Bailey, party of twelve

My son Ben is working on a great school project. He has to choose 12 people for his ideal get together. They can be alive or dead or even characters from fiction. So far, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Potter, Ben Franklin, Jesus, and Obi-Wan Kenobi have made the list.

We had so much fun talking about this over dinner, I couldn't resist putting together a list of my own. I decided to stick with living people to help narrow the field.

My Dream Guest List

Steve Jobs - design, drive for perfection, innovation

John McCain - might as well get on the 2008 bus now

Bono - music, politics, spirituality

Ed Young - leadership, relentless focus on the vision

Richard Rorty - the one public philosopher I still read

Nick Nornby - my favorite fiction writer

Peggy Noonan - one of my two favorite political writers

William Kristol - my other favorite political writer

Robert Scoble - if for no other reason than to read about the whole thing on his blog the next morning!

Aaron Sorkin - my favorite screenwriter

Tim Russert - fairness, passion for politics, family values in the best sense

The final spot is reserved for my son - once I found out I made his list, that was a given!

Now, let's hear some of your names...

Comments

[Matt Murph]

Brian, I’m sure you assumed I would reply to a “create a list” post. I just can’t resist. Here’s my 12 living people for a get together, in no particular order.

George Bush Sr. – CIA, Presidency, just plain interesting…

Robert Mueller – Any one who is in charge of the FBI is someone I want to ask some questions and have on my good side.

George Tenet – Second longest running Director of the CIA. I’m fascinated with the behind the scenes secret government stuff.

Donald Rumsfeld – I love this guy. Smart, hilarious dry humor. In charge of the worlds largest super power.

Donald Trump – Love him or hate him…. He’s pretty smart. I also need him to invest in a few ideas of mine...

Jim Cramer – my favorite financial analyst... the only interesting one out there. Plus... after my ideas succeed with Trump’s investment, I’ll need Jim to help me invest the proceeds.

Jerry Seinfeld – A must have with the next three. It would make for a killer reunion and a hilarious time. I have an image of my face hurting from laughing so much.

Julia Louis Dreyfus – see Jerry Seinfeld

Michael Richards – see Jerry Seinfeld

Jason Alexander – see Jerry Seinfeld

Roger Moore – My favorite James Bond.

Bono – I need more than an afternoon with this guy... I have lots of questions. And I still need an autograph since my first attempt failed.

Of course, if those 12 people actually showed up to my “get together”, I’d need another 12 hundred military police to secure the place.

[Rick Scheibner]

Mac Powell of Third Day
Rick Warren
Billy Graham
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Steven Jackson (St. Louis Rams)
Nolan Ryan
John Wooden
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Michelle Pfeiffer

How's that for a mix?

[gp]

Rick Warren
Jim Wallis
Brian McLaren
Roger Staubach
Andy Rooney
Bill Clinton
Tony Blair
Louis Farakhan
Billy Graham
John McCain

[Sound Doctrine]

Very interesting assignment. It took some thinking and I'm going to stick to the living as well.

Voddie Baucham Jr. - Knows truth.
George W. Bush - I have some questions.
Matt Redman - Knows worship.
Greg Laurie - Knows evangelism.
Bill Gates - Knows technolgy and business.
Bill O'Reilly - Knows journalism.
Condoleezza Rice - Brilliant mind.
Dave Ramsey - Knows money.
Mark Martin - Knows racing.
Wife - My best friend
Daughter & Son - How could I deprive my blessings of such a monumental occasion.

Thanks for sharing.

[Brian Bailey]

These are great lists! Thanks for sharing them. It's interesting to see where there's some overlap - Bono, Rick Warren, and John McCain seem to be popular choices.

I can see that I did a poor job of representing athletes. I'm such a geek that Peter Gammons was the sports-related person who came closest to making my list!