They've seen him on television, but some in the sparse morning crowd at the Valleyfair! amusement park in Minnesota can't quite place him--the big guy over there by the roller coaster. Maybe he's that football coach, Bill something. Bill Parcells? They aren't sure, and being Midwesterners, several greet him with a cautious "Hiya, coach." Bill Bennett just grins, nods and lets his son Joseph, 7, tow him away through the shimmering heat toward the bumper cars.
It's a moment that Bennett, 53, experiences with some regularity and recalls with self-deprecating relish. In other contexts--in an airport, say, clad in one of...