repealed,
by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.
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"Gramm" is Phil Gramm, former U.S. Senator from Texas.
I met him, once.
1996, Gramm was a peripheral candidate for president in early primaries -- he and, I think, one or two other candidates dropped by our state legislature.
Presidential candidates are always in a hurry.
A pair of swinging doors between our House of Representatives and the lobby flew open, and Senator Gramm, after only a second's hesitation to get his bearings -- (which way outta here?) -- came toward me, fast. Smiling, and eager, he had a curious posture -- first, there's this face coming at you, and beyond that, the neck, craning forward, and then the body, hurrying to catch up.
------------------------- (At that time, I didn't know he'd been a college professor at Texas A & M; reading that info now, I can totally imagine him being that type -- leaning forward, hurrying, bearing down on you..."Where's my chalk?")
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That day in 1996, the senator came straight to me because I was the only person in the lobby at the moment. On an antique wooden desk in the House lobby, there would be a huge three-ring binder, with every House bill and resolution inside, so you could look things up, and read every bill to make sure it wouldn't adversely affect your client(s).
I had gone into the lobby to listen to the itinerant, unreasonably optimistic, marginal primary candidates, and read bills at same time.
Meet-and-greet; grip-and-grin;
that's what you do when you campaign. Personal contact with as many people as possible. And when there's only one, you greet her, on your way to the
exit, and the
plane.
Smiling, intent, radiating enthusiasm; he shook my hand, looking for all the world as if he'd been waiting his whole life just to meet me.
For some reason the enthusiasm and energy of politicians, which is not really based on anything logical or reasonable, resonates with me.
-30-
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