Politics 88 : TV Special’s Star a Little Late for Cue
The chronically late Rev. Jesse Jackson learned the hard way Monday night that time, tide and television wait for no man.
It was supposed to be the splashy finale to Jackson’s campaign--a half-hour television special costing $150,000 on three Los Angeles television stations and others around the country.
What it turned out to be was a fiasco.
When the cameras started rolling at 8 p.m., the candidate wasn’t in his chair. “Jesse, as often happens, is a little bit late,” flustered moderator Casey Kasem explained.
As it turned out, Kasem found himself having to wing it for more than half the alloted time as Jackson came by helicopter from Los Angeles International Airport, where he had landed after campaigning earlier in the day in Northern California.
Kasem had time for two campaign videos and a clumsy impromptu interview with California campaign manager Chris Hammond before Jackson finally arrived at the KTLA studio.
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