Doing the Town With
Who: Columnist and author
Why: In town to promote her latest book, Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America (Crown, 2003)
When: February 11, 2003
8:40 a.m., KQED: Arianna looks poised even while fielding a phone interview from the floor of the greenroom. Though detractors view her transformation from Gingrich supporter and wife of a gay multimillionaire politician to liberal firebrand with skepticism, she's convincingly passionate when reeling off a litany of abuses committed by CEOs and politicians.
9:15 a.m., the Double Play bar: Arianna greets editors David Talbot and Joan Walsh from Salon, to which she contributes regularly, and Jay Harris of Mother Jones with hugs and kisses. All are charmed, despite being doubled up, but it's par for the course with the consummate multitasker and former socialite. Delighted with the sports memorabilia on display, Arianna prefers lattes to the mugs of coffee served. She's relentless, fueled by a steady intake of caffeine and dried fruit mix. "I'll give up anything but my latte—I love Starbucks."
10 a.m., KQED: En route to Arianna's interview with Michael Krasny, we encounter Willie Brown. They shake hands, Arianna reflexively freezing with eyes focused at the sight of a camera. Call-in listeners laud her "bold SUV campaign," referring to the Detroit Project she founded in coalition with environmentalists. Arianna emphasizes she's not anti-SUV: She suggests that "Detroit offer choices, with fuel-efficient SUVs." A caller gushes, "Arianna, you're my hero!"
11 a.m.: Arianna juggles calls on her cell phone while polishing her weekly column on a laptop, booking an upcoming college tour, and consoling youngest daughter Isabella, back in Los Angeles. It's the first of many calls from Isabella throughout the day. "She's suffering from the flu," Arianna says while sipping on latte number 3. "I was up late getting her a doctor's appointment." As if in mobile campaign headquarters, she's constantly on her cell or preparing faxes. One minute she's criticizing President Bush; another, she's discussing her daughters' curfews.
3:15 p.m., Maverick Media, Santa Rosa: We're greeted deferentially by Ben, a radio producer sporting gray dreadlocks. "I love your hair!" Arianna offers, as "Highway to Hell" blares in the background. In her newly donned black pantsuit and lacy jacket, her society background comes through—a seemingly incongruous footnote from the author of How to Overthrow the Government.
7:30 p.m., Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall: All 500 seats have sold out. Arianna's look contrasts with the blue-jeaned, fleece-jacketed attendees. Like disciples of a cult, the audience responds thunderously when Arianna begins, "I want to let you know all the many ways in which we are being screwed," though not by Starbucks, apparently.
9 p.m.: At the post-talk book signing, the gift pile grows steadily, from a T-shirt ("How can you take sides when the world is round?") to a poster of a naked woman barely covered by an American flag. "That's my wife, Marlena," the donor explains proudly. "Very nice," Arianna says with a smile. She later offers it to our photographer as a keepsake.
10:30 p.m.: Arianna's eyes drift shut during the drive home, the lattes' effects diminishing. After wishing her daughters good-night on her cell, she reminisces about her early career as a journalist interviewing a young Jerry Brown. Stepping out of the car, she calls back tiredly, "One individual can make a difference."
