I may have interviewed the next President of the United States on Saturday at the Inaugural Basque Fry event put on by Attorney General Adam Laxalt.

Pretty heady stuff for somebody who never envisioned himself doing what I do: hosting a political talk show on the radio. In the broadcasting business, we’re overloaded with self-important blowhards who are more interested in basking in the glow of who they think they are rather than actually accomplishing something truly significant. But on Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Governor Scott Walker and Senator Ted Cruz on our live special broadcast from Corley Ranch in Gardnerville on News Talk 780 KOH. Will one of them be the next President? We’re a long way from finding out.

In over 40 years in the radio business, I’ve been fortunate to meet lots of interesting people, and yes, being human, sometimes the ego wants to inflate with that self-importance. I do my best to restrain myself and maintain a sense of realism amid what can be very superficial circumstances. Nobody appeared at the Basque Fry Saturday because they had to be interviewed by Dan Mason. There was plenty of media on hand, and they made the rounds to visit with most, so pretending I was somebody special would be a little nutty.

But I won’t lie either, it was pretty cool to be sitting across the table with somebody who could possibly be elected President. I liked them all. Yes, it was mostly stump-speech stuff. They’re repeating their talking points and general positions over and over every day. They meet people like me every five minutes, and I didn’t elicit any blockbuster sound bite for the national pundits to go crazy over. But not everybody gets to do what I do.

What are my impressions of the candidates? Carly Fiorina was very quietly intense. She maintained eye contact and never looked away. She does not doubt herself. She gets a fair amount of criticism because she was fired as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Fair criticism, but a lot of male CEOs get fired too.

I’ve been a fan of Scott Walker. Having grown up in Michigan amid the iron-fisted control of the United Auto Workers union, I have enormous respect for what he accomplished in Wisconsin in taking on the teacher’s union there, among others. A President who could attack Washington, D.C. in the same manner is very appealing to me. He, too, was very genuine, very plain-speaking. I felt like I was talking with a nice guy over a beer.

Dr. Carson was pretty much as advertised. He is not a politician. He is not polished, flashy or loud. He is exactly what he claims to be, soft-spoken and down-to-earth. He is “We the People,” as he claims. A brilliant neurosurgeon, the overriding concern will continue to be can he lead the country? Can he go toe-to-toe with the Vladimir Putins of the world?

I like Ted Cruz. I like it when he refers to Washington D.C. as “The Cartel.” I like that he stands up to the Republican leadership, because they are exactly what he says they are: weak. To have a Senate Majority Leader attacking and demonized the Tea Party as “radical” is a large part of what is wrong with America. And I’m not talking about Harry Reid. I’m talking about Mitch McConnell. Of the four candidates I spoke with, Cruz seemed the most practiced, the most focused on the performance. I was a little disappointed that of the four, he chose to use a portion of his speech (his long speech) to beg for contributions. I understand, but it felt out of place on a stage in a pasture.

I hope our live broadcast of the event was well-received. Being me, I stressed a lot in the week leading up to Saturday. I always do. But our team nailed it, and we had a blast. That’s why we love radio. If you missed any part of it, here it is! http://bit.ly/1LgcoCY