Waddle taking full advantage of his 15 minutes of fame
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Staff Writer
At first, after the accident, Cmdr. Scott Waddle took what many saw as a long time to say he was sorry.
Now, it seems he can't stop saying it — on the "Today" show, "Dateline," "Larry King Live," in Time magazine, even People.
In every interview, he's in his Navy dress whites. While talking to "Dateline's" Stone Phillips, he wipes away tears with a crumpled Kleenex. He says he's sorry, and he sure looks it. It's hard to watch without getting choked up yourself.
But it seems that's the intent.
There's a saying in broadcast news that the world is divided into people who really want to be on TV and people who really don't want to be on TV.
The ones who grant interviews are looking to get something, to explain their point of view, to share a story, perhaps to foster a public image.
What is Scott Waddle hoping to get?
No one can question the sincerity of his emotion. He is obviously grief-stricken by the loss of nine lives.
But there's something more here.
Put it this way:
NBC had photos of him as a child, dressed in a yukata; a picture of him as an Eagle Scout; pictures of him at home with his daughter Ashley.
The network didn't get those photographs from some newsroom archive. Waddle dug those up and brought them in so they could be included in the story.
He posed for television cameras with his wife on the beach, looking solemnly out at the water.
He let Time send a photographer and a reporter to his house on the day the Greeneville set out to sea, let them shoot pictures of him watching his submarine leave Pearl Harbor without him.
He managed the media coverage, dictating when "Dateline" could run the interview with him. He wasn't caught unaware by television crews on the steps outside his house for an ambush interview. He sat down with Stone Phillips at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental. His wife, Jill, was there in full make-up and pearls.
It was all very deliberate.
Why?
Perhaps the media campaign is designed to restore his image as he begins looking for a new career.
Perhaps he just got tired of hearing everybody's version of the story told except his own.
Perhaps he's talking to quiet the voices that are saying he got off too easy, being able to retire with a full pension. Perhaps one of the voices saying that the loudest is inside his own heart.
Or maybe there's a book and movie deal.
For his part, Waddle's attorney, Charles Gittins, said his client did not seek out any interviews, and responded to only a few of the hundreds of requests. "He has done all of the interviews he intends to do," said Gittins.
Larry King started the live interview with Waddle last week by quoting President George W. Bush, who called Waddle a fine American patriot and said: "... like any good commander, he's taking the heat. He is taking the hit."
Waddle may be taking the heat, but the Ehime Maru took the hit, and instead of working so hard to restore his image, Waddle should take his pension and walk away from the spotlight. The story isn't his to tell. The story belongs to the families of the people who died that day.
If Waddle's intent is to make the best of what's left of his life, to make something positive come out of this tragedy, perhaps he should volunteer to speak at schools about the seriousness of responsibility and the dangers in cutting corners. He could talk about how careful you have to be because everything could change with just one bad decision.
But if Oprah invites him to fly to Chicago for "Remembering Your Spirit," he should do the honorable thing and just stay home.
Lee Cataluna's columns appear Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Her e-mail address is lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.
