There has been lots of blogging over the weekend about Palin having notes on her hand. It probably wouldnt be an issue if there was not so much critism about Obama and his teleprompter.
The critisism against Obama is not because he uses a teleprompter. All presidents and most politicians do. The critisism is from the chasm that seperates the quality uh of um his um speehces uh off the prompter and on the prompter. Even his handlers notice it because his prompter is ALWAYS used now.
The other disconcerting aspect is that when corpsman was mispronounced it was clear that the speech was written by a third party.
Palin put some notes on her hand – not exactly the most professional way to answer questions. On the other hand, at least we know SHE wrote the notes. Writing on her hand is just something else that Middle America can relate to.
Bagzz'z Blog 
February 8, 2010 at 12:43 pm |
Ha ha…we go on scrutinizing Palin’s $100K “handjob” while media whores on the left and right trade shots w/GOP televangelist/pin-up doll — she trades shots w/Mr.Wall St-banker bailout POTUS — we continue to lose our jobs, homes, futures (minds) and our children continue being sacrificed in their wars (mega profits) — how’s that working out for ANY of us? These so-called leaders are installed via corp funding, and know this…they don’t give a damn about us! Bread & Circus…like it’s been for thousands of years –the Romans were most honest about it…rulers and serfs…that’s the playing field….read “The Grand Chessboard” by Zbig Brzezinski…Obama/Sarah Palin phenomenon was planned before she won Miss Wasilla! Why are ALL Obama records sealed? They play multi-level chess, while we play checkers…
February 8, 2010 at 1:57 pm |
When was the last time you attended a caucus? If this conspiricy to kill our country is so easily pulled off, why don’t you just become a corporate leader and pull off a conspiricy to save our country? It should be easy since most people are on your side.
Your reasoning that Palin and Obama are both bad because they are involved in politics and that makes them rulers… not serfs does not fly with me. This logic also discourages people from becoming involved. That is the exact opposite of what is good for this Country. You should go to your caucus and encourage others to as well.
February 10, 2010 at 11:04 pm
not saying conspiracies are easy to “pull off”,quite the contrary, but definitely possible…if men can come together to accomplish “good” things, surely “evil” men can accomplish the same feat — take a look through the pages of history, and I’m sure you’ll come to the same conclusion. Politics has ALWAYS been about controlling the masses, this is why its imperative for “the people” to be on guard for tyranny…it’s written in the Constitution…that’s why the 2nd Amendment is there. Sadly, we spend much too much time w/ fingers pointed at each other, rather than examining larger issues i.e. how is that election after election “our representatives” get richer and the country as a whole becomes poorer? Who do you think is being represented in the current health care debate? you, me, your neighbors? No,it’s the providers, Big-Pharm lining the pockets of Congress, and their attys who write the actual legislation. Btw US Army, Retired–one of these http://www.us-army-info.com/pages/mos/intelligence/intelligence-mos.html …always nice to speak w/a fellow service man…Be Well & Stay Vigilant
February 8, 2010 at 6:32 pm |
Good points, bagzzz.
February 8, 2010 at 10:03 pm |
Yeah, right. Compare this smooth and well-informed performance up against a hostile audience by Barack Obama:
with this halting and uninformed one by Sarah Palin up against Katie Couric, a notoriosly soft interviewer:
Which one needed a teleprompter? It isn’t as if Palin never uses one herself. Watch her prepared speeches and you’ll see. For example:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/palin-and-the-t.html
The point is that teleprompters are a standard tool used by most public speakers. It’s absurd for Palin to twit Obama for using one for prepared speeches, especially when she does so herself, and it’s obvious to anyone who examines the copious video record that in unrehearsed settings Obama is far more articulate than Palin can ever hope to be.
As for her jotting notes on her hand, apart from the ludicrous and unprofessional look of it (3 x 5 index cards are not that hard to find), the points she felt the need to write down are the kind of broad and general points anyone of normal intelligence should be able to remember without the need for any written notes.
February 9, 2010 at 9:37 am |
I would argue that it is easy to appear well informed if you have no regard for the truth, but that is another topic.
It is easy to take good examples from one side and put them against bad examples of the other. My point is that both sides have bad examples of public speaking and that it is no big deal.
Writing notes on one’s hand is more often used as a speaking aid than a teleprompter.
Broad general topics is exactly the type of notes people use for speaking. They are reminders. Are you arguing that notes should consist of details, otherwise they are not required? That is simply and absurd argument that defies common sense.
February 9, 2010 at 11:06 am |
You do realize all those uhs were collected from a twelve minute segment, don’t you? If you compress every pause for thought over 12 minutes into 29 seconds of course it sounds ridiculous. If you listen to the interview they were taken from, Obama is perfectly coherent.
I’m also afraid that writing on one’s hand is not at all common outside high school, and would lose you grade points there. I’ve been watching people make speeches in public for decades, and this is the first time I’ve seen anyone do it; that’s what makes this a remarkable and unusual thing. I’d be very surprised if you could find another example among the thousands of hours of Youtube videos of public speeches. It simply isn’t done, because it makes the speaker look idiotic.
Nor are general sentiments like “Raise Americans Spirits” the kind of thing that people normally need crib notes for; specifics such as exact numbers would be understandable. Mrs. Palin frequently and repeatedly gets her facts wrong in major ways; for example, she has often made the claim that Alaska provides 20% of America’s energy needs where the real number is about 3.5%, repeating that error even after it was pointed out. That’s the kind of thing she should be writing down.
February 9, 2010 at 1:47 pm |
Thanks for posting those links. It is pretty clear that Obama was not on his game that day. BTW He wasn’t talking for 12 minutes. The excerpt included an introduction and long winded questions by Oberman. And it does show the difference between Obama on and off the teleprompter. In addition to all the uh’s, there was lots of stuttering and stammering. Overall, it was incoherent. There are other examples out there of Obama stammering off the teleprompter, but it is no big deal. If you really want to make a good comparison, compare apples to apples. Which one performs better when the teleprompter malfunctions? I would do that for you, but overall it is no big deal.
Apparently we disagree about what type of notes people should have when giving a speech. I think you should know your facts. I use notes for general reminders about broad topics to be covered. Raise American Spirits is a braod topic. I know intracacies of the topics when I speak. Sometimes If I get involved in the second topic, I forget the third. Apparently you have a hard time remembering facts, but have no problem remembering the general topics. We disagree. But at least I give the speaker the benefit of the doubt as to which notes help him the best. But really whether your notes are facts, generalities, specifics, or every word of the speech (including apparent impromptu moments) is no big deal.
My point remains that both sides have examples of public speaking miscues and writing notes on the hand is no big deal. In fact it is such a non issue that I have decided to spend my time on more important things. I am sure that my case was made in the posts so far. If I dont answer any future questions, it is not because you have suddenly changed my mind, nor is it because your point is irrefutable. Quite the contrary, it is because the points made so far are incorrect or insignificant – mostly the latter. If you do make a post that changes my mind, I will own up to it and respond.
February 9, 2010 at 2:18 pm |
It seems apparent to me that Obama is far more comfortable speaking off the cuff than Palin is. His interview with Olbermann wasn’t his best performance, but incoherent? Hardly. He gave solid answers, between the verbal hesitancies, to every question. I’ve yet to see him involved in the kind of verbal trainwrecks Palin is fairly famous for. Also.
It’s a good thing to note specific facts, because it’s easy for anyone, even very articulate and well informed people, to misremember a precise number when working from memory. (Facts such as Africa being a continent, not a country, should be pretty firmly established though.) If you can’t keep track of three or four broad areas on which you want to comment, though, you’re not much of a public speaker.
Articulacy isn’t everything, of course, and it isn’t even the main thing, even for a politician (honesty, hard work, and a good education are far more important, for example). It happens to be a characteristic that Obama has a great deal of, and Palin relatively little. She would be well advised to pick different battles, that’s all; the ‘teleprompter dependency’ gibe simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, and she’s one of the last persons who should be trying it given her own difficulties with public speaking.
February 13, 2010 at 10:03 am |
Well, how we can tell it’s February in North America? When a subject like “Obama, Palin, teleprompters, crib notes” rates such a passionate discussion. Hang in there, Spring is right around the corner.