Hotline Profiles Nowicki

From their "Friday Feature": Dan Nowicki is the nat'l political reporter for the Arizona Republic. He also maintains a blog on home-state candidate John McCain called McCain Central. He served as an editorial writer at the paper, and he spent time covering the Hill for Freedom Communications. But today he's our Friday Feature: ... What's your most embarrassing on-the-job moment? (Or as embarrassing as you'd like to reveal?) Ugh. Don't remind me. In my past life as an opinion writer for the Arizona Republic, I once predicted that Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., would abide by his campaign vow to serve only three consecutive terms in Congress. Back in 2004, Flake started sending signals that he might break his pledge and run for a fourth term in 2006. I didn't buy it. "He has to play coy to avoid the dreaded 'lame duck' tag and keep local Republican rivals and the Capitol Hill establishment guessing," I wrote. I was so sure of Flake's integrity that I added that I would eat my "paisley tie" if he broke his promise. Guess what? He did. And readers were only too happy to remind me of my own promise to eat my tie. Take this as a cautionary tale about why it's always dangerous to put predictions in print -- and to put too much faith in politicians. Flake, of course, waltzed to re-election last year. ... What's your favorite political book and why I don't know if I really have a favorite. I read political books more for business than pleasure. Well, maybe that's not entirely true. A few that I've read recently are "The Way to Win" by Mark Halperin and John F. Harris (yeah, I know, everybody read that one), "The Most Exclusive Club" by Lewis L. Gould and "From the Center of the Aisle" by former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz. Gould's book is a history of the Senate in the 20th Century. Among other revelations, it includes some seedy details on the 1950s scandal that inspired Allen Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Advise & Consent." I've read every book out there on John McCain and would recommend Robert Timberg's "John McCain: An American Odyssey" to anyone interested in learning more about him. Read the rest here.

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Hotline Profiles Nowicki

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