Here are two recent pictures of political figures using crib notes. The President in a sixth grade classroom and Sarah Palin at the Tea Party Convention. Both seemed to need crib notes to be able to deliver something intelligent. Based on the photos of Palin's hand, which the NYT and others have written a lot about, her notes are less extensive than the President's. What I do not understand is why Palin's notes have been so uniformly criticized and the President's constant use of teleprompters at almost every venue is not. One would hope that our political leaders have some spontaneity but then that might be wishing for too much.
The last photo is of Press Secretary Robert GIbb's hand in his daily press briefing. Gibbs does not double as a stand up comedian.
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2 comments:
I think the primary difference is that Obama was giving prepared speeches whereas Palin could not remember key talking points. I believe her notes said spending cuts, spending was crossed out to say tax cuts, lift american spirits, and jobs.
A more appropriate parallel would be Obama speaking at the House Republican retreat, fielding questions for over an hour with no prepared answers.
To me, its a stark reminder that Palin and so many conservatives seem to be driven by talking points not actual constructive policies and ideas.
I do not agree. Obama, if you listen to the video, offered some welcome comments and then introduced the Secretary. One would think that he could do that without prepared notes.
I am not sure that any political faction, including the one supporting the President, are not driven by talking points. My point on this post was that too much of the political dialogue is scripted.
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