User:24dot/Reliance on TelePrompter

{{anchor|Teleprompter|TelePrompter}}{{Rquote|right|What am I gonna tell the president? I'm gonna tell him his teleprompter is broken. What will he do then?|Vice President Joe Biden, May 27, 2009,
Commencement Address, U.S. Air Force Academy"Biden takes dig at Obama over teleprompter use" by Alexander Mooney, Politicalticker, CNN, [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/28/biden-takes-dig-at-obama-over-teleprompter-use-2/ May 28, 2009]}}

Both as a candidate and as President, Obama has been praised as an orator even while commentators have noted his uncommonly frequent use of TelePrompters. Humorists parody this aspect of Obama's image[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/24/teleprompter-vs-no-telepr_n_178474.html David Letterman as cited by] Huffington Post and The Washington Post even claimed that Obama "has become known as the teleprompter president.""What the Teleprompter Teaches" by Michael Gerson, The Washington Post, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032603114.html March 27, 2009] Obama reportedly relied on speech prompting technology to deliver speeches to schoolchildren"PRUDEN: A crucial week for Obama's teleprompter" by Wesley Pruden, The Washington Times, [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/08/pruden-a-crucial-week-for-obamas-teleprompter/ September 8, 2009], short speeches, and even a campaign stop from the dirt floor of a rodeo arena."Obama's teleprompter hits the trail", Politicalticker, CNN, [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/15/obamas-teleprompter-hits-the-trail/ September 15, 2008]

Politico discussed the matter:

Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual — not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small. ...“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. ...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."Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter" bu Carol E. Lee, Politico, [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19663.html March 5, 2009]

Obama's use of the technology at news conferences has been commented upon by veteran journalists; CNN's American Morning anchor John Roberts said he'd never before seen a president use a teleprompter at the start of a news conference"Should President Obama be allowed to use a teleprompter at a news conference?", My Modern Met, [http://www.mymodernmet.com/forum/topics/should-president-obama-be March 25, 2009] and Associated Press Washington bureau chief Ron Fournier wrote, "What kind of politician brings a teleprompter to a news conference?""What the Teleprompter Teaches" by Michael Gerson, The Washington Post, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032603114.html March 27, 2009] Noting a July 2009 incident in which Obama's equipment failed"Obama's teleprompter smashes", BBC News, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8149320.stm July 14, 2009]"Oops: Obama's Teleprompter Breaks Mid-Speech", Fox News, [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/13/oops-obamas-teleprompter-breaks-mid-speech/ July 13, 2009], one writer claimed, "President Obama was completely unable to speak or form a coherent sentence after somebody killed his precious Teleprompter.""Obamas teleprompter dies" by Sara K. Smith, Wonkette, [http://wonkette.com/409834/obamas-teleprompter-dies July 14, 2009]

Other journalists have defended Obama's consistent use of speech prompting technology, noting that Obama routinely participates in writing his own speeches, prefers a 'disciplined delivery of carefully crafted text',"Obama's teleprompters too much?" by Peter Baker for The New York Times, Seattle Times, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008819876_teleprompt06.html?syndication=rss March 6, 2009] and is to be commended for 'sticking to his rhetorical plan'."Obama and the Teleprompter: Don't Buy the Conservative Talking Points" by Robert Schlesinger, U.&npsp;S.&npsp;News and World Report, [http://www.usnews.com/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2009/03/06/-obama-and-the-teleprompter-dont-buy-the-conservative-talking-points.html March 6, 2009] Despite his image as reliant upon TelePrompter technology, Obama has not used the technology when responding to questions, yet his responses have been generally considered to be well-spoken even when constituting several minutes of extemporaneous speech."Schneider: Obama looks comfortable" by Bill Schneider, Politicalticker'', CNN, [http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/24/schneider-obama-looks-comfortable/ March 24, 2009]

Several widely reported incidents have tended to reinforce the image of Obama as dependent upon prepared script over off-the-cuff banter. For example, during a March 2009 appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Obama self-deprecatingly referred to his bowling ability as "like the Special Olympics or something.""Obama a tough critic _ of himself" by Jennifer Loven, Associated Press, [http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gW3_lbmAira6x3Z8ptS3LcGeEQrAD9BJ71GO1 October 26, 2009] During a June 16, 2009 interview, Obama stated, "I've got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration.", immediately confirming he meant Fox News;"Obama Hits Fox News" by Peter Drivas, Huffington Post, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/16/obama-hits-fox-news-theyr_n_216574.html June 16, 2009]"Obama Blasts Fox News" by Jeff Poor, Business & Media Institute, [http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2009/20090616181219.aspx June 16, 2009] this singling out of a specific news outlet was widely criticized."White House Urges Other Networks to Disregard Fox News", FoxNews.com, [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/19/white-house-urges-networks-disregard-fox-news/ October 19, 2009]"Democratic consultant says he got a warning from White House after appearing on Fox News" by Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-fox7-2009nov07,0,7720786.story November 6, 2009]"Obama's obsession with Fox News" by Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star, [http://voices.kansascity.com/node/6243 October 18, 2009]"White House only loser in fight with Fox News" by Mark Davis, Dallas News, [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-markdavis_1021edi.State.Edition1.2b9f4e1.html October 20, 2009]"Behind the War Between White House and Fox" by Jim Rutenberg, The New York Times, [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/politics/23fox.html October 23, 2009] At the beginning of the Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy, Obama initially conceded, "I don't know all the facts" yet immediately opined, "the Cambridge police acted stupidly." Obama later clarified his remarks and invited the arresting officer to a "beer summit" at the White House with Obama, Biden, and Gates."Obama: Cambridge police acted 'stupidly' in Gates arrest" by Foon Rhee, The Boston Globe, [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/07/obama_cambridge.html July 22, 2009]"Obama Seeks to Clarify 'Stupidly' Comment, Praises White Policeman", Fox News, [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/24/obama-seeks-clarify-stupidly-comment-praises-white-policeman/ July 24, 2009]"Obama Called Police Officer Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Arrest" by Huma Khan, Michele McPhee, and Russell Goldman, ABC News, [http://68.71.208.15/Politics/story?id=8163051&page=1 July 24, 2009]

Obama's seeming unwillingness to modify his planned remarks has also reinforced this image. For example, Obama was to address an in-person audience at a previously-scheduled event when law enforcement and news outlets began reporting the Fort Hood shooting of November 5, 2009. His staff acknowledged that Obama was aware that his remarks on the massacre would be televised nationally and internationally, yet Obama began with more than two minutes of lighthearted event acknowledgments and a waving "shout out" to Joe Medicine Crow (who Obama mistakenly introduced as a Medal of Honor recipient)."Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting", by Robert A. George, NBC Chicago, [http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/A-Disconnected-President.html November 6, 2009]"Obama jokes first, sympathizes with Fort Hood later", Daily Mail, [http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/3300 November 6, 2009] The incident was criticized as Obama's "Pet Goat moment""EDITORIAL: Obama has a 'Pet Goat' moment", The Washington Times, [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/08/obama-has-a-pet-goat-moment/ November 8, 2009]"Was Yesterday Obama’s ‘Pet Goat’ Moment?" By: Dan Amira, New York Magazine, [http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/11/was_yesterday_obamas_pet_goat.html?f=most-commented-24h-5 November 6, 2009], although far left commentators such as Media Matters characterized that comparison as a "Right-wing media attack" and opined that Obama's reaction was "not even remotely" like that."Fox Nation, conservative media launch political attack on Obama's shooting remarks", Media Matters, [http://mediamatters.org/research/200911060018 November 6, 2009]"Crazy comparison of the day" by Jamison Foser, Media Matters, [http://mediamatters.org/blog/200911060010 November 6, 2009]

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