Episode 349 GEORGE H. W. BUSH 1992 The Changing of the Guard (Part 31) On the trail with Ric Flair and George Bush (and later Gov Mike Huckabee)

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This might be the most fun episode we ever produced. As we look back at George H. W. Bush , Pro wrestling fan. With the help of Charleston Post and Courier articles written by their star reporter Mike Mooneyham, we will examine the Bush connection to the world of Professional wrestling and especially his fondness for wrestling's greatest athlete, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. 

We will hear about Bush's friendship with promoter Paul Boesch, his lifelong connection to "Chief" Ed "Wahoo" McDaniel, and his later friendship with "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd. We will also hit the trail , in 1992, on the whistlestop tour that took George Bush through the Carolinas, with the biggest sports star of them all, Ric Flair. 

It was at a rally in Spartanburg S.C. where our Host, Randal Wallace, was able to maneuver himself up near the front with a little help from Martha Bishop, the sister of our Senator Strom Thurmond, so he would be nearly front row for the rally at the Train Depot, that would feature not only the President, but Governor Carrol Campbell, Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler, Senator Strom Thurmond, Congressional Candidate Bob Inglis, and our host's childhood sports hero, Ric Flair. To this day, as you will hear, it remains Wallace's favorite memory of any in his over 45 years in politics. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't find any footage from the Spartanburg rally, but we do have some examples of George Bush out on his 1992 whistle-stop tour, and we do have some later moments from the 2008 Presidential campaign where Ric Flair would return to the trail to campaign for Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. 

It was at the event for Huckabee in Myrtle Beach that our host again became the focus of attention as he stood with a folder full of wrestling magazines hoping to get them autographed by Ric Flair, at the Huckabee rally, while serving as the Rudy Giuliani Horry County Chairman. It made the news, in two articles in the Sun News political blog Poli-tick-Tock. We will look back at that blog too, and feature the Columbia Mike Huckabee Rally with Chuck Norris and Ric Flair. 

As you will hear, Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump were actually not the first Pro wrestler and President to headline a Presidential campaign event!! 

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