Thursday, September 18, 2008

Who is that Man Behind the Curtain?


Why, it's none other than the 56-year-old "bachelor," California Republican Congressman David Dreier, who recently ran away from me -- and ran behind a curtain -- shortly after I introduced myself (yes, and the video is below).

The last time I saw the guy, you see, was at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, when, just weeks after he'd voted for the heinously antigay Marriage Protection Act, I asked him, on the air, about the rumors that he is gay but closeted to his conservative constituents. His face turned from sunbed-tan to ghost white as he dodged the question, clearly not realizing who I was nor expecting that I might ask him for such a relevant truth when he sat down to talk. He was just another press-hungry Republican politician, you see, doing as many interviews as he could on Radio Row.

"So, are you saying you're heterosexual?" I continued.

"I'm not going to talk about that issue," he replied, stammering his way off the show.

That clip got a lot of pick up online back then, but for those who need a refresher before we move on, here it is below.










So, at the 2008 convention in St. Paul, I spotted Dreier working Radio Row and surely thought I should follow up from four years ago. Walking along with a bearishly buff body guard, Dreier seemed friendly and eager to talk as I he shook my hand -- until he heard my name. At that point, he freaked! The bodyguard intervened and Dreier ran off behind a blue curtain on Radio Row, only to emerge a few seconds later, scampering off with his guy. See the video below. (And in the audio clip below that you'll hear me introduce myself as he then runs off.)