This morning I was scheduled to do an interview with CNN. The subject was the spate of new books, reaming President Bush a new one on such diverse subjects as the war, foreign policy, and assassination plots.
I prepared last night for three hours. The interview (with Carol Costello of CNN DAYBREAK) was to take place at 6:15 am.
That meant I had to get up at 4:30 and drive from Raleigh, and the two technicians from Duke's broadcast studio had to be there at 5:00, to set up, dial in the satellite downlink, and check the lighting. God knows when they had to get up, and they were just doing it to try to help me.
At 6:10 am, I was sitting there with my make-up on, ready to inform the world about pretty much any important, or unimportant, topic.
But there were delays. Saddam Hussein MIGHT walk into the courtroom in Baghdad. (SCREW HIM! WATCH ME! THE WORLD NEEDS TO SEE ME, RIGHT NOW!)
After 30 more minutes, the satellite slot CNN had reserved had expired, and I got bumped. The "story" that bumped me was a series of still pictures from their stock of Saddam Hussein (with beard, without beard, etc), and then a report from a guy near the courtroom. He didn't have a microphone, though, so all you could hear was some distant mumbling from the ambient mike in the courtroom. This went on for over a minute. I'm serious.
As I got up to leave, the tech guy in the Duke studio said, "I guess they figured nothing was better than your segment." Thanks, man. Bite me very much.
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