The radio show must go on.
And so it did for Arnie Arnesen, a political analyst and longtime radio and TV show host who visited Colgate Tuesday to talk to students about the presidential primaries.
Arnesen has been on talk radio for nearly 20 years, and each weekday hosts the Chowder in the Morning program, which is available online and on AM radio and public access TV stations throughout southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts.
A last-minute scramble to get on the air landed Arnesen and her husband, Marty, in office space in McGregory Hall early Tuesday morning.
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| Arnie Arnesen talks to her radio listeners from a closet in McGregory Hall. Her husband, Marty, stands by and Trish St. Leger, associate provost, works in her office at right. |
Actually, they landed in a closet in 105 McGregory, which was the only place they could find a dedicated phone line to connect with their mobile radio equipment.
So from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Arnesen talked with guests like former CIA analyst Mel Goodman, chatted about the dueling Kennedy family presidential endorsements, and yakked about the Patriots. All from a closet.
Raj Bellani, dean of academic programs, works in 105 McGregory and helped with the last-minute arrangements. Licensing issues had prevented the use of WRCU, Colgate’s student-run radio station.
With a little more time to plan, Arnesen was able to do Wednesday morning’s show in the new state-of-the-art audio studio at the Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology.
The facility has the very latest computer software and infrastructure in place to seamlessly capture audio from the acoustically pristine studio.
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| Arnie Arnesen uses the studio at Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology to broadcast her live radio show, Chowder in the Morning. |
Arnesen raved about the studio, the newly renovated library, and campus in general throughout her live program. She also talked about the great interactions she had with Colgate students at a brown bag lunch and an evening lecture.
During those public events, she shared entertaining stories about the many politicians she’s met and what it’s like to have hundreds of journalists and campaign workers descend on her state during primary season.
Arnesen, a liberal Democrat who was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1984 and ran for governor in 1992. also said that:
- Al Gore would make a terrific vice presidential candidate. She said Gore, who she called a horrible presidential candidate in 2000, is very knowledgeable about military matters and would be a great voice on foreign policy.
- It bears watching how the media will treat Barack Obama, specifically his admission that he once used cocaine. Will the African American candidate ever be asked if he sold cocaine?
- Former President Bill Clinton is hurting his wife’s campaign at this time and has to step back and let her take center stage.
- John McCain scares the Democrats the most of any GOP candidate, but he also scares the Republicans because of the intense dislike the conservative base has for him.
Her appearance on campus, sponsored by Democracy Matters and the College Democrats, is one of several similar events planned this year as part of the political discussion on campus.
Upcoming guest lecturers include conservative columnist George Will, who will discuss the campaign on March 27.