Interviews with Governor West
During 2003 and 2004, West Forum Director, Dr. Blease Graham, recorded nearly twenty formal interviews with Governor West. The earliest interviews were audio taped. As West Forum technological capabilities improved, later interviews also were videotaped. Topics discussed during those wide-ranging conversations included Governor West's views on public life and the importance of civic education, recollections of his long political career in South Carolina, and his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
The West Forum will offer the content of these interviews to the public through this website as soon as we are able to transcribe and prepare them for Web delivery, usually with photographs taken during the interviews and voice recordings. Following is a list of interviews ready for viewing. They are listed in the order they were published on the Web, most recent interviews first. Click each paragraph to go to that interview page. Check back frequently for newly published material in this series.
Interviews Completed to Date
February 20, 2004. Topics discussed include appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia by President Jimmy Carter, recollections of President Carter during his days as Governor of Georgia, diplomatic life, and the importance of interpersonal skills in politics throughout the world.
April 29, 2003. Topics include creation of South Carolina's technical education system, other efforts to attract industry to the State, the re-naming of the Town of Elgin, and revision of the South Carolina State Constitution.
July 11, 2003, Part Two. Topics include recollections of the 1970 South Carolina gubernatorial election, introduction of television into election campaigns, racial integration in South Carolina, memories of former U.S. Vice President, Spiro Agnew, creation of South Carolina's technical college system and second medical school.
July 11, 2003, Part One. Topics include recollections of South Carolina's 1954 election campaign, Governor James F. Byrnes, Senator Fritz Hollings' role as Governor, desegregation in South Carolina, and the Russell-Hollings election campaign.
December 31, 2003. Topics include Governor West's assessment of South Carolina's progress toward racial and gender equality, appointment by President Carter as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and his thoughts on careers in the U.S. Foreign Service
February 6, 2004. Topics include Governor West's assessment of the recently held South Carolina Democratic presidential primary election, the importance of encouraging more popular participation in politics, management of the Office of the Governor and its relations with the South Carolina Legislature, and the Governor's recommendations for getting students more involved in governmental affairs.
