Mackay Etched In Stone, Solid As Rock

Deputy Conservative Leader Peter Mackay dropped in on the Doc and Woody Show Friday morning and spoke strongly on the issue of the day: Gas prices.

I knew he would be in town as early as last week, but I had very few opportunities to focus on booking him and confirming it. I was on my way out of town last weekend, only to return to a hectic but fun experience with the Rolling Stones concert. The frenzied pace continued with what seemed like a week's worth of meetings about the morning show, the fall objectives, a golf tournament to finalize and, of course, Katrina and the fallout.

I ended up meeting Peter at a fundraiser Thursday night for my good friend Lisa MacLeod who will bid for the Nepean-Carleton nomination, replacing John Baird for the Ontario PC Party. I asked Peter on short notice if he was able to swing by the studios. We agreed on a window of any time between 8 and 9am. I emailed Doc and Jeff Brown immediately to provide a heads-up.

The next morning, Doc asked "Is Mackay etched in stone?"
"He's coming in for sure," was my reply, "but it's just a casual visit. He's certainly ready to talk about gas taxes."
"Yeah.. I'm just worried we're getting too many in a row. We're starting to look 'conservaty."
"Well," I countered, "go get some Liberals." His smirk seemed to be a conceding one.

Throughout the morning, Doc was still wondering what to do with Peter. I was confident we'd be talking about gas tax. I knew, somehow, there would be a tie-in with something on the show or the station; but something besides gas that the listeners would relate to.

When Peter arrived, I explained on the air that GASMAN spent the previous morning on Parliament Hill calling out the government for tax relief but nobody met with him. So I thought, "I know government people" and summoned Peter Mackay to the rescue.

The interview flowed with logic and purpose and listener relatability. Peter was able to promote the Conservative commitment to lowering gas taxes and then announced his intentions of travelling to Moncton this weekend to see the Rolling Stones. Nice and comfortable in the Doc and Woody environment.

Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity to ask him which is a greater deterrent to his leadfoot problem; traffic fines or high gas prices.