BROADCASTS.com

b'George Allen on "learning to be yourself" in politics after he switched out his boots for wingtips and lost his first election~\\n"The best advice I ever got was from a guy named George Beard who was chewing tobacco at the Green County Fair. He was a delegate from Culpeper, and I said \'Oh, you\'re chewing tobacco here in public.\' He says, \'You got to be yourself.\' There\'s no better advice."\\n\\nSusan Brown Allen, and Senator George Allen at Our Town Season 2 Launch Party\\n\\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tThis Our Town. This is Andy Ockershausen and I\'ve known our next guest for close to 50 years. It goes so fast. His name is a household name to anyone who as ever lived in Our Town for even a few years. His father was a big deal in Our Town, and our guest was an even bigger name in politics and government. He was a senator, governor, member of the House of Representatives. I mean, I don\'t know what he hasn\'t done. He wasn\'t born here, but his impact on the State of Virginia and Our Town was legendary. Welcome Governor, Senator, Felix Allen. \\nWhat\'s in a Name? - George Allen Legacy in Our Town\\nGeorge Allen:\\tGeorge Allen. \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tGeorge. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tFelix was my grandfather\'s name. \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tI knew that. I met your grandfather when they came to a game. I\'ll get into that with you in a minute. And your grandmother. George that\'s incredible. I was wondering, were you a junior and Janice found you as Felix. I love the name. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tYeah. My father\'s middle name was Herbert so - \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tYes. I knew that. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tSo we had different middles names so -\\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tGeorge H. Allen. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tYep. \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tYour dad was certainly a legend to Our Town and what he did for us, and to have you come along ... It\'s just unbelievable George. The name means so much in Washington. I think that name helped you get elected a couple of times didn\'t it?\\nGeorge Allen:\\tYeah. Bunch of Redskins fans. Cowboy fans would always give me a hard time with it, and fortunately the Redskins when my father was there, never had a losing season and he brought in a winning tradition for the Redskins. And if it weren\'t for my father going to the Washington Redskins, I would not be in Virginia. To be honest with you - \\nThe Road to Our Town\\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tI can understand that. But you were born in Whittier and your dad was coaching there? \\nGeorge Allen:\\tYeah. My parents were married in Sioux City, Iowa and his first head coaching job was at Morningside College. He\'s originally from Michigan near Detroit -\\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tI knew that. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tAnd any rate, I guess during the period my wife ... My wife. My mother was pregnant with me during that period, then I was dropped in Whittier. And so he was head coach at Whittier College. They have the worst, least fierce name for a team. The Poets. The Fighting Poets. And you know we\'re just like pathetic. What we\'re going to kill you with rhyme. But that team - \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tBut that was Richard Nixon\'s school\\nGeorge Allen:\\tYeah Richard Nixon went ... He wasn\'t there at the same time as my father, but that\'s when they first became acquainted with one another. The other great thing at Whittier is in their conference, they played Occidental and Jack Kemp - \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tQuarterback. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tWas a quarterback at Occidental. And out of the people who motivated me to get involved in politics, the most two inspirational people to me were Ronald Reagan, and Jack Kemp. And Kemp coming from the world of football really was very consistent with my way of looking at a meritocracy. And some of this you reflect on later in life, but growing up in football myself and my father\'s teams, and they were all very close. \\nAndy Ockershausen:\\tYou part of it. The whole team. \\nGeorge Allen:\\tYeah. And even with the Bears. Those were first training camps when my father was an assistant coach with the Bears and from second to eighth grade ...'