My Redacted Life: Chapter 30 (Cont._2)

Somewhere around the summer of 1972, I decided to take correspondence course in public administration from Berkeley. The company paid for it and I learned a few things. The last assignment was to interview some public official and write a report on the outcome.

I decided upon the city manager of Little Rock, the state’s largest city. At that time, John T. “Jack” Meriwether occupied the office. I got through to him on the phone, and he graciously granted me the interview.

Jack Meriwether had been the city manger of Texarkana previously and would subsequently devote his life to higher education, the newspaper business, and banking. The Meriwether name would become synonymous with public service in our state.

The interview went well. Toward the end, I asked what would always be a key question in interviews of public officials. “What would you say is the most challenging part of your job?”

I expected some timeworn answer directed at the difficulties in dealing with the disparate and conflicting demands of public policy, or the constant struggle with balancing the need for municipal services against a lack of resources.

Instead, he gave me a gem that would stick with me for my entire career. He said his most challenging task was dealing with the “uh-huh …oh" syndrome.

“Say what?”

He smiled at my confusion and explained. “When politicians are campaigning for election, they always run around pointing at things and saying “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

I waited.

He leaned back in his chair and said, “Then when they are elected, and begin to see what the situation really is, they say, ‘Oh,’ and expect me to work it out.”

My instructor out in California thought that was a good story and gave me and “A” in the course.

Over the years, I’ve thought about that comment countless times. Some things never change, do they?

I chose my subject well.