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Joseph Wilson is uncertain how events will shake out, though he personally is doing just fine. He recently told a San Francisco audience that he wasn't interested in public office, being someone who had "too many wives" (Valerie's his third) and, when young, took "too many drugs. And, yes, I did inhale."
With a best-selling book, The Politics of Truth, and a lucrative speaking tour under way, Wilson's now making a living off Karl Rove's apparent indiscretions. "I've got a great life, and what I'm doing now is the right thing to do," he allows when I ask if he wouldn't mind being back in the enveloping mist of the Olympic Peninsula, as he was in the mid-1970s, out of the spotlight, crafting a mountainside retreat. "Once a carpenter, always a carpenter," Wilson says, brightening. He turns 56 next month. "I guess if things don't work out, I can always put my tool belt back on."
randerson@seattleweekly.com
Joseph Wilson speaks at 7:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 26, at Town Hall (1119 Eighth Ave.); $35. His talk is sponsored by Foolproof Performing Arts, 206-325-2993, www.foolproof.org.
American Voices (d.b.a. Foolproof) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization serving the Greater Puget Sound region and beyond by providing entertaining forums for informed opinion, lively discourse, and fresh thinking on national issues.
In the fall of 2003, our focus shifted to politics and public policy and American Voices as we know it today took root. Over the past two years we have made an enormous impact on our community. With speakers such as President Bill Clinton, Dr. Cornel West, Governor Ann Richards and Bill Moyers - we have brought to the Pacific Northwest the voices, ideas, and viewpoints that an informed electorate must hear to exercise the essential task of governance in a democratic society. We play a unique role in the civic landscape of Seattle, complementing the work of CityClub, Seattle Arts & Lectures, and World Affairs Council with our emphasis on national politics & policy and our ability to reach people of all political stripes.
Ten days before an event, Foolproof executive director Marilyn Raichle says, (Howard) Dean’s booking agency cancelled but promised to reschedule.
“This doesn’t sound like Gov. Dean,” Raichle says, but “all we know is we’re in a world of hurt.”