By Amber Callister
Mo Rocca, former correspondent for Comedy Central''s 'The Daily Show' and current commentator on 'The Today Show' and VH1''s 'I love the ''70s, ''80s and ''90s' gave a comedic presentation at Kingsbury Hall Saturday night.
Before the show Rocca sat down with The Daily Universe to answer a few questions about his life from politics to Dr. Seuss.
Q: Can you tell me a little about your name? Where does it come from?
A: My father was ambassador to Mozambique in the late ''60s when I was born. Just kidding; it''s just my name.
Q: How about you tell me about your new book, 'All the President''s Pets?'
A: My book is an expose. The Bush administration has given fewer press conferences than any other administrations in modern history. Presidential administrations are too able to keep secrets. I asked myself, what is it these administrations are trying to hide? Well it just so happens that I know everything about all the animals that have lived in the white house, from Martin Van Buren''s tiger cubs, to Teddy Roosevelt''s 36 pets including a one-legged rooster. When I asked myself what president''s are trying to hide, I started drawing links between the presidential pets and major policy issues. Because this is hot material, it''s in the form of a thriller. Helen Thomas, who I believe spoke at BYU not too long ago, is the hero of the book and she lives in a secret lair under the White House.
Q: What brought this interest to the pets particularly?
A: I''ve always been interested in presidential arcane. I''ve visited the presidential homes and gravesites; I''ve been all over the country doing that.
Q: How do you feel you, throughout your career, have measured up or differed from other political commentators?
A: I think the one thing that separates me from other political commentators is that I''m not bound by fact. Facts are really annoying and are inconvenient often times.
Q: Before all of this, you worked on a children''s show with PBS and Nickelodeon and you were also the editor of a men''s magazine, so did all of this tie together?
A: Well, the pendulum swings wildly sometimes. I did the show 'The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,' and Seuss'' stories are great, but they can be unsentimental and they can be really harsh at times. I won''t say they''re scary but the story like the Lorax can be pretty searing.
Q: What''s your opinion on Seuss'' hidden politics?
A: I know that loggers were furious about the Lorax; that was an issue because it was such a great story. For environmentalists it''s got to be one of the best weapons because it was influential.
Q: Did you support his opinion with the Lorax; are you an environmentalist?
A: I like trees, especially if there''s an environmentally responsible way to make neat sweaters out of them. What were those called? In the Lorax, they used the tufts of the trees to make the sweaters. But I find states like Utah fascinating; it seems like a lot times people in the eastern states are more aggressively protective of the western environment. Maybe because on the east coast you feel kind of penned in and then you are awestruck by these breathtaking landscapes.
Q: So you''ve visited Utah before, what''s been your take on the culture that you''ve encountered here?
A: I''ve found that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is really wonderful and the acoustics of that hall are tremendous. I was a little disappointed in the genealogical library, but I was asking for something unreasonable, I was thinking that if I punched in my parent''s name it would come up with stuff. But I do know this territory was hard won, the pioneers who came here were heroic; they were escaping persecution. It''s an incredibly American story, as American as the pilgrims.