The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    acanuck's picture

    Associated Press has been taken over by space aliens who want to turn our brains to mush so they can eat them!

    By acanuck on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 5:46pm |

    There! Much better than my original headline: "Enough with the teleprompter bullshit, AP!"

    Washington bureau chief Ron Fournier began his analysis of President Obama's press conference last night: "What kind of politician brings a teleprompter to a news conference?"

    And ended it: "Even better, he likes to have it up on the teleprompter."

    Forget the technical detail that it wasn't an actual teleprompter but a big TV screen at the back of the room. Fournier no doubt drafted his story in advance, and wasn't going to waste a good punchline.

    But Ron, you're not even being original. Jokes about Obama's "dependence" on his teleprompter have been all over the right-wing media and blogosphere for months: Fox, Politico, Townhall, Drudge and now AP ... the list is shockingly long. Google "obama teleprompter" and make your own. There's even a link to yet another bogus teleprompter story on the TPM main page today.

    The amazing thing is that these twits actually seem to think they've exposed Obama's glaring flaw: that he's a terrible communicator, when someone else isn't feeding him his lines. Read the deranged comments on their blogs and you'll inevitably see the phrase "Manchurian candidate." None of the commenters know whom Obama is a front for, but it's obviously somebody really evil.

    Never mind that anyone with ears and eyeballs knows it's bullshit. After reading his introductory remarks yesterday, Obama spent nearly an hour answering questions -- clearly, smoothly, articulately. Presidentially.

    So drop the teleprompter meme, guys. Nobody outside your bizarro little self-reinforcing world buys it, and it just makes you look stupider.

    David Letterman has just summed it up best:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/24/teleprompter-vs-no-telepr_n_178474.html

    Comments

    Was that fair? A good title like that and then all this stuff. I feel violated.


    by Doomer252 (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 6:45pm

    I highly recommend the Letterman clip!

    Performers like Letterman often are able to skewer the stupidity of politicians and members of the media with few words and loads of skepticism. He is among the best there has ever been. I'd say Letterman almost reaches Mark Twain's level in the area of political sarcasm and lampooning of stupidity.


    by oleeb (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 7:15pm

    What, you wanted real space aliens? Jeez, TPMers are hard to satisfy!


    by acanuck (not verified) on Wed, 03/25/2009 - 7:17pm

    They have been playing the Letterman footage on cable today. Great stuff.

    They miss w over there. They miss making light of an idiot who cannot string two sentences together.

    And, Letterman obviously likes Obama. Which is one for my side.


    by dickday (not verified) on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 1:32am

    I could understand the obsession with something as minor as this teleprompter issue if there was even just a hint that Obama had trouble communicating without one. However, he's the most articular President I can remember, and I don't think I'm saying that just because of the glaring contrast provided by 43.

    The media is cuckoos.

    Sorry, cuckoos.


    by CT Voter (not verified) on Thu, 03/26/2009 - 5:50pm