AP's Ron Fournier Concerned By Obama's Teleprompter "Crutch"

You know, chances are, the Associated Press's Ron Fournier doesn't want to be thought of as weird or an ignorant guy, but he's not helping his cause any by pretending to be mystified by the existence of a device known as the Teleprompter. This is a device that has been around in some form since the 1950s, and which is now commonly used by people who give speeches for a living. Like, say, Presidents. Like, say, last night. But Fournier is strangely bemused by this reverse-engineered Martian technology that allows words to sinisterly dance in midair. His analysis piece is titled, "Teleprompter telegraphs Obama caution."

To be fair, the Teleprompter also telegraphs "words" that were written by "speechwriters" as a means of assisting the President to "explain" stuff "clearly." Before the advent of the Teleprompter, a President might have to "read" his remarks from "notes" written on "paper." Obama, however, apparently likes to face forward while reading the speeches he gives, like a goddamned Bolshevik.

Fournier characterizes the "Teleprompter" as Obama's "familiar crutch." That's strange. See, I would describe the Teleprompter as a "ubiquitous device used in virtually all political oratory." I might go so far as to suggest that it's the preferred tool of political orators in the delivery of political oratory. But for an alternate take, here's Jim Newell at Wonkette:

It seems that Ron Fournier and many others have forgotten the basic format of every single presidential press conference ever, which is for the President to read a prepared statement for 5 minutes or so and then take questions. Would they be happier if Obama spent five hours of his workday trying to memorize his remarks?

Sure they would! It's not like anyone's suggesting that the economic downturn is so pronounced that Obama can't afford to do more than one thing at a time or something!

DID YOU KNOW?: Barack Obama is the first black president to use a teleprompter!

MORE:
AP Wingnut Also Concerned About Teleprompter Usage [Wonkette]

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Comments

[Redbull6]

12:25 PM on 03/27/2009

At least the current CinC doesn't require his Teleprompted speeches to be spelled Phonetically (or with pictures ;-)

[chili111]

09:01 AM on 03/27/2009

WHY are all the Obama apologists NOW trying to make it seem that his use of a tele-prompter is ok?


The man has never had an original thought of his own. Period.

[Knowitall]

01:53 PM on 03/27/2009

ALL Presidents use teleprompters or notes. You know that. Look at the picture at the top of this article.

What's wrong with you conservatives? I really would like to know. Is it just a matter of trying to be provocative on these pages so you can start a thread??? That many people can not be that dense. By that I mean, how could a man, any man, who graduated at the top of his law class at Harvard (you have to be able to write to even get in law school), has been a practicing lawyer, wrote 100's of pieces of legislation at the state level, has taught the constitution, and written 2 bestselling non-fiction books, not have an original thought?????

What you're saying is right wing blather. Looks like you don't have many original thoughts yourself.

[McFlipFlop]

10:04 PM on 04/07/2009

Hear, hear!

[ebanks84]

08:40 AM on 03/27/2009

Ron, get a life. This is the dumbest thing anybody can dream up. Did you miss your pablum today or what?

[McFlipFlop]

08:09 AM on 03/27/2009

Ron Fournier's IQ is below average. He looks like he might be related to Joe the Plumber.

[ranchero42]

01:19 AM on 03/27/2009

Ron Fournier is obviously hustling for his own "Dickepedia" page. Doesn't solve the "Ron who?" problem, though.

[MWChris]

12:01 AM on 03/27/2009

I don't understand why the Teleprompter has become such an issue. Would Fournier or others who claim that Obama overuses the Teleprompter prefer that he read with his had down from speaker notes or that he spend hours memorizing speeches? Fournier needs to get over himself. Obama is not speaking to you. Obama is speaking to the public through television, not to reporters. It's more important for him to convey a commanding presence on TV while giving a speech than it is to "engage with reporters."

[oscartucker]

10:17 PM on 03/26/2009

Did GW Bush use a teleprompter? His delivery was often so bad that it appeared that he had forgotten what he was going to say.

[MyGuyO]

11:55 PM on 03/26/2009

Of course GW used a teleprompter. Did these people forget that! Take a good look at his State of the Union addresses plus many other speechs i efrom the WH. This is absolutely absurd ...this article.
If this is all they have to talk about, then what a sad state of affairs we are in.
Whatever works for Pres. Obama works for me.

God bless President Obama and America.

[Owltree]

01:41 PM on 03/27/2009

Yes, GW used teleprompters, but he couldn't read what was being scrolled on them. He took remedial reading at Harvard, but his cheerleading practice was scheduled for the same time.
I am so happy that GW is out of office, I don't care if President Obama reads his speeches off paper napkins.

[retromega]

09:09 PM on 03/26/2009

Is this the best Fournier can come up with? This little peice shows that he has way to much time on his hands. He could have spent his time thinking about the challenges we face, or he faces, or someone else faces. Fournier could have displayed his wit, regaled us with his wisdom, or expounded on how close he is to his god. Maybe he should have but he lost his faith in himself. I don't think we'll even know why he chose to display himself like this.

I feel sullied by having paid any attention to his writing. One thing is certain though. Fournier has performed an act of verbal masturbation and he wanted everyone to watch as he moved his pen on the paper. I'm willing to bet he was even paid for it which, at best, puts him in the same class as the AIG bogus bonus boys!

Retromega

[person4876]

08:59 PM on 03/26/2009

Does Ron Fournier have a grudge against Obama? First, he basically insults Obama in an article for picking Biden as a running mate, and now he tries to badmouth Obama for doing something that all politicians do. Either the republican party paid Fournier to do things, or it's just his personal opinion showing through. Either way, he's affecting the way that people view Obama. The mass media is the most acsessible linkage institution, and Fournier writing stuff like this isn't going to help Obama's approval rating. These investigative journalists are just waiting for something questionable to arise, and then jump all over it. As time has passed, the news coverage about presidents has become less and less favorable. This has led to a decreased trust level between the media and the government, and if this goes on too long, the government might decide to stop feeding the information to the media altogether, which could lead to citizens with less political knowledge. That, in turn, could lead to a decrease in democracy, as basic democracy involves citizens knowing about the issues and candidates that they are voting for. All in all, not a pretty chain. If stuff like this would just stop, all would be well between the government and media, and maybe even a greater state of democracy could be reached. It's a real pity that the media won't ever stop digging up dirt on people.

[citizensrus]

08:22 PM on 03/26/2009

Fournier is a GOP media mole or propagandist. He regugitates the propaganda, as was stated by the Bush administration.
I'm still wondering if Bush had a feed during one of his debates with Gore..where he had a bulky looking pager or radio under his shirt.
I don't question Obama's ability to think..teleprompter or no teleprompter.
I can't say I had confidence in Bush's thinking abilities.

[UACatsRWings]

07:30 PM on 03/26/2009

Ron Fournier of AP has been known as a Bush supporter and carries water for the GOP. It is too bad that he has to come up with topic thatt President Obama's use of the teleprompter as an excuse to find fault with Obama. His AP articles slant the stories are negative about what President Obama or Administration is doing. Helen Thomas left the AP after many years because of the right wing slant to their news It is too bad that President Bush did not have the ability to use the teleprompter correctly. Bush always looked frightened when looking at the camera., he depend on the teleprompter to get his message out. Good luck Mr. Fournier let us see if you can find anything else worth while to talk about than the teleprompter.

[IndyReader]

06:20 PM on 03/26/2009

Someone over on Wonkette has coined a new word to describe folks like Fournier: TelePrompTard. It may not be PC, but it sure deserves wide dissemination.

[casengo]

04:42 PM on 03/26/2009

That is the sum total of this bonehead's criticizim?

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

04:30 PM on 03/26/2009

Whatever happened to news reporters covering news (and facts)? Excellent blog (opinion piece) Jason.

[serindipity803]

06:04 PM on 03/26/2009

Reporters gave up reporting the truth a l-o-n-g time ago. SO NOW, we have Bloggers who stay on top of things and get the news out around the clock!

[Golfer59]

04:10 PM on 03/26/2009

What are these "teleprompter" idiots really concerned about?? My guess is, they want the President to make a gaffe that they can write about the next day. This is really ridiculous!!!!