Fair is fair, even in Aspen, and if Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton can’t do it, then John McCain can’t do it either.
Officials at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport were a bit chagrined this week when a passenger mildly complained about hearing a McCain voice recording in the airport.
As passengers entered the terminal, they were greeted by a familiar voice: “Hello, this is Sen. John McCain. Effective immediately, the Transportation Security Administration has limited the items you may take on board the aircraft. Please see a TSA representative for more information.”
The complaining passenger felt it was an endorsement — an unfair endorsement — of Republican McCain for president.
“We did it just for fun,” said Pat Bingham, community-relations director for Pitkin County. “I have a tape recorder with me, and when a celebrity or a prominent person comes in, we ask them to record a greeting to passengers.”
David Ulane, assistant director of the airport, laughed and said McCain’s recording has been removed since the complaint.
“We’re getting a big chuckle out of this,” he said. “Instead of making the announcement droll and boring, we get famous people to lay down their voices. We’ve had Jill St. John, Robert Wagner, Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland and figure skater Tai Babilonia.
“This isn’t political at all. We had him record it about a year ago.”
The practice is somewhat common around the country. At Denver International Airport, the instructive voice inside the terminal trains originally was that of newscaster Reynelda Muse, a local favorite; followed by longtime radio personality Pete Smythe. It’s now that of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
“We’d love to have Hillary Clinton, if she’d come here,” Bingham told The Aspen Times.
“We’ve taken McCain’s voice off now, and we’re looking for more people to record. We’re always looking for more.”
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
