He’s funny & brilliant, and politically unreliable:
He LITERALLY manned the gate at the Timothy O’Leary drug commune in upper New York —I have to allow that does sound made-up.
When he started out he had the conservative formula down pat, but from about 7 years ago politically he’s all over the map.
He has VERY creative and loyal family, and he’s lucky for that —Mike will NEVER know what true loyalty is.
When his wife Janet was producer you should have HEARD the way Mike would tongue-lash that poor woman —just go all Bill O’Reiley on her, pretty regularly.
Mike is funny, successful, and a manic-depressive scum-bag.
Basically he treats his staff the way UCB professors treated him.
He tried his own version of stand-up; had an on-stage performance up in Marin County. He came out on stage driving a stretch boat Caddy, and it went on successfully like that for some time.
He started drinking, being funny. Then he gradually transmogrified into an angry drunk, and when a few of his jokes turned sour he began tongue-lashing his audience with comments about how, “you’re probably all wearing DEPENDS” (most of the audience was older).
It ended pretty badly.
Mike is well-paid, and that’s great —he can be insightful and brilliant.
But there is some unresolved betrayal and anger, there.
And that’s true even though that assessment is typically the type of passive-aggressive clap-trap usually aimed at conservatives by liberals.
With Mike, it’s NOT just a hollow charge slung by someone who simply wants him to shut-up and conform.
His wife was his producer? I never heard him yell at her, I heard him yell at guys in his control room. I used to listen to him.