Former Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt
Notes from Evan Smith
"It's not every day that a former governor, former presidential candidate, and former cabinet secretary sits down for a chat, but this week's guest has held each of those lofty positions, so you're in for a rare look inside the corridors of power. And, as you'll find out, he has a strong Texas connection too. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, Bruce Babbitt earned a bachelor's degree in geology from Notre Dame, a master's degree in geophysics from the University of Newcastle in England, and a law degree from Harvard University. In 1974, after practicing law in Phoenix, he successfully ran for attorney general of Arizona; four years later, he was elected governor, serving in that office until 1987, when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in what can charitably be described as a quixotic but fondly remembered campaign. In 1993, after his friend and fellow former Governor Bill Clinton was won the White House, Babbitt was named U.S. secretary of the interior, putting the stewardship of the nation's natural resources in his hands. He served in both Clinton administrations -- one imagines George W. Bush's movers forcibly evicting him from his office -- and has since returned to the practice of law, though questions of land use and environmental protection are never far from his thoughts. This fall, Babbitt toured to promote his new book, Cities in Wilderness, and he wrote a series of keenly observed editorials about what it will take to rebuild New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina." - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly Talks, Broadcast 11.3.05
