Wordsmith to a Hero

IF Mark Salter hadn’t lost his way beneath the Superdome in New Orleans two decades ago, he might never have met John McCain. It was like that scene in This Is Spinal Tap when the band wanders lost through the basement of an arena in Cleveland-except Salter was at the 1988 Republican National Convention frantically searching for the room where his boss, Jeane Kirkpatrick, was supposed to sit for an interview.

“It’s a cavernous building,” says Salter. So he phoned for help. Torie Clarke, the future Pentagon spokeswoman, showed up to guide him. At the time, she was working for McCain and helping out with the convention. On the night of George H. W. Bush’s acceptance speech-he spoke of “a thousand points of light” and promised “no new taxes”-Salter found himself standing beside the Arizona delegation. Clarke introduced him to the senator. Soon after, Salter was drafting speeches for McCain. It was the start of a tight-knit relationship that continues to this day.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.

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IF Mark Salter hadn’t lost his way beneath the Superdome in New Orleans two decades ago, he might never have met John McCain. It was like that scene in This Is Spinal Tap when the band wanders lost through the basement of an arena in Cleveland-except Salter was at the 1988 Republican National Convention frantically searching for the room where his boss, Jeane Kirkpatrick, was supposed to sit for an interview.

“It’s a cavernous building,” says Salter. So he phoned for help. Torie Clarke, the future Pentagon spokeswoman, showed up to guide him. At the time, she was working for McCain and helping out with the convention. On the night of George H. W. Bush’s acceptance speech-he spoke of “a thousand points of light” and promised “no new taxes”-Salter found himself standing beside the Arizona delegation. Clarke introduced him to the senator. Soon after, Salter was drafting speeches for McCain. It was the start of a tight-knit relationship that continues to this day.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.