I vividly recall the night of the Democratic primary in 1980. I was a student at Ouachita Baptist University while also working as news and sports director of Arkadelphia's two radio stations, KVRC-AM and KDEL-FM. Election nights were a big deal in Clark County in those days. Almost everyone voted in the Democratic primary.

People would gather in the courtroom at the Clark County Courthouse to hear box-by-box returns read by the Democratic county chairman. I loved politics as a boy and would beg my father to take me to the courthouse each election night. He didn't care about politics but would drive me downtown so we could listen to returns for a couple of hours. John Riggle, owner of the local stations, always sat in the judge's chair and anchored live radio coverage.

I remember thinking: "I would love to be in that black chair one day, doing what Mr. Riggle does."

Be careful what you wish for. Your wish might come true.

In 1980, Riggle decided to turn election night duties over to me. I quickly recruited Ken Smith, a local businessman with a keen sense of Clark County politics, to serve as analyst. We arrived at the courthouse late in the afternoon, set up our equipment, and went on the air shortly after the polls closed.

Returns were read that night by Democratic chairman Gwyn Summers, who had a hard time pronouncing the name of a fellow from Kingsland: Monroe Schwarzlose. The turkey farmer was the only primary opponent of the state's first-term governor Bill Clinton. National media figures were already saying that Clinton, the nation's youngest governor when elected in 1978, might be a future Democratic nominee for president.

Back in Arkansas, though, a lot of voters had soured on Clinton during his first two years in office. They viewed him as arrogant and more interested in national politics than Arkansas issues. They disliked the fact that the governor surrounded himself with young aides who had little previous experience in state government. These voters decided it was time to bring the governor down a notch or two. Sound familiar?

Summers finally tired of trying to pronounce Schwarzlose's name and simply called him Whistle Britches.

His reading of returns (carried live on our radio........

© Arkansas Online