But the sopping would-be governor drives a point: Negative ads make him "feel like I need to take a shower," and he won't resort to them - a move to frame the campaign and blunt opponents' attacks. In this unpredictable state, Hickenlooper's unpredictability might be his best weapon.
Born in Narberth, descended from old Philadelphia - try Robert Morris, financier of the American Revolution - Hickenlooper graduated with the close-knit 1970 class of Haverford School. Classmate David Groverman, owner of the Centennial Cafe in Fairmount Park, said, "John is considered quirky and laid-back - and he really is. But he also knows how to use it." Ben Ginsberg, now a partner at Patton Boggs in Washington, said, "John took his high-school photograph in an old madras jacket. That tells you he was as delightful then as he is now, which is very delightful." Beer-industry consultant and longtime friend Rob Klugman said, "He's very likable, a tall, thin guy with a bad haircut and jeans, a funny manner - but behind that is this very determined, results-oriented guy."
Denver, though? How did he get out there? Kicking back on a campaign bus sliding on snowy roads in the Poudre Canyon, or tilting through Rabbit Ears Pass, Hickenlooper said that as a student at Wesleyan University, "I took this class on land-use planning. If that sounds geeky, maybe it is, but I absolutely loved it." An M.S. in geology followed, and as of the early 1980s the new rockhound was working for Buckhorn Petroleum in Colorado.
