The President of the United States visited Memphis Friday, bringing with him the Prime Minister of Japan. It seems his foreign guest is a huge Elvis fan, so their first stop was Graceland. They made a surprise trip to the National Civil Rights Museum, then capped the visit off with BBQ from the Rendezvous.
WREC was the radio pool reporter & I was chosen for the task. This allowed me closer access to the event in terms of riding in the Presidential caravan & getting a close glimpse of everything that happened.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a local news reporter. I remembered to bring along my digital camera. Unfortunately, the batteries died about midway through the trip. But here is a little of what I experienced:
Air Force one arrived promptly at 10 a.m. at the Tennessee Air National Guard off Democrat Road. What a beauty it is. See it up close was one of the most exciting parts of the day for me.
None of us knew from which direction she would land. But at 9:50 a.m. or so I knew the arrival was imminent as the skies surrounding Memphis International Airport had grown very quiet.
As I prepared to do a live report at the top of the hour on WREC, I looked up & AF1 was rolling towards us. It was an awesome site to see this big bird of steel. When I was told pool reporters were to go out & stand under the wing to await the exit of the President, I was like a kid at Christmas!
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There's no long & drawn out process with the President's arrival. If it says 10 a.m. in the itinerary, you can count on it. The sound of camera shutters are loud & somewhat distracting. The President does his obligatory wave, then chats with local officials. I wish I could have eavesdropped on what George W & Mayor Willie Herenton talked about over their brief handshake.
Again, there's a tight schedule to adhere to, so it's off to the Presidential limo (which was cool to see up close) & a looooong caravan to Graceland. But the ride goes back pretty quick when you don't have to worry about Memphis drivers or stoplights.
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The President, Laura & Japanese PM (along with their traveling party) got a private tour by Priscilla & Lisa Marie. We were taken to the backdoor of Graceland where you would typically exit the Jungle Room. Then somehow the entire media crew (nation, international & local) crammed into a viewing area. That's where the Japanese PM did his Elvis impersonation & even serenaded Lisa Marie.
After that photo op, we were pushed back outside. Cameras & photogs were allowed to follow Bush into the old raquetball court which is now a huge trophy room. The rest of us were ushered back around to the front of Graceland to a viewing area on the north side of the lawn. Then the rest of the media caught up.
But as soon as they were in place they asked those of us who missed the trophy room to come to the back of the mansion & have a seat. As you have figured out by now, you do a lot of standing & waiting when part of the press pool. Then at a moment's notice you are required to run to catch the story or hop in the media van. I highly recommend tennis shoes to anyone aspiring to have this as a daily job.
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Now back at the front lawn of Graceland, Priscilla & Lisa Marie are escorted out by their bodyguard.
Some photogs are asked not to take pictures, although I am not sure why. I guess I got lucky. It's good to see both of them still very involved with the promotion of Elvis & Graceland.
Ah, now back to the waiting game. Did the front door just open? What's taking so long? Is the President going to speak? All questions being thrown out by the traveling media to Josh Gatlin of the White House press office.
Josh deals with most of these folks every day of his life. I am sure he gets tired of the same questions over & over. However, I am a local guy & I need a story. Sure, I was the only person in Memphis radio doing live updates traveling with the President, but I needed some audio. I saw I had an opportunity when the President was walking towards our area. Thankfully I had asked Josh prior to this if I could kneel inside the roped off area where my digital recorder would be able to pick up a few comments. His reply was a quick, "Sure, go ahead."
When the President, First Lady & Japanese Prime Minister arrived to share a few words, I was no more than 10-feet away from the trio. I got one picture & then my camera died...
Just a couple of observations: the President is thinner than he looks on TV & Laura looks younger in person.
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It's then downtown & my live report at noon talks of how we are heading to the Rendezvous for lunch. Then our caravan turns left & flys past Beale Street. Where are we going? Ah, of course... the National Civil Rights Museum. It was not on the itinerary, but obviously scheduled in advance because, 1) secret service requires it, 2) Dr. Benjamin Hooks was the guide.
By the time our press van arrived the President & Prime Minister were on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in the exact spot where Dr. Martin Luther King was gunned down many years ago. We could not hear what was being said on the ground, but everyone's faces told the story.
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I was embarrassed for my city when we turned around to walk back to Main where our press van was parked. Hanging from the downtown Memphis College of Art building was a hastily painted sign simply stating "F#$% Bush."
I have no problem with signs of protest or such. We saw plenty of that outside of Graceland. Some saying "Get out of Iraq" or "Give Peace a Chance" or something similar. But a large public display of the "F" word was tacky & uncalled for. I would have said the same thing had Bill Clinton been the President.
There were children around. There were dozens of members of the nation & Japanese press. Sure, they have probably seen these types of immature signs before... I was just hoping my hometown was better than that.
Wouldn't the word "Peace" spoken louder?
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Lunch at the Rendezvous was a neat event. They allowed the media to stand up stairs & look down at the festivities. I immediately noticed Karl Rove & Tony Snow in the mix. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was working the scene; so was U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr.
We were then escorted to the basement for our own lunch. It was interesting to see most of the Japanese media guzzling beer with their lunch while the U.S. media stuck to Coke & sweet tea.
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The caravan left downtown & we were back near the airport in only 10 minutes. Our press van was near the back of the convoy. By the time we arrived, parked & exited the vehicle, the President & Laura were already on board Air Force One. As I gave my 2 p.m. live report on the radio the jet was several hundred yards away from the hangar.
At 2:10 p.m., as I started my SUV Air Force One roared into the sky, departing to the north, turning slightly to the east, then disappeared.
Yippee... former Vice President Al Gore will be in town today signing his latest book. I gotta hand it to the guy for showing his face in a state he couldn't win... then again, he was pretty strong in Shelby County so he'll probably feel at home here..
