Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Bill Lacy, former Fred Thompson campaign manager, returned to the University of Kansas Monday to resume his job as director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Lacy said that he had offers to continue his career in Washington, but was eager to get back to the University.
Kristin Hoppa
Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, settles back into his office Monday at the Dole Insitiute of Politics after taking a leave of absence to head former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson’s exploratory presidential campagin. Lacy said he was glad to be back and missed the interaction with students the most.
“KU is the best job in my career,” Lacy said. “I was reluctant to leave it in the first place.”
Lacy said he brought back two valuable Washington lessons for KU students: up-to-date political readiness, and an example of service to country. But the most important thing Lacy said he brought back from Washington were contacts.
Lacy said students can look forward to new guest speakers as a result of his journey on the campaign trail.
“We want to give students a real opportunity to interact with people actually doing things in politics,” Lacy said.
Lacy left Jonathan Earle, Dole Institute associate director for programming, in charge during his leave.
Lacy said he really appreciated Earle keeping the Dole Institute on track and adding to the programming.
“I had a lot of fun running this place, but I’m glad Bill is back,” Earle said, adding that he is more of a history guru than a politics person like Lacy.
“Jonathan really stayed true to our original vision of the Institute,” Lacy said.
When asked about Thompson’s loss of the republican nomination, Lacy compared the campaign to being thrown into the NCAA playoffs without playing any preseason games.
“We were up against teams like Clinton and Obama who had much more time to practice.”
Lacy, who also ran Thompson’s 1994 senatorial campaign, said they had to accomplish in five months what they had done in a year during his previous campaign.
“And I’m not as young as I used to be,” Lacy added.
Lacy took a month vacation with his wife before returning to the Dole Institute.
“I was a zombie when that campaign was over,” Lacy said.
He said he only had 10 days out of the office during the presidential run.
“I didn’t have time to do things like ride my bike or eat right,” Lacy said. “That takes a toll on your body.”
Before agreeing to work on Thompson’s campaign, Lacy had been out of politics for 11 years.
He came to the Dole Institute in 2004 and didn’t want to leave until Bob Dole said it would be good for the Dole Institute.
“Fred called in the middle of the time trials for the Tour de France,” Lacy said. “I let him leave a message.”
Lacy said that he and Dole decided that if he did not take the job in Washington, he would be going against the message of the Dole Institute: to set an example of service in politics.
—Edited by Mandy Earles
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