Sen. Barry Goldwater came far closer to being vice president than he ever did to becoming president, according to a new book, “Pure Goldwater,” which was written by Watergate figure John Dean and Goldwater’s son Barry Goldwater Jr.

Everyone knows that Lyndon Johnson creamed Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. In the electoral college tally, Johnson won 486, while Goldwater got 52. State by state, Johnson won 44 plus Washington, D.C., while Goldwater got six. In the popular vote, Johnson finished with 43,127,000, while Goldwater finished with 27,178,000.

So Goldwater lost the presidential race by 19,950,000 votes on Nov. 3, 1964.

Few people knew that a decade later, Goldwater finished much better in the race for vice president. In fact, he lost that contest by a single vote – his own.

Dean and Goldwater Jr.’s book includes a passage that Goldwater wrote in his personal journal on Aug. 12, 1974. Goldwater described a meeting he had the previous day with Gerald Ford, who two days earlier had become president when Richard Nixon resigned.

The topic of the meeting was Ford’s search for a vice president. Goldwater told Ford that two criteria he had to consider were: Who would be well qualified for the veep slot? And, who could use the boost to run for the presidency six years later?

That second part, of course, presumed that Ford would finish Nixon’s term, then win his own four-year term. Jimmy Carter trashed that scenario, but getting back to the meeting on Nov. 11, 1974…

“Because of that, I explained that it would practically remove two people: Gov. (Nelson) Rockefeller, although I told him I could live with Rockefeller, and myself, because I would be 71 at the time,” Goldwater wrote in his journal.

Next, they discussed a couple of people. Goldwater suggested George Bush, who at the time was 50. They also discussed Ford’s idea of selecting a black Republican for vice president. After a while, Ford offered Goldwater the job.

“Finally, he asked point blank if I would take it. I said, certainly, I’ll do anything you want me to do; Ill do anything to serve my country, but I do not want the job,” Goldwater wrote in the journal.

He explained his thoughts for turning down the job.

“I did not say this in an arrogant or conceited way, for I think I could do a good job of for the president and the Republican Party at the same time. I think the Party is important because we cannot lose any more strength in the Party and remain a viable part of the two-party system,” Goldwater wrote.

Goldwater just figured a younger person was better suited for the post. The Republicans were still coming out of Watergate and he figured the party needed new young leaders.

A few of interesting footnotes:

1. Ford, in fact, went with Rockefeller, the New York governor, as his vice president.

2. Goldwater’s man, Bush, eventually got the job. Bush served as Ronald Reagan’s vice president from 1981 through 1989, then succeeded Reagan as president from 1989 through 1993.

3. This year’s GOP presidential nominee, John McCain, will be 72 on Election Day, which is a year older than Goldwater thought was too old to become president.

At Tuesday’s event to mark the passage of the Arizona Water Settlements Act, Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. distributed gifts to Sen. Jon Kyl and other key players in the landmark water-rights agreement. 

Norris distributed woven baskets that featured turtle designs. Turtles, he explained, are symbols of strength for tribal members. Turtles were appropriate for the occasion because they reflected the strength of those involved in reaching the agreement to endure 30-plus years of discussion to arrive at the settlement. 

“The Tohono O’odham people are a giving people and we like to acknowledge accomplishments by giving gifts. We don’t look at it as bribery, so please don’t look at it like that,” Norris quipped during the event at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa on the Gila River Indian Community reservation. 

There was a fair amount of gift-giving all around.

Gila River Gov. William Rhodes distributed framed student-drawn pictures of pottery on behalf of his tribe. U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Carl Artman gave framed copies of documents that enacted the agreement displayed side-by-side with congratulatory letters signed by U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. 

For more on the event, check out my story in Wednesday’s Tribune.

Bob Moran

Allow me to digress from politics for a moment to write about former Tribune sportswriter Bob Moran, who died Tuesday, a difficult day for those of us who knew him. 

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Actually, I knew Moran for years longer than he knew me. When I was growing up in Tucson and thinking about a career in journalism, he appeared in The Arizona Daily Star sports pages nearly every day. The guy made sense to me and I looked forward to reading him. 

Eventually, I earned a journalism degree from the University of Arizona and moved to Las Cruces, N.M., to cover sports for the Las Cruces Sun-News. Later, I returned to Arizona to take a job covering sports for the old Scottsdale Progress, which now sort of is the Scottsdale bureau of the Tribune. One of those first Saturdays, I ended up in the press box at Sun Devil Stadium for Arizona State University’s first football game of the season. By chance, I was seated near Moran, whom I recognized, but was too intimidated to appoach, because I regarded him as journalism deity.

As the ASU players were going through warm-up drills before the game, I marveled aloud to another reporter about ASU’s bruising new starting running back, whose name I have long since forgotten. Moran heard me gushing about the player. “No, he’s not the guy. The backup is the guy,” he said. So I pointed out to Moran why he was so clearly mistaken. The starter was taller and bigger than the backup. The starter’s thighs were as thicker than tree trunks. He came from a better football city. “I mean, just look at him,” I said. “No, the backup is the guy,” Moran said. 

I was crushed. My journalism hero worship obviously had been misplaced all those years. Moran couldn’t even grasp what was so plainly obvious to me.

But I persisted. “Why do you think the backup is the guy?” I asked. Moran looked at me and replied simply, “He makes things happen.” That was it. Then I was sure. Moran was a complete idiot and I was an even bigger idiot for ever idolizing him. 

The game started, but ASU’s starting running back never found a groove. The big bruising player struggled to get yards. He never picked the right routes. His timing was off. He dropped handoffs. He couldn’t shake a tackle. Moran never said anything. He just sat a few seats down on press row taking notes. By the end of the first half, the running back had plenty of carries, but almost no yards. 

The second half started, and ASU’s coaches benched the starter and put in the undersized, hardly-filled-his-jersey backup. A few plays into the half, the backup got a nice rush, better than anything the starter did the entire first half. Moran looked over at me. I pitied Moran, the old fool. He couldn’t even tell the backup just got a lucky break. Clearly, I had arrived on the Arizona sports journalism scene just in time.

Then, perhaps it was the next play, the backup running back took the ball again. He busted through a few tackles, slipped through a few more and began sprinting 50 or 60 yards for the endzone. As he ran, Moran stood in the pressbox and shouted, “He makes things happen! He makes things hap-pen! He makes things HAP-PEN!!” 

That day marked the first and only time I ever doubted Moran. After a couple of years at the Progess, I moved to Hawaii for four years, then returned to Arizona again and eventually joined the Tribune, though by then, my sportswriting days were behind me. Yet, there was Moran. That time, I mustered the nerve to introduce myself. Over the years, I got to know him. Imagine the thrill – getting to know one of your personal heroes on a personal level. Lucky me. 

I’ve always enjoyed retelling that story about that day in the ASU press box. I especially enjoyed retelling it when Moran was within earshot, because it always embarrassed him. After a few retellings, he knew how I was going to end it, and that was the part that particularly embarrassed him. I always told people that Moran actually was describing himself that day – “He makes things happen. He makes things hap-pen! He makes things HAP-PEN!!” 

I learned a lot about journalism and life from Moran over the years. Here’s a couple: A running back’s heart matters far more than his thighs; go to lunch with a variety of people, particularly people you wouldn’t think you have a lot in common with. There’s one other important point that transcended journalism and life, which he and I discussed often, but is far too personal to discuss in this sort of a forum so shortly after his death, and perhaps ever. I’m pleased to note, though, that he and I encouraged and applauded each other’s efforts in that realm. 

I thanked Moran privately for serving as one of my personal heroes, and I’m happy to thank him again publicly now. Moran made a difference. He made things happen.

Careful readers will note that the name of this blog has changed. “Checking In” is out. “Paul Giblin on Politics” is in.

A brief explanation is in order.

When I created this blog last year, I thought the name “Checking In” was nothing short of brilliant – it suggested the notion of checking on political campaigns; it invoked the idea of checking in the appropriate space on a ballot; it gave new life to the name of a column I wrote about the hospitality industry years ago.

Everyone else thought the name was screwy.

So welcome to “Paul Giblin on Politics.” And feel free to draw whatever inferences you’d like from that name.

John McCain (right) and a few of his friends

A Republican insider suggested a new drinking game involving televised presidential debates. OK, the rules are still evolving, but here’s the working model so far…

You and your friends settle down in front of the tube to watch the next Republican debate. Everyone picks a candidate.

If your candidate is John McCain, every time he says “my friends,” you gulp some beer.

If your candidate is Mitt Romney, every time he mentions “Olympics,” you take a slug.

If your candidate is Rudy Giuliani, every time he utters “9/11,” drink away.

The Republican insider hasn’t yet determined the drinking cues for Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson or Ron Paul yet. Give him time…

On the Democratic side…

If your candidate is Hillary Clinton, when she says “experience,” you gulp.

If your candidate is Barack Obama, when he says some version of “make history,” you make your beer history.

The cues for John Edwards, and well, whoever else is still left on the Dem side, haven’t been finalized.

Any viewer who hasn’t passed out before the end of the program declares himself or herself the winner. Congratulations.

Initially, the Republican insider who brainstormed this idea suggested Obama’s cue ought to be the word “change,” but I had to veto that idea on the basis that it would cause alcoholism.

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m checking out for a few days for the Thanksgiving holiday. Alas, unlike members of Congress who get two weeks off to count their blessings, I only get two days. I’ll just count faster.

Speaking of which, thanks for reading the blog. I’ll check in again on Friday, Nov. 23, with more news and notes about the people who want your votes.

Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly put their high-flying careers on hold long enough to squeeze in a wedding ceremony on a farm in southern Arizona on Saturday.

The happy couple told Sierra Vista Herald reporter Cindy Skalsky they don’t plan an immediate honeymoon – he has a space mission set for April, while she has a re-election scheduled for November 2008.

About 300 family and friends attended the outdoor wedding in the Santa Cruz River Valley. “This was the biggest decision of my life. I love him so much,” Giffords told Skalsky.

For the record: While Giffords gained a husband, she didn’t pick up an extra constituent. Giffords is a Democrat who represents Tucson. Her new husband is an independent who is registered in Houston where trains with NASA.

Really, the Giffords-Kelly nuptials stretch the concept of long-distance relationships. Giffords, 37, commutes between Tucson and Washington, D.C. Kelly, 43, commutes between Houston and outer space.

The Herald’s story, “Congresswoman, astronaut tie knot: Wedding in rural setting has mix of cultures, traditions with an environmental mindset,” can be accessed here: Posted in CD 8 race, Gabrielle Giffords, Hard to classify | Comments Off