Watching Larry King last night on CNN, I was reminded of one thing: this man has clearly lost touch. Marring an otherwise excellent Live! program focusing, of course, on the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. King asks a New Orleans man what he plans to do with his life, as if the hurricane disaster is already a distant memory and not a present reality. The man had no answer. I'm sure things like food, water, and shelter were far more pressing concerns.
Watching King stare down at his desk, his mottled hands scraping the paper in front of him, does not inspire confidence any more. What once seemed like thoughtful pauses now look like brain hiccups, like an amnesiac searching the mirror for familiar clues, and finding nothing. When the best part of the program is everyone but the titular star, something is wrong.
The on location segments were excellent with fresh footage that really hammered home the devastation and despair of the communities on the gulf coast. But what stuck in my mind more than anything was King's idiotic, out-of-place question. What exactly did he think the man was going to say? While King is in the studio, this man is standing in the flooded wreck of his home. A disconnect the size of the Mississippi appeared between them. While the men and the women in the field had come to an intimate understanding of the situation, Mr. King, like his studio, was far, far away.
[Article cross-posted at The Errant Fool ]
Article comments
1 - Justene
I am not a fan of Larry King but that doesn't seem an odd question to me. I haven't been through a hurricane but I have woken to a fire that burned down the house, the sudden death of a parent, a doctor telling me that my twins not yet born might not be born alive. What I would do with my life always opened up in those moments with clarity --- more so than when I wandered through the mundane wondering how to change it.
I saw another man in the shelter being asked "what are you going to do now?" He looked at his kids and said "they say there's no school for 2 or 3 months. I guess I have to find a school to enroll them in." He saw his priority in life -- getting his kids an education. I hope he holds that focus.
2 - Cerulean
I saw the show. I didn't think it was that bad. He's having a three hour special on what people can do to help.
3 - The Errant Fool
My reading of King's question was not that it was referring to the short or even near term future but to the long term future. It just seemed silly in the context of what was happening and what was being revealed Tuesday night.
I also think the man's response (really lack of response) is telling because I'm sure he had ideas for what he was going to do in the near future but King sounded like a parent asking his 18 year old child what they were going to do with the rest of his life.
4 - ukexpat
Larry King is a decrepit, condescending, old fart -- about time he retired.
5 - Jimmy V
Yes, I remember that moment vividly, but what sticks out moreso for me was when a woman called in to say that her brother, who couldn't swim, was trapped in the attic of the house as water swelled in and she had lost touch with him. She was desperate to get help to him while she could, and all LK could say was something like "the devastation seems pretty big and there's a lot of relief underway. Anderson Cooper, where are the relief efforts underway?" and a stunned and completely offguard AC muttered something about everywhere. Then, they DUMPED her call. The Governor of Louisiana, who thought it was a good idea to be on LK Live while the state drowned, piped up after her advisors had gotten to her and told LK to get the brother's whereabouts to her. His only response was "if the woman that called in could call us back while the Governor is here, we'll try to get help for you". He's lost it - I really don't think he cares for people anymore.
6 - galbraith
to-night I was shocked to see Larry King give Marsalis time to play a tune while he literaly cut off a woman who was desperately trying to get information on her missing relatives...
I've had enough of his show...and cnn.
7 - Brian
Anybody watch Larry King suggest to Anderson Cooper Wednesday evening that personnel changes might be in order for reporters covering the story? He clearly was taking a shot at Cooper who is obviously caught up in the story. So were many legends in broadcasting at times of crisis. Was it possibly because they are human and reacting to their experience, unlike the stoic King? It was close to the end of the show. Transcript at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/07/lkl.01.html