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2012 Debates

OnlyTellsTruths said:
Really though, it's just like having a piece of paper in front of you, except you don't have to look down. Almost all presidents have had speeches where they had notes or even the entire speech written down. For them to, however occasionally, look down at.
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speeches can save your life.


...Teddy Roosevelt was about to give a speech when an assailant ran forward and fired a shot. Due to the thickness of the manuscript of the speech, it acted as a deterent and slowed the bullet down enough so that it only pierced him -- a sort of bullet-proof vest if you will.
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Puppycow said:
Mr. "No Apologies" can't do that.
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Got it. So it was the wrong thing to say but he isn't sorry that he said it. Because admitting your mistakes is a weakness and being born on third base means never having to say you're sorry.

What a life that must be.
 
Ziggurat said:
There are a few incidents which played into this meme and helped solidify it, such as this and this (and yes, I understand perfectly the significance of that second link - I'm playing fair), but the basic idea is independent of those individual incidents, and as far as I can tell isn't really any deeper than what I described. But this still amuses me:
http://www.reutersgallery.com/reutersgallery/ddf?type=v&id=1060
Not a photoshop, just a humorous angle.
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The photo is more a comment on the photographer's lack of talent than Obama's lack of ability. If I took a picture of Romney's foot, would I get a mocking belly laugh from a room full of Democrats because he didn't place his face where I was aiming?

I really hate to state the obvious, but presidents don't just sit around writing speeches, memorizing them and delivering them all day. Their time is filled with endless events and meetings that consume their attention. They have staff who write the speeches, and the president then tweaks them.

Anyone who actually believes that using a teleprompter to deliver a speech on policy or on anything other than off the cuff remarks is somehow a flaw, just doesn't understand reality. It's frankly kind of silly. The notion that Bachmann would ban teleprompters is downright crazy talk.

As for the video of him in a town hall, I doubt he was using a teleprompter. He seems to have been repeatedly interrupted by people cheering, and stated that he had not slept much in the past 48 hours. It was odd, I must say to hear him stumbling as he did. He clearly had lost his train of thought. My understanding is that when a teleprompter is being used, the speaker also has a printed version on the lectern, just in case. In the video, he was walking around and appeared to be talking extemporaneously.

I'm getting the strong impression that all this teleprompter BS is just kind of a "neener neener" type sneer from the Bush crowd who were embarrassed by him and others who had various gaffes. It's really a stretch.

YMMV, but I find Obama pretty good, generally, as a speaker...no Bill Clinton for sure, but not too bad as presidents go. His reading of the teleprompter is well done also, not something everyone can easily do without a series of stumbles. I suspect many speeches may be delivered cold, with no rehearsal.
 
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Olowkow said:
The photo is more a comment on the photographer's lack of talent than Obama's lack of ability. If I took a picture of Romney's foot, would I get a mocking belly laugh from a room full of Democrats because he didn't place his face where I was aiming?
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While I agree with the rest of your comments in general, I think you sort of miss the point above. If the photographer felt that he could make a point or that he / she could get a belly laugh from a room full of Democrats by taking a photo of Romney's foot then I am sure that is the photo he would take.

While I don't agree with the concept, the photographer's talent shouldn't be called into question for the photo Zig posted, it was actually a pretty clever photo if you buy into the premise.
 
Ziggurat said:
It comes from the fact that Obama's reputation as an orator is largely undeserved. In particular, he really isn't that good when he isn't delivering scripted speeches, ie, not using a teleprompter.
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Strange that facts disagree with your claims.

Ziggurat said:
Not a photoshop, just a humorous angle.
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Since every candidate is reading from prepared remarks, how does the obsession with Obama's teleprompter compare with the ignoring all other candidates' teleprompters :crowded:(including Romney)?

OnlyTellsTruths said:
Really though, it's just like having a piece of paper in front of you, except you don't have to look down. Almost all presidents have had speeches where they had notes or even the entire speech written down. For them to, however occasionally, look down at.
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It's almost as if they are demanding a different standard of Obama than other candidates (birth certificate, cough, cough...).
 
Ziggurat said:
There are a few incidents which played into this meme and helped solidify it, such as this and this (and yes, I understand perfectly the significance of that second link - I'm playing fair), but the basic idea is independent of those individual incidents, and as far as I can tell isn't really any deeper than what I described. But this still amuses me:
[qimg]http://www.reutersgallery.com/reutersgallery/ddf?type=v&id=1060[/qimg]
Not a photoshop, just a humorous angle.
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That's a pretty funny picture :)
 
not_so_new said:
While I agree with the rest of your comments in general, I think you sort of miss the point above. If the photographer felt that he could make a point or that he / she could get a belly laugh from a room full of Democrats by taking a photo of Romney's foot then I am sure that is the photo he would take.

While I don't agree with the concept, the photographer's talent shouldn't be called into question for the photo Zig posted, it was actually a pretty clever photo if you buy into the premise.
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I see the point. I was assuming that the photo was not purposefully done, just culled from throwaways that happened to surface...Obama happened to be behind the prompter when the shot was snapped. It frankly didn't occur to me that it was a planned shot. As a political art form, then, yes it is kind of clever and not a negative comment on the photographer's skill.
 
applecorped said:
As is Obama, thanks.
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From the applecorped v. Obama debate:

Obama: I have said that for incomes over $250,000 a year that we should go back to the rates that we had when Bill Clinton was president, when we created 23 million new jobs, went from deficit to surplus and created a whole lot of millionaires to boot. And the reason this is important is because by doing that, we can not only reduce the deficit, we can not only encourage job growth through small businesses, but we're also able to make the investments that are necessary in education or in energy.

applecorped: You suck.

Obama: We've got some data on which approach is more likely to create jobs and opportunity for Americans, and I believe that the economy works best when middle-class families are getting tax breaks so that they've got some money in their pockets and those of us who have done extraordinarily well because of this magnificent country that we live in, that we can afford to do a little bit more to make sure we're not blowing up the deficit.

applecorped: Go play more golf, loser.

Obama: As I indicated before, when you talk about shifting Medicaid to states, we're talking about potentially a 30 percent cut in Medicaid over time. Now, you know, that may not seem like a big deal when it just is — you know, numbers on a sheet of paper, but if we're talking about a family who's got an autistic kid and is depending on that Medicaid, that's a big problem. And governors are creative. There's no doubt about it. But they're not creative enough to make up for 30 percent of revenue on something like Medicaid. What ends up happening is some people end up not getting help.

applecorped: You need help.

etc.
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Olowkow said:
The photo is more a comment on the photographer's lack of talent than Obama's lack of ability.
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You say that like the alignment was unintentional. I am certain it was not. Just like I am certain all those "halo" pictures of Obama were not accidental alignments either. One of my favorites is what I call the Hadouken picture:
obama_wizard-300x250.jpg


If I took a picture of Romney's foot, would I get a mocking belly laugh from a room full of Democrats because he didn't place his face where I was aiming?
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If you managed to get a shot where his foot aligned with his mouth, I think it would be funny. But just a foot? No, that lacks anything that would make it funny. It needs something in addition to, or maybe instead of, the foot.

I really hate to state the obvious, but presidents don't just sit around writing speeches, memorizing them and delivering them all day.
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So? What's your point? That presidents all use teleprompters now? Sure, of course they do. But that doesn't mean that they're all equally vulnerable to teleprompter-based humor. Clinton, for example, doesn't make a good target for that. He really is a smooth talker even without prepared remarks. And Bush wasn't really susceptible because he didn't sound that good even with a teleprompter.

Anyone who actually believes that using a teleprompter to deliver a speech on policy or on anything other than off the cuff remarks is somehow a flaw, just doesn't understand reality.
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That really doesn't have anything to do with why it's funny.

The notion that Bachmann would ban teleprompters is downright crazy talk.
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I don't pay attention to Bachmann. I don't expect anyone else to either.

As for the video of him in a town hall, I doubt he was using a teleprompter.
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Well, yeah. That's rather the whole point.

He seems to have been repeatedly interrupted by people cheering, and stated that he had not slept much in the past 48 hours.
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Excuses, excuses. That won't protect him from mockery, nor will it make that mockery any less funny.

And remember, that's what I'm doing here: I'm making fun of the president. I'm not forming a rigorous argument for why you shouldn't vote for him. If you are confused on that point, don't blame me.

I'm getting the strong impression that all this teleprompter BS is just kind of a "neener neener" type sneer from the Bush crowd who were embarrassed by him and others who had various gaffes. It's really a stretch.
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And so was "I can see Russia from my house!" It was completely unfair, but it was still funny.

MattusMaximus said:
That's a pretty funny picture :)
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Somebody gets it. And I'm pretty damned sure Mattus isn't saying that because he's a Bushie.
 
Ziggurat said:
It comes from the fact that Obama's reputation as an orator is largely undeserved. In particular, he really isn't that good when he isn't delivering scripted speeches, ie, not using a teleprompter.
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Personally, I think Obama's skills as an orator are secondary to the strength of his position. (Mitt showed that you can appear to win a debate by just repeating falsehoods and abandoning your position.)

Remember how opponents of Clinton decried him for being "too slick"?

Apparently now Obama isn't slick enough.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
Personally, I think Obama's skills as an orator are secondary to the strength of his position.
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That can be said about any politician. But politicians still get their oratorical skills scrutinized, and they still get made fun of on that basis. There is nothing unusual about the treatment of Obama in that regard.
 
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