President of Pop, John Washington The Queen of England (click here to watch the debate at the Oxford Union in RealVideo) JW REMEMBERS... It Started with an email I sent to the President of the Oxford Union! I'd seen a poster, asking if anyone wanted to speak in the debate at the Union, the following week, on the motion - "This House Believes the Monarchy has no Future." My letter is a bit - okay, a lot - self-serving, and, to be honest, embarrassing to have written myself, but... Ever since I was a little kid, and I saw a video of a debate at the Oxford Union, I wanted to speak there. Yeah, it's a horribly American trait to say good things about oneself, and I don't really feel comfortable doing it, but, just this once... Dear Karen - Your ship (at least as far as next Monday's debate is concerned) has come in... Perhaps the return address - John Washington - told you who I am - if not, let me enlighten you. Since I was a small child, I have appeared (I once tried to add up all the statistics I've been given) in front of over 500 million people, mainly on TV, but also in print, radio, etc. I am, as you may already know, the media's token Washington in the US. I hosted the Today Show television program from Mount Vernon on the 200th anniversary of George Washington's funeral. I co-hosted (on camera, along with James Earl Jones doing the voice over) the Discovery Channel documentary called The Washington Monument - It Stands for All. I am also a quick-witted live performer, having, among other things, worked with The Groundlings in Los Angeles (the comedy group from which a gazillion famous comic actors have come...) But, enough about me. (No - a bit more!) I have inherited, from George Washington, his place in The Society of the Cincinnati,(GW had no children of his own, and this is the only thing anyone alive has inherited from him that is passed on the way titles of nobility are - he left it to his nephew, who left it to his son, etc. 'til I got it) - so, in a glib way, at least, one could argue that as the ancestral nephew of GW (and I think I could make the point in a glib and funny way) I would be King of America, had America been a monarchy. Having said all that, I would make the following arguments in the debate: 1) Chelsea?!? JFK Jr.?!?!? Me?!?!?!? No, no, no, no, monarchy is a bad idea. 2) As an historian (current history student) I could say a few nice things about the Queen, as a person, but then talk about historical objections to, and arguments against, the monarchy. 3) To be honest, this whole idea just occurred to me in the shower, I am still wet and - well, enough about that - I've not thought the rest through yet. But, still, pretty good for a few minutes of soapy thought... Lemme know! Thanks, JW :-) Enclosed, please find a photo of me, when I was in "George", JFK Jr's magazine...  I actually get sick at the thought of even watching the video of myself in the debate - it makes me feel physically sick! I have never actually had the nerve to watch it! - * * * Hey - Now, it's an hour later, and I just had the nerve to watch it. I've got to say, if I'd had more time to prepare, I would have done a heck of a lot better. A lot of my jokes...well, I just didn't have the nerve to make them. I didn't have the nerve to be as over-the-top, and silly, as I would have liked - I wish I'd been funnier. Also, I think I could have had more arguments to support my position...nonetheless, for the VERY FIRST TIME, debating anywhere, to even creditably pull off a speech, opening a debate, in front of millions of people around the world...hmmm..... Mother Theresa You have to understand how scary that was - the Oxford Union is, pretty much, one of the most famous places in the world. Period. Richard Nixon, after Watergate, chose the Oxford Union for his first public appearance. Everyone from the Queen of England to...well, to me, has been there! Mother Theresa was once in England, but got sick, and couldn't make any of her engagements - well, she kept two. She met the Queen, and she spoke at the Oxford Union. Anyway... I'd got an email from the President of the Union at midnight, the night before, asking me to speak. At midnight, the night before, it seemed like a good idea. I thought about what I would say, a bit, then went to bed. I woke up the next morning with a speech pretty much formed in my head. It seemed like a good idea in the morning, too. Then, at 4 that afternoon, two hours before I was supposed to be at the Oxford Union, it suddenly seemed like about the most terrible idea I'd ever had. King of Pop, Michael Jackson   Mother Theresa?!? The Queen?!?!? Michael Jackson?!?!? Richard Nixon?!?!?!? Me!?!?!?!? What was I doing there?! And, none of those other people - not the Queen, not Mother Theresa, not Richard Nixon - none of them had been on television at the union. Not only was I - who had never debated before in my life except for a three-part debating competition - going to open a debate at the Oxford Union, but I was going to open it on the BBC, broadcast to everyone in England, and everywhere they get the BBC! Who knows where else? Millions of viewers!!! I talked to a few people beforehand to try to get my bearings...Count Tolstoy, my opponent, who'd been arguing his side of the case for years, as the head of two organisations, one promoting monarchy in England, the other, monarchy around the world. I also spoke to Fraser Campbell, the Treasurer and President-Elect of the Oxford Union, who gave me the following advice - I'd asked him, "Drunk, or sober?" "Drunk", he replied, "or, at least, lubricated..." So, I had two or three large glasses of wine (actually, I had a pint of wine!) President Richard Nixon. Just before we were walking in, I looked over the President's shoulder, and read the bit of paper she just written out. It was only then that I realised I was supposed to OPEN the debate. But, I did it... I forgot some of my jokes, and didn't get nearly as over-the-top as I had planned, but I pulled through, and did it. So, when you look at this clip, rather than seeing me as some guy who ought to be speaking at the Oxford Union, if you instead see me as I saw myself - as someone who had no business whatsoever speaking at the Oxford Union - but who did it anyway - that'll put it more in context! BTW, what had happened, as I only later learned, was that someone else was supposed to speak, but cancelled at the last minute. That's why I got the email at midnight the night before! If I'd had a few days to prepare, I honestly think I would have done MUCH better. And, honestly, 3 glasses of wine was WAY too much! On an empty stomach!!! In the afternoon!!!! (Normally the debates are in the evening, after a sort of feast, but, because it was televised, it was on in the uncivilised late afternoon/early evening..I didn't even get a free meal out of it!) Me!!! But, c'est la vie. Exitus Acta Probat! Etc. (click here to watch the debate at the Oxford Union in RealVideo)   Join the (FREE) President of Pop List, here! More About the Oxford Union Listen to JW's Music, FREE, here :-) The Story on the BBC Site (which doesn't mention me! - 'cause I was a last minute replacement...:-) HOME! :-) Join JW's private list, below, for RARE updates mainly on his music...and get a FREE portable MP3 player, and FREE music! 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