"Wanted to get in touch and let you know I'm going to be in Vermont to launch my book, The Uprising. I have attached an embargoed press release and background info on the book. As a blogger myself, I figured I would see if you wanted to perhaps do an interview about the book before the event, or some such other kind of thing..." [Links added.]

I took him up and called him around 6:20 eastern time tonight for a short phone interview. Not verbatim without quotation marks. Ring ring.

DS: Hello?
HB: Hello. Is this David Sirota?
DS: Yes.
HB: Hi. This is Haik Bedrosian from BurlingtonPol.com. You sent an email about your book. Can we do a quick interview right now?
DS: Sure.
HB: What do you think about Ron Paul?
DS: I worked with him and his staff fairly often when I was Bernie's spokesperson on Capitol Hill.
HB: You worked for Bernie?
DS: I was his spokesperson from 1999-2001.
HB: Huh.
DS: Ron Paul is what we call "an honest conservative" in D.C. We worked with him on issues like ending corporate welfare, the IMF and prescription reimportation.
HB: So do you support Obama?
DS: I haven't endorsed anybody. I guess you could say I'm leaning toward Obama, but I was more toward Edwards when he was in the race. My job precludes me from making an endorsement.
HB: What's your job?
DS: I'm a political columnist and I write books.
HB: Oh. What paper do you write for?
DS: My column runs in 40 papers including the Denver Post, The Seattle Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
HB: Yeah. I didn't really do my homework for this interview. I mean, I used to hear you on the Al Franken show. Ma-ma-ma-ma-my-my-my Sirota. We can't get Air America on the radio in Burlington anymore. Hey! Do you know Rachel Maddow?
DS: I'm on her show all the time.
HB: Man, I love her. But do you think she's selling her soul working for GE? I mean just now on TV I heard her cheering Hillary's threat to obliterate Iran as earning her "hawkish stripes."
DS: Micheal Moore ran into this dilemma with Rupert Murdoch and he said if he could use Murdoch's resoures to get his own message out, it's a coup.
HB: Do you consider yourself to be a member of a party?
DS: I guess you could say I'm a Democrat, but a Progresisve Democrat.
HB: So if you lived in Burlington you'd be a Progressive? You would support Bob Kiss and David Zuckerman?
DS: Yes. I actually serve on a committee with David Zuckerman. The Progressive States Network.
HB: Where do you live?
DS: Denver.
HB: Are you married? Kids? How old are you?
DS: I'm 32. Married since 2005. No kids. We have a dog named Monty, for Montana where we used to live. We helped Brian Schweitzer get elected.
HB: He's smart. He's a geologist. What do you think about the gold standard?
DS: I can't really speak on that. It's not where my focus has been...
HB: Peter Welch reacted the same way when I aked him about it. It was just way off his radar.
DS: Yeah.
HB: Some of my readers will think that it's neat that I spoke with you. Thanks for taking the time. I'll post your materials and announce your book launch.
DS: And I hope to meet you in Burlington at the event.

Bye. Click.

Poopsie: Did you ask him about his name? You should ask him about his name. Sirota means orphan in Russian.

HB: That's interesting Honey, but I'm not going to call back and ask him about it.

*****
David Sirota Tuesday May 27, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Borders Books Church Street

Speech, Q&A and book signing sponsored by Democracy for Vermont and Chittenden South DFA.

Labels: Interviews, Rachel Maddow