For the past two nights, Ted Koppel has been interviewing Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau on his post-Nightline show UpClose. Trudeau is notoriously publicity-shy and this was his first major media interview in over 30 years, so it was interesting just to see what this man, who I’ve been reading daily for so many years, might have to say about how and why he works. And the show’s format (you can get the video from the ABC News website, at least today), low key, simple, few graphic cutaways, and just a one to one interview between Koppel and the guest, really lends itself to true conversation and not just the soundbites that so many other shows produce. One answer in particular from the cartoonist really stuck with me:
Trudeau drew President Clinton as a waffle in the strip. After that, he expected never to be invited to the White House. A few months later, though, his wife (Jane Pauley) was invited for a state dinner and he went as the spouse. The dinner was for the King of Morocco (who’s since died). Trudeau told Koppel, “We’re going through the reception line; Clinton shakes my hand, turns to the king and says ‘Your Majesty, this is Gary Trudeau. He writes a comic strip. He makes fun of me for a living.’ And the king looked at him, like, ‘What? Why is this man not in a cell attached to a car battery? Why is he here having dinner with us?’ I’ve never been quite so proud to be an American.”
Yeah. I agree.
BillSaysThis 