It’s no secret I don’t support much, if any, of the Obama political platform, but news of his inability to operate in public without his teleprompter is now getting me concerned. This most recent item is either signs of stress, or something more systematic.
Is he trying to do too much, too fast, and stressing out? Or is he in over his head?
I’m not saying this just to be the skunk at the garden party. I raise it as an issue because he relies on reading canned teleprompter speeches. (Is this any different than from notes?) Does he have the capacity to speak on important issues of the day without a prepared script?
I saw a couple of his unscripted campaign performances but those were mostly platitudes and cliches. Has he given a substantive speech or made any cogent remarks without the teleprompter?
This leads me to suspect he has little or no understanding of the major issues and needs to have thoughts written down. Are they his thoughts, or the team’s?
Maybe he just wants to be perfect behind the podium.
were you this concerned when bush couldn’t even pronounce words properly, let alone make cogent remarks off the cuff? your concern trolling is touching. really. i’m verklempt.
I hoped Obama was going to be better. I can’t tell because he’s never stepped from behind the teleprompter.
Like his record-smashing predecessor, I’ll start to worry.
Um, do you have some stats for that? I think the Clintons were the vacation champs (no citation, sorry. Do you have one?)
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p>And in the midst of a financial system crisis, he’s going on Leno?
Record Breaker! Bush Takes Most Vacation Days For Sitting President (Mar 11, 2008)
490 days in Crawford. That’s not counting the 487 days Bush spent at Camp David, or the 43 days in Kennebunkport.
You should be thankful, no? Less time to wreck democracy!
You asked for stats. I gave them to you. You asked for a citation. I gave you two. You asserted that Clinton took the most vacation. You were wrong about that, even before W took office. His being absent appears now to have given Cheney more opportunity to do the heavy wrecking. I’m not thankful about that.
Presidents, senators, even local politicians rely on staff for input and knowledge. Of course he doesn’t know everything; who does? I don’t give a rap about teleprompters or 3×5 note cards. I’m looking at the quality of his advisors, and am pleased with people like Larry Summers. Not so pleased with Geitner. Let’s face it, Bush had some real pissa’s in some positions (incompetents) so let’s not go bananas over teleprompting.
I think Obama is generally clueless about the financial crisis. He has no life experience, no business background, and too little time in politics to be able to grasp what is going on.
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p>He should be back in DC cramming. Without an understanding, he cannot lead. Without leadership, his subordinates flop around like fish out of water.
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p>Vision is supposed to come from the top. The only vision I see from Obama is the federal government takeover of the health care, education, and energy economies (50% of GDP when added to existing gvt.)
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p>He pitches this as the SOLUTION to the financial crisis when in fact these are NOT the cause and NOT the solution. It is totally disingenuous and intellectually deceitful.
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p>This is why I think he will not speak without a teleprompter, without screening town hall questions, and why his single press conference sounded like my 84-year old aunt rambling on about yesterday’s lunch.
It should be the Irish PM that is most embarrassed…I’ve looked for video on this but could find it…they don’t fully explain how Pbama thanksed himself.
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p>But really, given the ceremonial crap all these folks do, who cares if they rely on teleprompters for that stuff and there is an occasional mishap.
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p>I’ve seen Obama speak three times and frankly he did not meet the expectations…of course when you’re billed as the next RFK (now Lincoln or FDR) it’s tough to meet that bar everytime. But even in his worse stammering moments…and he ahs a lot of them…his thoughts are coherent (albeit slow) and make sense. Yes, he at times sound lawerly or professorial…but he is/was both so what the f do you expect?
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p>And to echo other folks here…compared to Bush?!?!?!?! Even with the pauses and the weighing of words, Bush still couldn’t develop a complete thought. The man was/is a moron.
Haven’t seen ANYTHING to suggest he can hold a substantial policy conversation without a script.
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p>Remember the Joe the Plumber flapdoddle? His handlers after that didn’t let him open his mouth without strict oversight.
How does your linked story in any way suggest “an inability to operate in public without his teleprompter”? So the Irish Prime Minister screws up and this is proof of Obama’s “inability”?
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p>You need better talking points.
After I read the transcript of what happened, the new article seemed unfair.
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p>However, my concern still stands. See my responses above.
Just yesterday he had another public meeting in California, similar to ones held earlier in IN and FL to sell his stimulus package. He may have had prepared remarks in the beginning; I didn’t see that part. What I did see was the Q&A portion which he once again handled very well, answering in detail without concern that it might not be the answer the questioner wanted to hear. I see this format as I strength and I hope he continues to do it.
The link you posted actually shows Obama gracefully managing a PR screw-up.
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p>Anyway, check your sources. Sky is controlled by Murdoch, who also of course controls Fox, and is no friend of Obama’s. You might as well source the ideologues on the WSJ’s editorial page (also controlled by Murdoch) for evidence that the President’s economic policy is wrong. In short, try again.
Now it’s a parody blog! Carried on Drudge for the world to see.
A DittoHead blog devoted to attacking Obama. I’m sure convinced. đŸ˜‰
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p>Seriously, have you decided credibility is for wimps? Any comment you make for the next few months should be answered with a simple link to this diary.