Lunch and a chat

Posted at 2:57 PM on February 13, 2006 by Bob Collins

I had a very pleasant lunch today with Barry Casselman, chief writer and janitor for the Preludium News Service, whose name I've encountered with increasing frequency as I patrol the political universe. He's given me several copies of some of articles which he's written for the Utne Reader, Campaigns & Elections, and copies of his former newspaper (that he started) "Many Corners."

We chatted about a few political races but mostly about some of his work and how he ended up in Minnesota and the amount of travelling he must do covering national elections.

I asked him, "what politician did you like to cover most?" And he told me a fascinating story of meeting then-Gov. Bill Clinton in the St. Paul Hotel in the early '90s. Clinton was in town to speak to the Democratic Leadership Council and was to fly in, and get right out. Casselman got Tom Foley to introduce him and since Clinton was leaving right away, Casselman jumped in the van for the ride to the airport.

He said he can always tell how deep the knowledge that a candidate has goes (my description, not his), so he asked Clinton about the banking crisis in Mexico. He expected some shallow response in return but he got not only great depth, but solutions, indicative that Clinton has researched it and looked at it from several directions. He said no other politician has been so impressive.

On the way to the airport, he decided he wanted to visit with outgoing Gov. Rudy Perpich. So they bagged the flight and turned around and headed for the Governor's Residence, where they -- Clinton, Perpich, and -- I think -- Foley sat on the porch and talked for a couple of hours.

Casselman says he's going to get a blog "some day." He should. More later.

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