Teleprompter vs Bush-isms?

[hippie_hunter]

Bush's verbal screw ups reflected poorly on him as a public speaker and leader. It made him an international embarrassment. I don't see how the Prime Minister of another country's accidental reading of Obama's speech is controversial at all, nor a reflection of his poor public speaking abilities, nor an embarrassment to this country.

Bush's verbal screw ups made him awesome. His quotes about "Is our children learning," the vast majority of exports coming from other countries, how we are like our enemies in never stop thinking about ways to hurt our country and people, how he was a small business growth, knowing how the human being and fish can co-exist in peace, and OBGYNs spreading their love to women, along with his mispronunciations like "The Google" and "nucular," are classic.

 

[hippie_hunter]

One thing I cannot understand in regards to this teleprompter controversy is why some people are making it into such a scandal. So the Irish Prime Minister read from Obama's speech... and that reflects poorly on Obama how, exactly?

It doesn't reflect poorly on his policies and decisions, but it certainly shows that he isn't at all the charismatic messiah that a lot of Obama maniacs and the media portrayed him to be.

 

[Addendum]

It doesn't reflect poorly on his policies and decisions, but it certainly shows that he isn't at all the charismatic messiah that a lot of Obama maniacs and the media portrayed him to be.

Dude, you're not getting it.

The Irish Prime Minister read Obama's speech. That doesn't make Obama look bad, but the Prime Minister.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Dude, you're not getting it.

The Irish Prime Minister read Obama's speech. That doesn't make Obama look bad, but the Prime Minister.

I'm talking about in general, not this particular instance. In general, Obama is downright horrible without the teleprompter. He needs it. He stutters, he fumbles, and he takes forever to portray an idea. He lacks any of the smooth charisma that people love him for.

 

[Addendum]

Well, not everyone could do what George Carlin did or what Henry Rollins does without any teleprompters or cue cards. Instead, a vast majority of the populace would be like the "Boom goes the Dynamite" dude

 

[hippie_hunter]

Well, not everyone could do what George Carlin did or what Henry Rollins does without any teleprompters or cue cards. Instead, a vast majority of the populace would be like the "Boom goes the Dynamite" dude

I'm not saying that needing a teleprompter is a bad thing dude.

In fact I encourage Obama to use it because I'd rather see him talk with confidence, smoothly, and charismatically than being the complete opposite.

 

[Addendum]

I'd rather watch something else other than any president speaking

 

[Timstuff]

Bush's verbal screw ups made him awesome. His quotes about "Is our children learning," the vast majority of exports coming from other countries, how we are like our enemies in never stop thinking about ways to hurt our country and people, how he was a small business growth, knowing how the human being and fish can co-exist in peace, and OBGYNs spreading their love to women, along with his mispronunciations like "The Google" and "nucular," are classic.

The hilarious thing about "nucular" is that Bush actually made it into a household term. 80% of the people I hear who try to pronounce "Nuclear," both in real life and on TV, are pronouncing it "nucular" now. Heck, my dad used to be an engineer designing controls for nuclear power plants, and even HE says "nucular" now.

 

[hippie_hunter]

The hilarious thing about "nucular" is that Bush actually made it into a household term. 80% of the people I hear who try to pronounce "Nuclear," both in real life and on TV, are pronouncing it "nucular" now. Heck, my dad used to be an engineer designing controls for nuclear power plants, and even HE says "nucular" now.

 

[danoyse]

Bush's verbal screw ups made him awesome. His quotes about "Is our children learning," the vast majority of exports coming from other countries, how we are like our enemies in never stop thinking about ways to hurt our country and people, how he was a small business growth, knowing how the human being and fish can co-exist in peace, and OBGYNs spreading their love to women, along with his mispronunciations like "The Google" and "nucular," are classic.

Exactly...when you've made enough verbal gaffes to fill a 365 day desk calendar, that's got to be some kind of accomplishment.

 

[Cosmic]

Public speaking can be hard, sometimes. I say give the guys a break. This is one of those times when I have to look at the critics and ask, can you do a better job? I like speaking in front of groups, sometimes, but there have been times when I was "winging it," and it didn't turn out so good. Personally, I'd prefer to go the Thomas Jefferson route and just write letters.

 

[Marx]

This thread is amusing.

A comparison between W. and Obama on public speaking skills is laughable, at best.

 

[Addendum]

Writing letters has been done before. Get a deaf president. Have them sign away and the person who can speak is in the little circle in the corner of the screen.

Or just get one that can speak in subtitles

 

[chaseter]

How about we just get a deaf person that is a good lip reader so that George can find out if someone likes him.

 

[chaseter]

This thread is amusing.

A comparison between W. and Obama on public speaking skills is laughable, at best.

Are you going to answer my question of whether you want Obama to always read off of a prompter and be scripted or do you think he should sometimes speak from his own mind? Not that hilarious.

 

[SentinelMind]

Dude, you're not getting it.

The Irish Prime Minister read Obama's speech. That doesn't make Obama look bad, but the Prime Minister.

Actually Obama also read the Irish Prime Minister's words by thanking himself.

Obama is a gifted speaker, but he's a fish out of sea withouthis teleprompter. Obama's good when he can plan the theme long in advance...but he's not as articulate and sturdy when he thinks on the spot, which is what others are drawing upon.

 

[VampElvis]

One thing I cannot understand in regards to this teleprompter controversy is why some people are making it into such a scandal. So the Irish Prime Minister read from Obama's speech... and that reflects poorly on Obama how, exactly?

Perhaps you missed the section of the article where Obama thanked himself because he was reading from the teleprompter? To me that seems to reflect a little badly on him - not enough to make it into a scandal, but enough to make me wince a little.

Stay Classy San Diego!

 

[redfirebird2008]

I'm talking about in general, not this particular instance. In general, Obama is downright horrible without the teleprompter. He needs it. He stutters, he fumbles, and he takes forever to portray an idea. He lacks any of the smooth charisma that people love him for.

From what I've seen he usually tries to think through his answers. He's pretty cautious when answering questions rather than just spouting off hard-line, ideological talking points like Bush would.

 

[November Rain]

I'm sorry but how can you be head of a country and not be a genius impromptu speech giver.

Most actors can inspire people without the need to read their lines on film, i think presidents should be just as good, if not better

 

[SuBe]

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jromano/2009/03/18/hotflash-obama-as-ron-burgundy/

There's a good question, Where is the Video of the Telepromter Mistake?

 

[Malice]

Man I miss Bushisms....

 

[SuBe]

Top 50 Bushisms of all time:

50. "I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." --at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

49. "We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." --Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

48. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." -Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

47. "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." --Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001

46. "Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip)

45. "I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." --at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001 (Listen to audio clip)

44. "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

43. "The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th." --Washington, D.C., July 12, 2007

42. "I'm the commander -- see, I don't need to explain -- I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president." --as quoted in Bob Woodward's Bush at War

41. "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." --discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson in 2003, as quoted by Robertson

40. 3. "I think I was unprepared for war." –on the biggest regret of his presidency, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008

39. "I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me." --talking to key Republicans about Iraq, as quoted by Bob Woodward

38. "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." --presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 (Watch video clip)

37. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." --Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

36. "Do you have blacks, too?" --to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

35. "This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." --as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

34. "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." --on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina

33. "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." --Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

32. "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake." --on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, May 7, 2006

31. "They misunderestimated me." --Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

30. "For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it." --Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001

29. "This is an impressive crowd -- the haves and the have mores. Some people call you the elite -- I call you my base." --at the 2000 Al Smith dinner

28. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." --LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

27. "I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right." --Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001

26. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

25. "People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

24. "I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it...I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet...I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." --after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2004

23. "You forgot Poland." --to Sen. John Kerry during the first presidential debate, after Kerry failed to mention Poland's contributions to the Iraq war coalition, Miami, Fla., Sept. 30, 2004

22. "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." --in parting words to world leaders at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as those present looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008

21. "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." --State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false

20. "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001

19. "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." --Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002

18. "So what?" –President Bush, responding to a an ABC News correspondent who pointed out that Al Qaeda wasn't a threat in Iraq until after the U.S. invaded, Dec. 14, 2008

17. "Can we win? I don't think you can win it." --after being asked whether the war on terror was winnable, "Today" show interview, Aug. 30, 2004

16. "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." --Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002

15. "I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job." --to a group of Amish he met with privately, July 9, 2004

14. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." --speaking underneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 2003

13. "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories ... And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." --Washington, D.C., May 30, 2003

12. "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!" --joking about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004 (Read more)

11. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

10. "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" --Florence, South Carolina, Jan. 11, 2000

9. "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured." --on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007 (Watch video clip)

8. "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense." --Washington, D.C. April 18, 2006 (Read more; listen to audio clip; watch video clip)

6. "There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on --shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." --Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Watch video clip)

5. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." --Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip)

4. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip)

3. "You work three jobs? ... Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." --to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

2. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." --to FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his handling of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 (Listen to audio clip; watch video clip)

1. "My answer is bring them on." --on Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003

 

[redfirebird2008]

Top 50 Bushisms of all time:

50. "I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." --at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

49. "We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." --Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

48. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." -Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

47. "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." --Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001

46. "Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip)

45. "I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." --at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2001 (Listen to audio clip)

44. "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

43. "The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th." --Washington, D.C., July 12, 2007

42. "I'm the commander -- see, I don't need to explain -- I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president." --as quoted in Bob Woodward's Bush at War

41. "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." --discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson in 2003, as quoted by Robertson

40. 3. "I think I was unprepared for war." –on the biggest regret of his presidency, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008

39. "I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me." --talking to key Republicans about Iraq, as quoted by Bob Woodward

38. "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." --presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 (Watch video clip)

37. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." --Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

36. "Do you have blacks, too?" --to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

35. "This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating." --as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002

34. "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." --on "Good Morning America," Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina

33. "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." --Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

32. "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake." --on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, May 7, 2006

31. "They misunderestimated me." --Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

30. "For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it." --Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001

29. "This is an impressive crowd -- the haves and the have mores. Some people call you the elite -- I call you my base." --at the 2000 Al Smith dinner

28. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." --LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

27. "I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right." --Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001

26. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

25. "People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

24. "I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it...I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet...I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." --after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2004

23. "You forgot Poland." --to Sen. John Kerry during the first presidential debate, after Kerry failed to mention Poland's contributions to the Iraq war coalition, Miami, Fla., Sept. 30, 2004

22. "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." --in parting words to world leaders at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as those present looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008

21. "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." --State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false

20. "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001

19. "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." --Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002

18. "So what?" –President Bush, responding to a an ABC News correspondent who pointed out that Al Qaeda wasn't a threat in Iraq until after the U.S. invaded, Dec. 14, 2008

17. "Can we win? I don't think you can win it." --after being asked whether the war on terror was winnable, "Today" show interview, Aug. 30, 2004

16. "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." --Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002

15. "I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job." --to a group of Amish he met with privately, July 9, 2004

14. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." --speaking underneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 2003

13. "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories ... And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." --Washington, D.C., May 30, 2003

12. "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!" --joking about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004 (Read more)

11. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

10. "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" --Florence, South Carolina, Jan. 11, 2000

9. "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured." --on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007 (Watch video clip)

8. "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000 (Listen to audio clip)

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of Defense." --Washington, D.C. April 18, 2006 (Read more; listen to audio clip; watch video clip)

6. "There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on --shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." --Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Watch video clip)

5. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." --Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip)

4. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip)

3. "You work three jobs? ... Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." --to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 (Listen to audio clip)

2. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." --to FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his handling of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 (Listen to audio clip; watch video clip)

1. "My answer is bring them on." --on Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003

Classic. I think I like #4 or #'s 9 and 10 the best.

 

[redfirebird2008]

I'm sorry but how can you be head of a country and not be a genius impromptu speech giver.

Most actors can inspire people without the need to read their lines on film, i think presidents should be just as good, if not better

Most actors spend night and day MEMORIZING those lines. That is their only job. You may think the POTUS only does public speaking, but that simply isn't the case. He's got other things to worry about in between public appearances. I'd rather have the President actually working on real things in between public appearances than trying to memorize the lines of his speeches.

 

[Malice]

Frankly...I LIKED the fact our previous president has quarks...I dont wnat a President that is a perfect speaker...I want someone with character (not picking on Obama in this, just a general statement)

A little character is good...now Bush...he made people feel he was a moron at times...I consider that "a little too much character"