One
of my good friends at university in London was a highly-intelligent, radical left-wing
student at the London School of Economics, a hotbed of student protest in the
late 60s. His name was Stuart Varney. He
and I had many discussions in the pub about the world’s problems. His cordiality
and sense of humor always made him a great debater. In these college photos,
Stuart is the one in the white tee-shirt who is clearly proud of his navel. In case you did not know, I am the one sitting on the ground in the first picture.
On
one less-cerebral occasion, we danced down the Euston Road, arm in arm and
hollering: "Hồ, Hồ, Hồ Chí Minh"
(who was, for all you youngsters, the revolutionary Vietnamese leader). I
suspect we might have had a pint or two.
I
went on to a career in Big Oil, an industry not known for its liberal positions
where my co-workers probably regarded me as something of a Red Under the Bed,
or at least a Pinko Under the Bed. Mike Cruise (the tall guy) is pretending to be the Post Office Tower, seen in the distance.
Stuart,
on the other hand, went into broadcasting and it was while he was working in California
that he was personally hired by Ted Turner for CNN. Along the way, Stuart
underwent a remarkable transition, moving from one end of the political spectrum
to the other.
He
is now an conservative commentator for Fox News, the "Fair &
Balanced" outlet for the right wing. He and I had a brief and cordial
email exchange a few years ago but I would love to once more take him out for a
pint or two and have another chat, this time about his transformation.
