Senator Alan K. Simpson was elected to the post in the fall of 1978 and served the great state of Wyoming in that capacity until 2006. You would think that after all those years  that we, his constituency, would have a pretty good idea of who this fellow was. Not by a long shot.

In the biography of Senator Alan K. Simpson called Shoot From The Lip, there are surprises for the reader and the Senator alike. Shortly before the Senator was elected majority whip of the United States Senate, he decided to keep a journal. Out of that 19 volume diary has come a behind-the-scenes look at the goings on in the Senate as well as the private life of this fellow that many just call Al. The senator’s longtime chief of staff, Donald Loren Hardy, has had access to all of Al's personal papers and this diary to present a comprehensive account of a storied political and private life.
Al gave full control of this work to his friend Don, telling him, “Don, just tell the truth, the whole truth, as you always have. Leave teeth, hair, and eyeballs on the floor, if that results from telling the truth.”

You really do get a sense of being there for meetings with Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Saddam Hussein. Dinners with the English royalty, President George Bush and a host of others. You feel the anguish and frustration of policy made and unmade and you also feel a love of family, both paternal and those accepted into the family over the years. Don Hardy joined us last week to talk about the book.

After finishing the book myself, i knew that we had to have Al Simpson on the air to account for some of the stories and give his own take on the veracity of the book. He and Don were in town for a book signing and stopped by the studio for a visit.

If you had trouble hearing parts of that interview the radio interview is here.

Make no mistake, this is not an action thriller that you can't put down but rather a great look behind the curtain of Oz and the players that have made the decisions in the political arena over the last several years. All that i have to add is AL SIMPSON FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!

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