John McCain/Bill Cunningham

During his primary run for President in 2008, the McCain camp called Bill Cunningham, well-known attorney and radio talk-show host in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, Taft Republican Country. They wanted him to introduce McCain as he had done before and warm the crowd up. It was supposed to be short and Bill Cunningham, also a famous high-school athlete in Cincinnati and up from poverty, was looking forward to seeing his old friend once again.

So Cunningham arrives at the venue but McCain is not there. He is asked to speak for more than the original couple of minutes. The McCain people tell him that he gave the best introduction of the campaign and thank him profusely. He has to leave in a hurry because he is supposed to be on the radio in fifteen or twenty minutes. McCain is still late.

Instead of gratitude to the popular Cunningham, McCain is upset that Cunningham referred to Obama by his full name, which Obama used both times that he was sworn in as President. McCain then berates Cunningham in public and calls down the national media on Cunningham while he is on the radio. Cunningham knows everybody and everybody knows him in the tri-state area and McCain loses Ohio.

Here is McCain's statement in Cincinnati:



Here is Bill Cunningham's introduction on behalf of McCain. I don't think that they ever spoke again after that day. Cunningham said that he was going to vote for Hillary but later said that he was going to hold his nose and vote for McCain, an expression that was widespread among Hoosier Republicans:

 

I thought that Bill Cunningham did a good job for McCain. There wasn't even an audience there and Bill made some calls and got people there. Bill has two Marconi Awards for radio broadcasting. He was the leading high school basketball player in Cincinnati in his day. I think he was good in baseball, too. Years ago Cincinnati was called the Queen City because the government was honest and the city was prosperous. It sits on the north shore of the Ohio River and is a very hilly city. His radio show goes all over the country. His wife is a judge.