As I sat my desk recently, considering my next column, my eyes fixed on one of several photographs hanging on the wall. It's of me as president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, giving a plaque to Gov. Bill Clinton.

Governor Clinton was running for president in the New Hampshire presidential primary and was having a tough time looking good environmentally as he ran against a California governor touting his record as the only true pro-environmental candidate. The governor's election team asked me if the Arkansas Wildlife Federation could give him a plaque recognizing his environmental contributions to Arkansas, and if I would give an address to the New Hampshire Environmental Coalition.

I go back a number of years with former President Clinton. I can remember a phone call from Bill Nolan, who lived down the road from my house, when he invited me to meet then-candidate Clinton, who at the time was running for Arkansas attorney general.

When I walked into the Nolans' living room and took my first look at........

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