I'M BACK...BRIEFLY

Well, it's been an interesting week of 16-hour days while I managed an internal trade show of 700 people at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. Tuesday night I had booked the Charlie Daniels Band for our entertainment (I wanted Willie, but he doesn't do corporate any more). I became a fan about 25 years ago of Southern rock bands like Charlie's, Lynyrd Skynyd and the Marshall Tucker Band. Sitting in the green room with him before the performance he told me about his recent trip to Iraq and how the band's helicopter was fired upon several times and hit once. When they landed he told his guys, "Boys, if them Iraqis had been raised on dove-hunting like us, we'd be dead now."

Charlie is a kindly old Santa Claus figure; as so many, he just doesn't understand the difference between disagreeing with your government's policies and being a traitor. He believes the media is distorting or ignoring "all the good things" that are happening in Iraq. Don't try to tell him any differently.

He can still put on one hell of a performance. I'd booked Asleep At The Wheel for the next night, and they were awesome. Ray Benson and the guys have still got it! Western swing is alive and well.

Listened to Bill Bennett this morning on the commute in to work. He was very unhappy with Bush's press conference last night. I thought it was a lackluster event. Bush was relaxed and confident, but his Social Security speech was the same old quest for private accounts, and he was very weak when asked about his rendition policy. The reporters asked decent questions but didn't hammer on followup. I appreciated Chimpy distancing himself from the intrusive religious right, calling religion "personal." But the man uses the introductory "See..." like some people use "I'll tell you the truth..." In other words, it's a signal that he's about to prevaricate, obfuscate or otherwise deceive.

I'll be on the road Sunday-Tuesday (Fort Lauderdale, what a hardship!).