WASHINGTON (CNN) – Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Gravel’s trip down memory lane Tuesday included some familiar stops. The former Alaska senator appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room to discuss his candidacy and to criticize the current war – the same topics Gravel addressed 36 years ago in a television interview with host Stan Bohrman.
The 1971 interview with Gravel appeared on Bohrman’s program, “Tempo,” a daytime talk show broadcasted on the now defunct KHJ-TV Los Angeles. In the interview, Bohrman explores the then-Senator’s charge to end the military draft and the Vietnam War itself.
Gravel’s unwavering commitment to end the war prompted Bohrman to ask: “Are you ever going to run for the presidency?” Click the play button to watch Gravel’s response.
The current White House hopeful has been outspoken critic of the War in Iraq and highly critical of the Bush Administration. After delightfully watching his 1971 interview Tuesday, he was asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer which was a bigger blunder in his opinion: Vietnam or Iraq?
“I think the War in Iraq,” Gravel told Blitzer. “The consequences of Iraq are a lot more serious. Vietnam was a backwater. It killed a lot more people… 3 million Southeast Asians, 58,000 Americans. But the Iraq War is considerably more significant. We’ve destabilized a major portion – the numbers of Iraqis, I’m sure it’s over a million now. Before it’s all said and done, who know where it all goes.”
Two more trivia facts: From 1967 to 1973, Bohrman’s co-hosts of the “Tempo” program included Regis Philbin and Maria Cole, Nat "King" Cole’s widow. For more vintage clips of Stan Bohrman, click here. And, yes, if you’re wondering, Stan Bohrman is in fact CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman’s father.
- CNN Senior Producer Alex Wellen