Debaters’ tonic in Russell’s water?

specterbillboardSome questions and answers from a New York Times Magazine interview with Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., in which he also expressed support for Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., in his re-election fight against Democrat Al Franken:
Q: You and Bob Dole share a hometown, Russell, Kan. What do they put in the water there?
A: Debaters’ tonic. Russell is famous for its high school debate championship teams.
Q: Did you know Dole in your Kansas days?
A: No. When I moved to Russell in the eighth grade, he was much older, but in the intervening years I’ve pretty much caught up to him.
Q: I assume this was before he was appearing on television in Viagra commercials.
A: From reliable sources, he did not need Viagra then.

5 Comments

  1. Monkeyhawk
    Posted May 11, 2009 at 6:25 am | Permalink

    TMI, Arlen.

    Either Liddy shared her most intimate moments to Specter in the Senate cloak room or Arlen has seen “Li’l Bob” raised up in anger.

    It reminds me of a 9th Grade joke –

    (I know my audience and the CONs will love this.)

    QUESTION — Why don’t women have hair on their chests?

    ANSWER — Did you ever see grass on a playground?”

    See?

    It’s funny ‘cuz it’s true… to a 9th-Grader.

    Perhaps it wasn’t chemo at all that made Specter bald a couple of years ago; it was a misunderstanding of the term “Giving Head.”

  2. samkan
    Posted May 11, 2009 at 6:33 am | Permalink

    About the only thing I remember debating while growing up in Russell was whether to “drag Main”, hang out at “the Tower” or buy a six-pack and take in a movie at the Sky Vu drive in. We did do alot of campaigning on the trail for Bob Dole though, back before the Republican Party lost their way.

  3. Monkeyhawk
    Posted May 11, 2009 at 6:40 am | Permalink

    “samkan” –

    Someday ask me about the first time I met Bob Dole.

    Unlike today, I was obnoxious when I was a teenager and I later learned a lot about Dole that makes me regret some of the specifics.

    But I still kinda like that kid I was.

    I later met up with the Senator in the bar at the Topeka Ramada Inn and he was cool and funny about it; picked up the tab.

    Different times….

    And probably a tad more civilized.

  4. Regular
    Posted May 11, 2009 at 7:25 am | Permalink

    Senator Bob Dole is classically funny. One of my favorite lines from him was about Senate Schumer of New York.

    U.S. Senator Bob Dole (R-Kansas) said in 1995 that the most dangerous place in Washington was between then-Representative Charles Schumer and a camera.

  5. JWink
    Posted May 12, 2009 at 5:21 pm | Permalink

    Bob Dole was born in 1923. Arlen Spector was born in 1930. So Dole was about seven years older than Spector. My guess is that Dole was gone to the K.U. and the U.S. Army by the time Arlen Spector’s parents and young Arlen moved to Russell from Wichita.