I Screwed Up
by Libby Hellmann

Originally posted Friday, February 6, 2009

Three simple words. But how refreshing. When's the last time you heard a President admit he made a mistake?

Not that I want to gush about it—or excuse it—because, hey, he did screw up. And so did Daschle. It's clear that you can't vet administration picks on the Honor System.

Still, the fact that so few people in public life are willing to admit their mistakes is—to me—significant. It shows an awareness, at the very least, of individual humility. It begs the question of where the narcissistic need to always be right comes from. Who says? Why?

Admittedly, Obama wasn't apologizing for some deep, dark sin or secret about himself or his performance. And I realize that for some people, paying lip service to a problem by apologizing can be a substitute for actually trying to correct it. But I think it's a good first step. It is kind of cleansing.

So with that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to share screw-ups. What do you admit to screwing up? Again, you don't have to 'fess up to your innermost sins or fears. Just your average, stupid, screw-up that you wish you hadn't made.

I'll start.

I was hired by "Good Morning America" when it first went on the air (David Hartman was the host). I was one of two "talent coordinators"—AKA the person who gets the guests. In addition to other guest segments, I was responsible for something they called Face-Off, a rip-off of the old "60 Minutes" Point/Counterpoint segment. I had to come up with controversial issues, book ten guests a week on both sides of those issues, plus book—or dodge requests from agents representing—other guests, stars, authors and one trick ponies. It was a crazy time. I was going pretty much all day and all night.

For the first four days, everything went well, and I was feeling pretty good. Then came Friday. The two Face-Off guests were Pat Buchanan and Nicholas Von Hoffman. I can't remember what the topic was, but for some weird reason, they actually agreed. On the air.

Fortunately, that first week of the show was entirely pre-taped for just that reason. And I have to credit Pat Buchanan for being incredibly courteous and helpful—he and I came up with another issue about which they disagreed on the spot, and the segment was re-taped. No problem. They Faced Off.

Except I was fired. And I suppose I deserved to be. I screwed up.

There. I feel better.

What about you?

By the way, four members of the Outfit will be at Love Is Murder this weekend. If you're going, be sure to say hi.

All content © Libby Fischer Hellmann.