Craig Crawford on Turnpike Rest Stops, Financial Reform, and Partying with Helen Thomas

If any Imus in the Morning guest is going to take a road trip to New York City, it’s going to be DC dweller Craig Crawford. Along for the ride was venerable White House Correspondent Helen Thomas, Crawford’s pal with whom he wrote the book, Listen Up, Mr. President.

“We stopped at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop,” Crawford, who writes for CQPolitics.com, said proudly. “Some folks came up and recognized Helen. I always keep books in the trunk, so we sold some books at a Turnpike rest stop!”

Selling copies of Listen Up, Mr. President at a rest stop, while hilarious, is preferable to some of the more illicit activities one might engage in on the side of a highway.

As for other shady dealings, Crawford told Imus that the Republicans, who yesterday voted to block discussion of the financial regulatory reform bill, want it both ways.

“They want to give their buddies on Wall Street some goodies,” said Crawford. Ultimately, they also want to appeal to “Main Street” voters, meaning, “They’re going to compromise and sign on to the reform.”

Imus observed that Democrats aren’t any better, with President Obama himself having accepted $1 million from Goldman Sachs during his campaign for President. “Democrats have some goodies in there for Wall Street to keep the money flowing,” Crawford agreed.

Though he cautioned either political party against protecting Wall Street. “Like my friend Will Durst says, defending Wall Street in an election year is like going to Sea World and watching the sharks eat the dolphins in front of your kids,” said Crawford.

For every hit on Wall Street in the reform package, there are, he added, “a lot of carrots in with the sticks.” One of those carrots is the so-called “liquidation fund,” which forces the big banks to pre-fund their own bailout if it becomes necessary.

“That looks like it’s tough on Wall Street,” said Crawford. “But they’re getting a 35 percent tax cut; they’ll always get 35 cents on the dollar back from the federal treasury for that money the put in.”

It really doesn’t matter, at least not to Imus, who presumes everybody on either side of every debate is lying, and has an ulterior motive. It reminded Crawford of an idea he once had to write a book called, “Jesus Goes to Congress,” but Charles pointed out that even the J-Man had an agenda.

Crawford’s only agenda, which is slightly less evil, is to sell his book, which is what he and Helen Thomas do once a month at the American History Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

“Helen’s a worker!” he said of his 89-year old co-author. “She wears me out. Last night we signed books at a restaurant for three or four hours. We get back to the hotel, and she goes, ‘Let’s have a drink!’”

Sounds like she and the I-Man would have been great friends in the 80s.

-Julie Kanfer