Campaigns & Elections' Politics - February 2008 - (Page 22) Politics: I understand he was incredibly loyal to you during that tough time when a gay news service came out with a story about your sexual orientation. Traynham: The last thing you want to be- my friend, you’re my staffer, you’re not going anywhere. Resignation is the last thing you’re going to do. Politics: The senator had a constituency that wasn’t necessarily comfortable with your lifestyle. Did this ever cause you to think, is the GOP my natural home after all? Traynham: Those thoughts crossed my government is a good thing no matter what your philosophy may be about abortion or whatever. I was working for a friend, doing a job for him, and I just happened to be who I was in my personal life. Politics: If you could take back any part of your career, have a do-over, would you? Traynham: The only thing is that maybe I come as a Hill staffer is a news item. When my personal life became public, my first inclination was to resign immediately. And to just get under the covers and hide, you know, for a couple of weeks and then re-emerge. Sen. Santorum, who has known about my personal life for many years, said, no, you’re mind, yeah. But I’ve always been a libertarian in my approach, believing that limited could have done a better job of defining myself. Because I’m not some Rightwing nut, never have been. And I think there are some people out there who used to have that perception of me, oftentimes because of how I was characterized in certain newspapers. Politics: Does your sensitivity about people categorizing others influence the way you interview guests for CN8? Traynham: Absolutely. When I interview them I try my hardest not to have any preconceived notions. Here at CN8 I try to give them a platform to discuss what’s really important to them. What are my personal thoughts about them or their views? It’s frankly irrelevant. I also think there aren’t enough people of color in the political realm and there aren’t enough youth in politics. And I’m a person of color, a young person, and I know something about politics, so it’s a perfect recipe. Politics: Five, 10 years from now, what can you imagine doing? Traynham: It probably will still be in media. I’d love to host a show here in Washington that speaks to young people, that has a different take on things. It would be hip and interactive and, more important, it would hold elected officials accountable. Politics: You don’t have any desire to be back in the political realm, where you’re setting the agenda instead of asking about it? Traynham: I think I’ve closed that chapter in my life. It’s a very admirable and noble profession, and I will admit that I did harbor those feelings a couple of years ago. But the more I did television, the more I came to understand the other side of politics—which is to articulate it to the American people. And that led me to say to myself, this is where my next career will be. And here I am. 22 Politics February 2008 http://www.labelsandlists.com http://www.labelsandlists.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.