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Roasting
Dr. Dial-a-Quote
Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore was the surprise winner of
the 50th Birthday Roast of University of Virginia
political commentator Larry Sabato in Richmond
October 21st. Kilgore drew heavy laughter from the
get-go with his observation that "sitting next
to Senator George Allen at dinner is difficult …
given his tobacco habits, you have to be careful
which glass you pick up." He saluted his fellow
participants in politics, a respected term, he said,
that combines "poli from the Greek for people and tic, as in blood-sucking parasite." One thing Kilgore pointed
out to other potential gubernatorial candidates in
2005 was that "Tim Kaine and I agree that the
next governor should have a last name beginning with
K."
The real beneficiary of the political free-for-all dinner,
UVA's Center for Politics, grossed about $160,000 to
sustain operations, which like everything else, have
been trimmed by recent state budget cuts. Governor
Mark R. Warner, in spirit, joshed that this would be
the first of nightly fundraising roasts to help fill
funding gaps in various state agencies and
departments. After demonstrably slurping from his
water glass in a replay of the sipping prowess first
exhibited in his televised budget speech a week
before, Governor Warner also suggested naming rights
available for evening sponsors, such as the
Smithfield Foods Department of Environmental Quality
and the
McGuire
Woods
State
Capitol
Building,
to bring in even more revenues.
The most unique tribute to Sabato came from Bob Gorrell,
editorial cartoonist for the Richmond
Times Dispatch, who presented cartoons depicting
Sabato as a Pez dispenser, spewing forth political
soundbites to a grateful media figure, and as a
member of UVA's "Z" society, putting his
lecture students to sleep. Gorrell observed that
Sabato's "shock of hair, distinctive mustache
and open mouth" made him easy to draw, which
Gorrell did live via an overhead projector.
Before the night was over, Senator John Warner had
presented his tie (and an aside that he had married
well) to Sabato, Senator Allen had presented a tape
recording to former Governor L. Douglas Wilder, and
every political leader either had charged the man
known as "Dr. Dial-a-Quote" with extortion
in demanding their presence or recited a favorite
mistaken assessment from Sabato, who maintains a
crystal ball of political picks on the Center's
Website.
"The media doesn't really care if you are right or
wrong," Sabato responded in classic form,
"they just need to fill lots of time."
The Center for Politics specializes in research, analysis
and education programs on politics and civic
participation with a distinctive slogan,
"Politics is a good thing!" This unending
quest is chronicled in part at www.centerforpolitics.org.
--
Oct. 7, 2002
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