Executive Branch - POLITICS
Truck With Obama's Teleprompter, Audio Equipment Stolen in Virginia
Published October 18, 2011
| FoxNews.com
AP
Oct. 17, 2011: President Obama speaks at Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, N.C., at the start of his three-day bus tour.
In an ironic twist, President Obama's Teleprompter had an unscripted moment when it was apparently stolen along with a stash of other audio equipment inside a truck awaiting the president's arrival in Virginia.
The Defense Information System Agency on Tuesday confirmed the theft of the truck, which was later recovered, but said no sensitive information was lost.
"No classified or sensitive information was in the vehicle," the agency said in a statement. "We take incidents such as this very seriously, and a formal investigation is continuing in coordination with relevant law enforcement agencies."
Another MSM media story from an actual.... you know... journalist:
The Truth About Presidents And Teleprompters
There's one reason above all others that President Obama uses a teleprompter in delivering most of his speeches: he's good at it.
Ronald Reagan was the same way. He was more at ease in reading his speech off the dual screens of a teleprompter than looking up and down at a speech text on his lectern
Not so, George W. Bush. He often got that nervous, deer-in-the-headlights look when giving an address from a teleprompter. He would seem stiff and ill-at-ease. He did not convey a sense of understanding.
"He preferred using large index cards," said his one-time White House Press Secretary Ari Fleisher, "plus I think he was just more comfortable with the cards."
It's definitely a finely honed skill to deliver a speech from a teleprompter (seen in the top right corner of the above picture from Mr. Obama's speech today in Columbus, Ohio). It takes as much if not more focus or concentration than reading a paper copy.
Mr. Obama doesn't always give a flawless teleprompter performance. He'll occasionally stumble on a word or lose his place – but not often. And when the White House provides an advance text and reporters can follow along, Mr. Obama can be seen plowing his way through complicated run-on sentences without hesitation.
By using a teleprompter, a speaker can have greater eye contact with an audience – and that means a lot.
