Down-home sensibilities produce president, candidate.

How is it Arkansas has produced not only a president but also a presidential candidate--both from the town of Hope?

The answer is buried in the long and colorful political history of the state, said two longtime politicos who entertained NCEW members at the Clinton Presidential Library during the Little Rock conference. Working as a comedy team, ex-Clinton aide and now dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School Skip Rutherford, assisted by former newspaperman and now Republican political appointee Rex Nelson, explained the mysteries of Arkansans and Arkansas.

The folksy ways and populist appeal of both President Bill Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee were acquired in a state where political leaders are expected to attend the watermelon feed, the 'coon festival, and the Lions Club meetings, Nelson said. "We really all do know each other--it's a very small state,' he said.

So much so that Arkansans generally address their political leaders by their first names. Rutherford said it took a month for him to adjust to addressing Clinton as "Mr. President" instead of "Bill."

The state may be small, but Arkansas is long on colorful politicians, with names like Jack Daniels and Foxy Green, and a history of mixing the people's business with lobbyist-provided pleasures.

The setting for this celebration of Arkansas political history was an imposing modern structure whose shape and metallic skin suggests a doublewide on steroids. Inside is an extravaganza of memorabilia extolling the Clintons.

The one nod to the office rather than the man is a reproduction of the Oval Office as it was when Clinton occupied it. On the day the library was dedicated, Rutherford said, Clinton and his predecessor were seated inside the office as guests peered through the windows. As they exited, one guest exclaimed, "Why, you look just like George Bush:' The elder Bush stared back at the woman for a moment. "I am George Bush,' he said.

It was in the library hallway; Rutherford said, that one of the most interesting political friendships in modern history bloomed, and continues today. Torrential rains the day of the dedication ceremony had forced the guests inside, where they filled the library halls while waiting for lunch.

Rutherford, who had just attempted to dry his soaked suit by wrapping paper towels under his jacket, found presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush in a hallway in a deep and obviously serious discussion. Rutherford had overheard enough of the former presidents' conversation to know that despite years of animosity and political differences, the two were hatching a plan to raise relief funds together for Katrina victims. "Presidential libraries do serve a purpose," said Rutherford. "Remember, the great thaw happened outside this door."

In the other room, an impatient President Bush--"my commander in chief," Rutherford noted--ordered him to break up the conversation and prod the other two into the main hall for lunch. "You tell 41 and 42" commanded the president, "that 43 is hungry."

Lois Kazakoff is deputy editorial page editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [e-mail]