Is the daughter of a former Republican vice-presidential candidate. And she is, in the words of Rush Limbaugh, “a babe.”

I’m talking about Stephanie Miller, who’s dad ran for V.P. on Barry Goldwater’s ticket back in 1964.

Somewhere along the line, Miller broke with her family’s politics and has become the best political talker out there, because she’s entertaining. Stephanie was a comedian, and she’s still funny. Her show has drop ins, sound effects, and a killer “voice deity” in impressionist Jim Ward. On the West Coast, Stephanie Miller airs live in morning drive, and it definitely is a “real” morning show. Miller describes it as a mix of highbrow and lowbrow: “Fart joke, Senator, fart joke, Senator.” Etc.

Miller makes her political points, but they come across as satire, holding GOP-ers up to good-natured ridicule rather than venom. This makes her very different from all the angry radio ranters on the right and left, who preach to their respective choirs. Miller’s show could play on any kind of Talk station…it doesn’t have to be part of an all-day liberal talk orgy.

But what about the all-day liberal talk orgy, otherwise known as Air America Radio? It’s gotten a lot of bad rap, and right wing pundits keep talking up its demise, but it’s not a ratings flop…

AAR has overtly successful affiliates — most notably KPOJ in Portland, which pulls around a 4 share 12+. But more of its stations perform like WCPT in Chicago. Here’s a daytimer with an absolutely crap signal in most of the market, yet it pulls a 1 share. That puts it on par with FM Talker WCKG (with Opie & Anthony Steve Dahl, etc.).

Can you think of another format that could deliver a 1 share to a facility as challenged as WCPT? Me neither.

Or, here in Ann Arbor, WLBY has a 1.5, equaling WAAM — the market’s heritage AM with a decent signal, a local morning show, real newscasts and some promotion. WLBY has a poor signal in much of the market, no promotion, no local shows, and it runs the same recorded newscast all day long.

But, even though it’s mainly Air America programming, WLBY does have Stephanie Miller. So does WCPT.

Hmmm…

That’s why I started my own research business 22 years ago (wow!) I was working for a big research company and, having shown that I could talk and knew what I was talking about, they took me out of doing projects and into sales. I would meet with potential clients, sell them a project and then turn it over to a junior staffer who had little experience or knowledge. Then I would travel with that person to deliver the research. Essentially, I was a “front” for the project.

This didn’t sit well with me. I found myself presenting research with holes in it. I didn’t have enough time to thoroughly analyze it. The work just wasn’t good enough, and I was asked to put my name on it.

That’s why I went off on my own. If I was going to sell, I had to have total confidence in what I was selling. I had to be in control from start to finish. I had to deliver outstanding work…my clients deserved nothing less.

Now, this is no way to build an “organization.” In any given year, there are a limited number of projects that I’m going to be able to invest the time necessary to deliver outstanding work. But it is the way to deliver great research.

Which is a lot more satisfying than “cranking it out”!

I’ll admit it. I never listen to Classic Rockers except for professional reasons, even though I’m right in their target demo.

Hey, it’s great music. I was listening to Doug FM in the car with my daughter a few weeks ago when Won’t Get Fooled Again came on. I was curious about her reaction to it, so I left it on, and was once again reminded of what a killer cut it is.

And whenever I conduct a Classic Rock music test, I say to myself: “Yeah, that really was great music!”

But if I never hear The Who or The Doors again, it’ll be just fine. I grew up with that music. I lived it. But 40 years later, I never need to hear it again.

Fortunately, I’m not typical. And while I’m not into Classic Rock personally, I am very interested in it professionally.

Because it is amazing.

Back in the late ’80s when the format was emerging and scoring big wins, there were lots of skeptics around. “It’ll burn out,” they said.

Wrong. Classic Rock remains super-strong 20 years later. In most of our strategic research, classic genres are consistently at or near the top. (I guess that’s what makes it “classic.”)

One reason is that the music keeps finding new fans. More often than not, we find that 18-24 men are as enthusiastic about classic genres as their dads. This reminds me of when my (then) 17-year-old stepson said: “Mark, have you ever heard of a group called The Doors? They’re really hot!”

Another reason is that this ‘library” format — unlike Oldies — has been able to evolve. Early on, ’80s music was not a major aspect of the format…now, of course, it is.

If there’s a cloud on the horizon, it’s that the next step in the evolution — integrating early ’90s alternative-based rock (like grunge) — is controversial with listeners. Typically, half think this music is classic; half don’t. I do think this is the move for Classic Rockers, but it must be done cautiously and won’t work in all markets just yet.

Even when it does happen, though, Classic Rock will still bore the s**t out of me.

Not that it matters.