Chris Booker was nervous.
"I hope this goes well," he said, waiting for Hillary Clinton to appear today on his morning show on WIOQ-FM (102 FM).
He joked about sneaking some of his stashed tequila.
"Then you'll probably hit on her," said producer/co-talker Blaire Galaton. "I know how you get when you drink."
They imagined if he'd start complimenting Clinton on her pantsuits.
They pondered if he'd ever had such a big-deal guest. This topped Angelina Jolie.
Even the Rock.
It was a surprising case of butterflies for a guy who's made headlines himself, as paramour of exonerated ex-anchor-babe Alycia Lane.
As Clinton came on the line, Booker said, "She's already laughing at us." As "Hail to the Chief" played he asked if hearing that as president would make her hair stand up.
"Wouldn't that be a kick?" she said.
We should call the city Hilladelphia, he said.
"You think that's going to work?" she wondered. "... I think if you say it enough, it could catch like wildfire."
The conversation stuck mostly to politics - not more typical Q102 fare.
Not even a peep about fellow New York politico, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, allegedly a procurer of at least one high-priced hooker.
Booker did eventually ask, though, if Clinton could see to it the Eagles win a Super Bowl, as did her New York Giants: "Please, can you just pull some strings?"
"I think I"ll have to take that under advisement," she swerved.
The rest of the 15-minute conversation was mostly politics.
When Booker asked, "Why you?" Clinton launched into her regular riff about having more experience, and caring about working people losing their jobs while facing rising gas prices.
"We need someone in that office to repair all the damage we're going to inherit from President Bush," she said.
She advised people to choose a candidate as if they're "making a hiring decision."
When Booker asked, "How are you going to make the dollar mean something again?" she talked about a moratorium on foreclosures, freezing interest rates, investing in renewable energy sources, her national health care plan, and taking back "the special tax breaks and giveaways" that benefit big corporations and the rich.
Asked about possibly being the first female president, Clinton said, she's especially touched by seeing parents bring their daughters to see her and by talking with women who were born before women could vote.
They tell her, "I just want to see a woman electied before I die. It so moving to me."
What would hubby Bill be called? Booker asked.
When she suggested, "First Mate," he said, "It's not a boat."
Her comeback: "It is the ship of state." She mentioned "First Laddie," a play on First Lady, and First Gentleman.
"When do you sleep?" asked cohost Diego Ramos.
"I take naps anytime I'm on a moving vehicle," she said, between statements like "It is exhausting physicially ... On the other hand, it's also energizing" and "This country is worth losing some sleep over."
Clinton finished by saying she's afraid we won't recognize America much longer, if the country doesn't change course.
"We'll have a more and more unequal society," she said.
Then it was time to go, which the Q102 crew lamented. They had more questions.
"Well, can I some back some time?" she said, setting off joy and jubilation in all the land ... well, in the studio.
Sign off. Lots of studio voices. "Kind of a big deal over here!" "Can I go to the bathroom now?" Booker: "Now I can have breakfast, I can relax and play another 52 songs in a row." "She's smooth."
Booker: "Now, let's see if we can get Barack to do the same thing."