kick of the 1994 Midterm elections. As we look at Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole and Senate Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, begin their march to the majority in the United States Senate. We will listen in as Bob Dole deftly answers questions about the year's most controversial Senate race in Virginia between Chuck Robb, the son in law of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Oliver North the former aide to Ronald Reagan. We will introduce the Midterm elections to you here,  as we get ready to kick off a multiple episode look at these monumental elections from 1994.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode, we look back with a great deal of respect to a very formidable adversary for most Republicans like me, in Senator George Mitchell of Maine. He was the Senate Majority Leader for most of the Bush Administration and the first two years of the Clinton Administration. He was most likely the single biggest factor in making George H. W. Bush eat his no new taxes pledge during the budget negotiations of 1990. He decided to retire in 1994. This dinner was held in his honor and to raise money for a scholarship fund that he set up with the remainder of his reelection campaign fund to help more people get an education. Mitchell was the son of an Irish immigrant janitor, and a textile worker in Maine. He knew the value of a good education and how hard his parents had worked for him to have the opportunities this nation provided. This dinner was his way of setting up a fund to help those coming up behind him. It was here that we also got a chance to see both Bob Dole and President Clinton give good hearted speeches in tribute to the outgoing Majority Leader. It is a chance to size them up as they go head to head, but this time, it is all in good natured fun and in honor of a highly respected colleague, all on the eve of the 1994 midterm elections.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThe Contract with America would change everything in Washington D.C. For four decades the United States House of Representatives had been controlled by one party. The Republicans had settled into a life of being a permanent minority. That total control of the Federal Government had led to decades of entrenchment for democrats everywhere you looked in the running of the government. They were in all the bureaucracy, the courts, and in control of everything within the congress. It was a dominance that had brought down a President in 1974, and thwarted the agenda of three more Republican Presidents. It was time for a change and the unpopularity of the Clinton agenda would finally bring about an opportunity for that change. What Republicans needed was a field general. It got one in House Minority Assistant Leader, Newt Gingrich. He would develop the Contract with America, help sell it to the country, and to his fellow Congressman, he would help educate not only a class of Congressional candidates but also a generation of campaign operatives that they brought in, and took to school educating them on how to run a campaign. They polled the issues, they polled the voters, and they laid the groundwork for a foundation to nationalize the election. It gave every candidate a set agenda to run on. I would argue, and do in this episode, that it was a one-two punch that led to the success of the Republican Party in the elections of 1994. First off, you had Bill Clinton lurch to the left, which was unpopular with the vast majority of the electorate, but you also had Bob Dole there to stand the ground at a moment when every other Republican in the Federal Government was demoralized after the loss in 1992. It was Dole that held the ground against Clinton's left wing leap. Dole stopped the Gays in the Military, didn't have a single defection on the budget, and defeated the Healthcare boondoggle. It was a mighty impressive performance for a man leading the minority party in Congress. It was Bob Dole's leadership during those two years that laid the foundation for the campaign that, without question, Newt Gingrich, was able to lead to victory in 1994. A one-two punch that nearly knocked out the Clinton Administration. It was the high tide of the Republican comeback from the debacle of 1992.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn 1994 wildfires swept across California and the Emergency Management people steeped in to help fight them. Bill Clinton was briefed on the issues and  in this episode we hear his call in to check on what was happening and to show his support for the efforts. It is a rare window in on the inner workings of the Presidency during a crisis. You will hear the President as he talks with his staff and you will hear from two United States Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, as they also help monitor the efforts, and show moral support to those devastated by the wildfires in the the state.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textSouth Carolina has always been enormously proud of its military Collegiate institution, the Citadel, in Charleston S.C. Senator Ernest Hollings was a proud graduate of the University as was so many very prominent people throughout the state. Graduates include Governor Justin Hagood, Pat Conroy, Charles Tew, Greg Davis, State Senator Stephen Goldfinch, U.S. Representatives Nancy Mace, Gresham Barrett,  and State Representative Thad Viers are all among the list. In this episode we listen in as Senator Strom Thurmond, himself a graduate of Clemson University back in the era when it was a military college, introduces Senator Bob Dole and welcomes him to the Citadel. In this episode, we will also see the University bestow on Bob Dole an honorary Doctorate of Laws, as they welcome a genuine American hero to the podium to address the class of 1994. We are not sure but we think , given the date of this event May 14, 1994, that the Senators left The Citadel and then headed to another event that honored Vietnam Veterans in Columbia S.C. It was there that our host, Randal Wallace, got a chance to meet Bob Dole and snap the only photograph he had with the Senator, back in the era before cell phone cameras made pictures an easy thing to get, and that photo is now the cover art for this Podcast series.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we look back at one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in the entire history of the country, the 1994 Crime Bill. It has been the source of many misconceptions and misinformation, even some of which has been spread by me. I had actually forgotten that this piece of legislation actually wasn't a bipartisan piece of legislation. That it was not sponsored by Republicans and that even Stom Thurmond, so often maligned, as a man willing to incarcerate people on a big scale actually opposed this bill. This bill was the product of Democratic majorities, led by Senator Joe Biden, and pushed by President Bill Clinton. It was a big jobs bill and advocated for the expansion of the Federal Prison system. It put people in jail for long and in some cases lifetime sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Here you will listen in on President Clinton as he signs the bill, listen as his democratic collogues brag on the bill, and we will hear the press conference given by Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Alan Simpson, and Strom Thurmond among other Republicans in opposition to the 1994 Crime Bill. Plus, in fairness, we will give you a review of what the bill did right, and how it actually did cut the crime rate that was seen by everyone as out of control in 1994.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textI may not agree with his every conclusion about the history of the Special Prosecutor and Special Counsel office  and the people who have held it. But I can say that I could find no fault with how this one man handled the job. The Special Counsel and Special Prosecutors Office, begun in 1974, as a way to investigate the sitting President and his staff for alleged wrongdoing, has a history so awful, with so much wrongdoing itself, that it is literally almost impossible to defend as an institution. I don't think the abuse of power has any equal in our governmental history. The shameful conduct of Archibald Cox, Leon Jaworski, Richard Ben-Veniste, Henry Ruth, Lawrence Walsh, Ken Starr, and even the behaviour of our modern day investigators in the Trump-Biden-Trump era is enough to make even the worst tyrants blush. In my opinion, there are possibly two exceptions to this appalling record of power hungry maleficence, Robert Hurr, who investigated the records found in Joe Biden's garage, and Robert Fiske, the original Whitewater Scandal Special Prosecutor. Both men laid out what they saw in detail, and then either walked away, or were in the process of doing so when they were replaced. You cannot ask for anything more than that. In this episode, we get a real treat, as Robert Fiske traveled to Vermont to speak on the history of the Special Prosecutor and Special Counsel Offices and put the Robert Mueller Investigation into historical context. That investigation was ongoing when this lecture occured. The lecture was hosted by the Vermont Law and Graduate School and it runs nearly an hour. I may not agree with all of his opinions on the office, but I certainly can say, I always agreed with his decisions when he held the power to destroy people, and didn't, always looking at the facts and not trying to further his own career at the expense of others.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThe Whitewater investigation takes a giant leap as Attorney General Janet Reno appoints a Special Prosecutor to look into the case coming out of Arkansas. Former Watergate House Judiciary Committee staffer Bernard Nussbaum is now the assistant legal counsel to the President and his advice is not "No but Hell No!1 Mr. President, don't do that!" But it fell on deaf ears as Democratic Senators put pressure on the White House to take the step and allow a Special Prosecutor to be appointed. At first Clinton got lucky. Janet Reno appointed Robert Fiske to oversee the job. He may actually be the one and only Special Prosecutor in the history of its existence who was willing to look at a case and render a nonpartisan fair judgement, which he did, that nothing had happened in Arkansas involving President and Mrs. Clinton, and that Vince Foster had, in fact, committed suicide. He got fired for saying it. Not in so many words, but the Special Counsel statue had run out and Republicans worked to get it renewed. When it was renewed Janet Reno recommended that Fiske remain the Special Prosecutor and be allowed to finish his report. They removed him, and replaced him with Kenneth Starr instead. The rest is history. This is that story.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIt has been described as the hardest assignment in Washington D.C. It is the response to the sitting President after the State of the Union Address by a member of the opposition party. The President, speaking to a Joint Session of Congress, has a packed House chamber to talk with and a national audience tuning in. The person given the task to respond to it is usually alone in a room with a camera. It is by no means a fair matchup. In 1994, you also had the added stress of having to match T.V. Personas with President Bill Clinton arguably the greatest television Presidential orator of all time. Only Ronald Reagan could give the guy a run for his money. This daunting task would fall to Bob Dole, not once but twice in three years, as he was selected to give the Republican response to the State of the Union in 1994 and 1996. He volunteered, so you can't feel too sorry for him, but it was a tough assignment all the same. The speech Dole gave in 1996, is far better remembered, because he came across like an undertaker. However, in 1994, he was received in the homes of millions of Americans much better. The speech was singularly focused on the Healthcare debate, a debate the Republicans were winning. Dole had a very well put together chart from Senator Arlen Specter's office on just how big and expansive a bill the Clinton Healthcare plan actually was, and Dole did a masterful job of delivering the message. It was one of his better performances. Here it is in its entirety, plus a little bit from President Clinton's speech as well. When we finish those two addresses to the nation we will fast forward you to an interview with Bob Dole as he lays out the Republican agenda, and his thoughts on an array of subjects, for the rest of 1994. It is an interesting interview, and  one of the first times Dole drops the hint that he was indeed going to be a candidate in 1996 for President of the United States.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textThe Republicans did offer up an alternative to the Clinton Healthcare proposal. It was the Dole/Packwood Republican Alternative plan. In this press conference you will hear Bob Dole discuss the proposal and have Senator Bob Packwood lay the plan  out for the press corp.Here are two Republican leaders trying to get their ideas on the table in order to address the growing healthcare crisis. In a lot of ways the plans were not far off but the political divide and the history of big majorities for democrats in congress would lead some decision makers on the Clinton side to try and push their proposal forward and sideline republicans. It would prove a disastrous decision and lead both plans to fail. It would be yet another two decades before Healthcare would be addressed again.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we take a look back at Hillary Clinton when she first burst onto the national scene in the early days of the Clinton Administration. She was a lady busy redefining the role of the First Lady. She was an active serious advisor to her husband. An accomplished career woman in her own right she had been the single person Bill Clinton had always relied on for his policy and often political advice. She was aggressively pushing an agenda all her own and the President was supporting it even as the press began to start focusing on her place in the Clinton Administration. All of this was happening on a wide variety of areas when President Clinton zeroed in on addressing the growing healthcare crisis in the country. Clinton decided he had more faith in his wife's ability to get it done than on any other political ally or advisor. This is the story of that effort. What she did, how hard she worked at it, and how it failed largely due to her approach. The bill was to big and to expansive, and it had been written giving only lip service to Republican concerns and advice. In the Washington D. C. of that era it would prove to be a mistake not to include your opposition especially to push aside its leader, Bob Dole.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we look back at the other man who alongside, Bob Dole and Pete Wilson, spoke at both funerals for Pat and Richard Nixon. The Reverend Billy Graham was a giant figure in the second half of the 20th Century. His influence on the spiritual lives of people around the globe is rivaled only by the various Pope's who served during his lifetime. He was a major figure in the American Civil Rights movement, and he was an advisor to every President from Harry Truman to Barak Obama. He played an enormous role in 1968 in the election of Richard Nixon to the Presidency. This was learned in a recent blockbuster book by Dr. Luke Nichter who became the first author and historian to gain access to the VIP Notebooks that Billy Graham kept for over 70 years as his ministry grew and he became more and more involved in advising the major public figures of the era. In this episode we will hear from him, as we also say goodby to President and Mrs. Nixon, listening in on both eulogies, and we will examine the role Billy Graham played, through the Billy Graham Evangelical Association videos, in the the civil rights movement and with the various Presidents. Plus we will hear a segment of an interview with Historian Luke Nichter about the role Graham played in politics especially during the crucial year of 1968.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textIn this episode we cover the deaths of both Former First Lady Pat Nixon and former President Richard Nixon who both passed away within 10 months of one another in 1993 and 1994. As anyone who has been listening to our podcast on a long term basis knows, the life and career of Richard Nixon is a central focus of our show. We even have a sister podcast titled "The Richard Nixon Experience" that is a second avenue to listening to the many episodes we have produced on the President and his life. This episode adds some additional materials we have not used before mixed in with some of the material from our Nixon series that ran a couple of years ago. We have the newly released video of President Clinton meeting President Nixon for the first time in 1992.  We also feature for the first time the eulogy given for Mrs. Nixon by Bob Dole, and several portions of oral histories about President and Mrs. Nixon from the Bob Dole oral history project, with Dole, George McGovern, and Sheila Burke, Bob Dole's Senate Chief of Staff. We think this is an excellent addition to materials we have already produced on Nixon. It should add to the already growing materials that have been brought to the forefront of Nixon scholarship in recent years. It seems a growing appreciation has been happening for the Presidency of Richard Nixon, and we here at this podcast are proud to have played a small, and very early role, in that new appreciation for the 37th President and his many accomplishments. As we have said and written repeatedly we believe he deserves to be ranked among the 4 Greatest American Presidents, and it appears our podcast tag line is truly now at hand. The Renaissance of Richard Nixon is finally happening at last.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us a textJim Brady was a popular member of the Reagan campaign , and briefly the Reagan Administration. He was gunned down in 1981 in the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. He lived, but suffered permanent brain damage, leaving him paralyzed and slow to speak for the rest of his life. His wife, Sarah Brady, would go on to lead a lifelong crusade to bring some form of gun control to America. This is the story of the passage of the bill named in her husbands honor. Bob Dole opposed the legislation. This episode we will hear the floor debate between Dole and Senate Leader George Mitchell. We will learn how Dole treated everyone fairly, and we will get to see a real test between the President and the Minority Leader. In this early battle between the two leaders of their party, Clinton would win. The Brady Bill passed the House of Representatives 238 - 189 , and it passed in the United States Senate 63 - 36 with an amendment. The Bill introduced one of the things that Bob Dole had been pushing for years, a National instant background check.  Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!