Thursday, March 12, 2009

Snark Of The Day

As some of you pointed out, the comments thread on that Fishbowl DC post we just linked to has some the best punditry we’ve seen the election. At least 75% of them make some scathing reference to the fact that Barack Obama uses teleprompters to deliver prepared speeches, like all Presidents and leaders and speakers have done since the invention of teleprompters and before that, when they read speeches from paper. There is literally no way that someone using a teleprompter to deliver a speech can be construed as controversial. Ha. But did you also know that pretty boy over there in the White House also wears “shoes” on his feet, like a retarded pussy? CAN’T HANDLE THE TERRAIN ON YOUR BARE FEET, HUSSEIN?
-Wonkette

13 comments:

Publius said...

Sadly for your snark, the charge against CommieObamie is NOT that he "uses TelePrompters" its that he uses them for EVERY event he does. All presidents since Reagan have used them for big speeches, but NONE of them have used them for every single, tiny little address.

One wonders why? Why is the "best orator" in history need a TelePrompter even to announce a new cabinet member?

One also wonders if he has one in the bed room for pillow talk? Or does Michelle let him talk at all?

piker62 said...

I'll tell you what - show me the proof that Reagan, Bush and Clinton used the teleprompter less, and I'll ride along with you.

Anonymous said...

From Politico:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19663.html

“It’s just something presidents haven’t done,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, a presidential historian who has held court in the White House since December 1975. “It’s jarring to the eye. In a way, it stands in the middle between the audience and the president because his eye is on the teleprompter.”

Just how much of a crutch the teleprompter has become for Obama was on sharp display during his latest commerce secretary announcement. The president spoke from a teleprompter in the ornate Indian Treaty Room for a few minutes. Then Gov. Gary Locke stepped to the podium and pulled out a piece of paper for reference.

The president’s teleprompter also elicited some uncomfortable laughter after he announced Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his choice for Health and Human Services secretary. “Kathy,” Obama said, turning the podium over to Sebelius, who waited at the microphone for an awkward few seconds while the teleprompters were lowered to the floor and the television cameras rolled.

Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months — whereas past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.


Satisfied? Or does the historian who has been in the White House have an ideological axe to grind?

piker62 said...

All right, that's it then.

So why is it a problem? Obama wasn't using Teleprompters during that interview with O'Reilly (or other interviews) and he was still able to speak intelligently. So why is having the text of his speeches available to him an issue?

Anonymous said...

I can ask you the same question.

Since Obama did such a great job in the O'Reilly interview without a prompter, why does he have to rely on one when he does something as simple and mundane as introducing a Cabinet pick?

Why do his handlers insist that he aways uses it?

piker62 said...

Why not?

piker62 said...

Hey, you might enjoy this snippet of a request from Hastert:

http://timeswampland.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/snapshot-2009-03-12-17-06-22.jpg

Hat tip to Swampland - read the same post for more.

Anonymous said...

I just hope he has his teleprompter handy when "the call" comes in at 3 a.m.

piker62 said...

Again, since he does fine in interviews his intelligence isn`t the issue. So the call at 3am wouldn`t require telprompters.

Anonymous said...

So if he doesn't need a telepromtper for the 3 a.m. call, why does he need one to introduce a Cabinet position?

Seeing as how he is so smart and stuff.

piker62 said...

When George Bush was introducing his cabinet members, he was just winging it? That's your position?

Again, what is the problem with the teleprompters? What does it MEAN?

Anonymous said...

You don't find his dependance on telepromters unusual?

I fully understand the use for a major speech or policy introduction.

But to introduce a Cabinet appointment?

How hard is that to do without a prompter? It's just odd that he uses them all the time, for everything. Especially since he has been hailed as a great speechifier.

Why do you think he uses it for everything?

piker62 said...

Could be that using a teleprompter looks better on camera when delivering prepared remarks than reading them off paper.