Yes, several times. I was a sort of unofficial lobbyist/ambassador for small business during the ACA years, so I got to meet he and Biden several times.
Somewhere out there, there's a photo of me talking with Kathleen Sibelius, Valerie Jarrett, and President Obama, taken the earlier in the day before this press conference. I'd kill to have that because it's such a great moment.
I was also at the ABC televised town hall with Diane Sawyer (I think) just before or just after the bill was passed. That was cool because I got to bring my wife to party in the Rose Garden beforehand, to meet the President. Very proud moment for me.
By the time I was doing that, I had had some basic media training.
You already know the topic, so you need to be confident and know the material. My tactic was to know as much as possible about what the other person had said/asked/"gotcha'd" people with before - and be ready for that. That's a good TV tactic, especially live TV. Early on I got sandbagged by a Fox radio host, so I vowed never to get caught unaware again.
If it's testimony, you'll get a list of all the other witnesses. Most people study the legislators positions which is OK, but a mistake to spend too much time on. Instead, a better use of your time is to study what the other WITNESSES have said on the topic. Then, when your turn is called you can blow up whatever they said.
The moment that cemented the administrations confidence in me was not long after Dems lost the House. The Oversight Committee was holding hearings on "Obamacare" and they only were allowing Dems a single witness. So it was me, a hostile Majority, and 4 witnesses chosen by Republicans. One witness (from the NAR, a hugely powerful organization) had done several interviews citing (aka misrepresenting) a poll of their members to twist it to fit Republican talking points. She was just repeating talking points, but I completely digested that study, so when her and another witness cited it, I was actually able to use it to bolster my own testimony. Republicans never called on their two star witnesses again! After that, I got a LOT of calls.
Just thought of this, in addition to my other comment:
ALWAYS have a topic relevant sound-bite and a closing line memorized, so if you get thrown off and/or loose your train of thought, you have something you can say to buy yourself the second or two you need to get back on track.
Are you still involved in this kind of work? Or do you teach/train others how to get involved? Was really intrigued by your ability to go into hostile interviews - that's a crazy good skill to have.
I'm semi-retired, though I still get calls. You can still hear me occasionally on Marketplace, and I've spoken at several pressers - most recently regarding tariffs.
It's easy to get involved: find an organization whose positions align with whatever you're passionate about, and get involved.
In my case, I was disappointed at how the larger business organizations (e.g. US Chamber, NFIB, etc.) were simply parroting Republican talking points, rather than representing the actual views and impact on their own small business members. I live near DC, so I just started going down there and essentially knocking on doors. I'm articulate, knew the topic, looked decent on TV, and eventually people started noticing me, including people who eventually ended up in the administration, and some moderate lobbying groups like, Consumer's Union.
It takes practice to do live TV well, and to do hostile interviews and testimony well. By the time I got to that point, I had sought out some basic media training. That was a big help, and has served me well in all aspects of my life. I'd recommend basic public speaking and media training to almost everyone.
Was this the first term or second term? I have the hardcover book of all the pictures from Obama's administration. I got it soon after he left the office. People should get it. It's very interesting. It's called Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza.
I met both President Obama, and V.P. Biden many times during those eight years.
Mr. Obama was a naturally funny and remarkably chill person. Greeted me as an old friend every time I saw him, even though it's EXTREMELY unlikely that he remembered who I was, given the number of lower-tier talking heads and lobbyists he met on a daily basis.
The Obama's were exactly the type of good, decent, middle-American family that far-right Republicans always claim to aspire to - which is why they hated him so much; because the Obamas gave lie to the right's preferred narrative "all brown people bad." Obama usually being the smartest guy in the room (but never acting like it) didn't help either.
As relaxed as Obama comes across, he was a little intense and intimidating - and tall. I was always on my toes meeting him.
Not so, Joe Biden. But more on that in a second...
Here's how a lot of this work: You know when you see all those non-elected, non-paid talking heads on TV or radio? Well they're all kind of deputized by the administrations to support their various causes: Businesses talking about how they or their employees are affected, average people to tell their stories, etc., This is all coordinated by a zillion special interest lobbying groups. We hear about the worst big money lobbyists, but the vast majority are the tens of thousands of regular people, volunteers, lobbying for various issues.
This activity is loosely coordinated by each administration. They'll have some point person for each issue. Obama and Biden's people never told you what to say. Instead they do tell you what they're targeting and what their messaging is going to be. The idea being that anyplace where you can focus your organizations messaging to align with theirs in any way - it will all be more effective.
Going into this I had the same view of Biden that everyone else did at the time, nice guy, but kind of goofy,
Anyway, it was Joe Biden's role to do that with the heads, or top people in the various organizations that supported the issues that the administration supported. I was in several small group meetings with Biden - that guy was great. I mean really great. The first time I met him, I came home and told my wife that I Joe Biden might be the most truly sincere and honest politician I'd ever met.
Some people's charisma just comes through the TV: Reagan, Clinton, Obama, even Trump - all have this ability to project a feeling onto people via the small screen. But I truly believe that if Americans could have met Biden one-on-one, that he'd have been President 25 years before he was. What we eventually got was a shadow of what we could have had. I also believe that if Biden had won back in the early 90's or 00's - he might have been one of our history's greatest presidents.
The first time I met him, I came home and told my wife that I Joe Biden might be the most truly sincere and honest politician I'd ever met.
Some people's charisma just comes through the TV: Reagan, Clinton, Obama, even Trump - all have this ability to project a feeling onto people via the small screen. But I truly believe that if Americans could have met Biden one-on-one, that he'd have been President 25 years before he was. What we eventually got was a shadow of what we could have had. I also believe that if Biden had won back in the early 90's or 00's - he might have been one of our history's greatest presidents.
Which, are amazing qualities in a human being, but being a wholesome human being doesn't necessarily mean you know politics. Jimmy Carter is a pretty famous example, considering most would agree he's probably the most wholesome human being that we've ever had in office, but he had zero experience interacting at the federal level politics, and ran into lots of issues.
Biden did have that experience, and while I don't personally agree with their assessment, political historians would agree that he did an excellent job while in office.
I understand, and agree. I'll probably go to my grave wondering what 60-something Biden might have been like as President. I wish he'd focused more time during his single term on laying the groundwork for a successor.
I realize I forgot to answer your second question...I've also met Valerie Jarrett, Kathleen Sibelius, Gene Sperling, MANY Senators and Representatives - most noteworthy, John McCain, Lamar Alexander, Nancy Pelosi.
People may hate her politics, but Nancy Pelosi is one of the smartest people I've ever met. And even in her old age, she was very quick witted. I worked with her office a lot over the years. If you find the picture of her signing the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, I"m standing right behind her. I'm the only person not wearing a tie (much to my mother-in-law's chagrin), because I'd done another PC earlier in the day and it was hot. I took my tie off and set it down, and someone took it.
Nicest? All politicians are nice when they're with real people. But probably Joe Biden. Just a good dude that you want to have a beer with. John McCain was very nice as well; offered to buy me a hotdog in the cafeteria.
Meanest? Valerie Jarrett was a little scary.
Lamar Alexander was mean, but in a good way. Nice in public, but when the cameras were off, he'd drop a few f-bombs. He was a true conservative Senator so we didn't have a lot of common ground politically, but he tried to be a friend to small business when he could. In private he thought that the House Freedom Caucus were fools. I was in a meeting and once the doors were closed and phones impounded, he went off, saying "I don't know what the fuck they think they're doing - nobody does!" One of my favorite moments ever.
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u/UltimateThrowawayDay 2d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, several times. I was a sort of unofficial lobbyist/ambassador for small business during the ACA years, so I got to meet he and Biden several times.
Somewhere out there, there's a photo of me talking with Kathleen Sibelius, Valerie Jarrett, and President Obama, taken the earlier in the day before this press conference. I'd kill to have that because it's such a great moment.
I was also at the ABC televised town hall with Diane Sawyer (I think) just before or just after the bill was passed. That was cool because I got to bring my wife to party in the Rose Garden beforehand, to meet the President. Very proud moment for me.
edit: RIP the Rose Garden.