Austin, TX
Out of the blue, I got a call from Bush senior advisor, Mark McKinnon, whom I’d known since working in Louisiana in 1991. McKinnon said he had chatted with Bush’s senior aides Karen Hughes and Karl Rove, and they wanted me aboard as a communications consultant for the presidential campaign.
At the time, getting an invite from Austin to join the campaign was the hottest ticket in Washington — especially if one had worked on the 1992 Bush/Quayle re-elect. George W had very negative feelings about the consultants and staff involved in the race, and believed the campaign had done a poor job. He was right.
Regardless, I got the call, and instinctively hit the road immediately and drove to Austin.