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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Feb 8, 2010 18:25:00 GMT -5
I guess the question I have is this - if you have a problem with Obama's alleged overuse of a teleprompter, how can you not have the same problem with Sarah Palin?
There were a few occasions during the campaign when she went off-prompter - television interviews and the debate, but, for the latter, it is well-reported that she went in with a few set pieces due to the concerns of her campaign staff. At best, she held her own but most regard it as a Biden win. As for the television interviews, the eyes of history will likely regard those as a disaster. One was so bad that SNL quoted it at length in a parody skit.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 8, 2010 18:29:47 GMT -5
I guess the question I have is this - if you have a problem with Obama's alleged overuse of a teleprompter, how can you not have the same problem with Sarah Palin? Barack Obama = Leader of the Free World Sarah Palin = Political activist and conservative celebrity who holds no public office and probably never will again If you want to keep making this parallel, I'm fine with that.
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Feb 8, 2010 18:44:52 GMT -5
If the reporting is accurate, Ms. Palin had 7 words scribbled on her hand. As an attorney who has closed to more juries than I care to remember, I like to believe I can do the whole thing from my head, but still usually have the safety net of a few bullet points written in large black letters on a pad that I can glance at just to be sure I don't leave something out.
Either of these scenarios seems a bit different than entire text off a prompter, but in the end who cares? If the message is a good one, it is a good one whether recited from memory, given totally extemporaneously or read in its entirety.
This entire debate is silly (or so my legal pad tells me).
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Feb 8, 2010 18:47:40 GMT -5
My memory tells me that the teleprompter argument originated in the campaign, perhaps to a lesser extent, as part of the exotic Manchurian Candidate talking points, when Obama was not the leader of the free world.
To me, it is a non-issue. Obama has written his own stuff in many cases, which is more than we can say for many others who have held the same office. I also feel comfortable in saying that the more mainstream teleprompter fascination grows out of an interest in embarrassing the President more than concern for his ability to lead and defend the country - the teleprompter crash comes to mind in these regards.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 8, 2010 19:51:58 GMT -5
Palin's "hi Mom" - priceless.
President Obama seems to do pretty well on those few occasions where he does not have a teleprompter so it's too bad he uses it so seldom. My only explanation is he wants to make sure that each word he uses is exactly the one he wants to use. That's okay except it ensures that each word has been scrubbed by his political advisors before hand rather than, perhaps, coming from his heart.
Comparing Palin's seven words on her hand to entire speeches, word for word on a teleprompter, stretches the word comparison.
To repeat what I have said several times in the past, I don't think Palin was ready to be President at the time of the last election but don't underestimate Sarah Palin. She has a very large contingent of Americans who want her to become President and she is daily being "briefed" on events so that, by 2011, she will be as well versed as anyone. Anyone objectively viewing her speech to the Tea Party Convention and her interview by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday can't help but being impressed with her ability to communicate well, to articulate her positions well, and to connect with her audience. Some of you seem to be fixiated on her, such fixiation, I believe, is an indication of political fear. Why else would her every burp attract such attention in the MSM and from you?
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guru
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Post by guru on Feb 8, 2010 19:59:44 GMT -5
Palin's "hi Mom" - priceless. President Obama seems to do pretty well on those few occasions where he does not have a teleprompter so it's too bad he uses it so seldom. My only explanation is he wants to make sure that each word he uses is exactly the one he wants to use. That's okay except it ensures that each word has been scrubbed by his political advisors before hand rather than, perhaps, coming from his heart. Comparing Palin's seven words on her hand to entire speeches, word for word on a teleprompter, stretches the word comparison. To repeat what I have said several times in the past, I don't think Palin was ready to be President at the time of the last election but don't underestimate Sarah Palin. She has a very large contingent of Americans who want her to become President and she is daily being "briefed" on events so that, by 2011, she will be as well versed as anyone. Anyone objectively viewing her speech to the Tea Party Convention and her interview by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday can't help but being impressed with her ability to communicate well, to articulate her positions well, and to connect with her audience. Some of you seem to be fixiated on her, such fixiation, I believe, is an indication of political fear. Why else would her every burp attract such attention in the MSM and from you? I rarely wade into these waters on this board, but wanted to chime in: I'm a staunch conservative, and Sarah Palin scares the $&*# out of me. The idea that so many people with whom I align philosophically on many (if far from all) issues actually take this woman seriously is appalling. She is a total dope - I think those who see any shrewd political calculation in her maneuvers vastly overestimate her. I always said Obama reminded me of Chauncey from Being There, but I think Palin is now the better comparison. The worst part is she will take the lunatic right fringe vote if she does in fact make a run in 2012, and could tear the GOP apart against - if things continue on their current vector - what would be an eminently beatable Obama. She needs to go away - yesterday.
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 8, 2010 22:29:01 GMT -5
President Obama seems to do pretty well on those few occasions where he does not have a teleprompter so it's too bad he uses it so seldom. My only explanation is he wants to make sure that each word he uses is exactly the one he wants to use. That's okay except it ensures that each word has been scrubbed by his political advisors before hand rather than, perhaps, coming from his heart. I think your explanation is spot-on, and exactly why the Leader of the Free World needs a teleprompter more than anybody. His words matter so much that they have to be exactly right. I'm most familiar with foreign relations, where a subtle change in wording can have huge ramifications. If the President (whoever it is) gets those words wrong, it can be disastrous. Interesting bit of trivia - Obama's famous speech at the 2004 DNC was the first time he had ever used a teleprompter.
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Filo
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Post by Filo on Feb 8, 2010 23:52:11 GMT -5
Palin's "hi Mom" - priceless. President Obama seems to do pretty well on those few occasions where he does not have a teleprompter so it's too bad he uses it so seldom. My only explanation is he wants to make sure that each word he uses is exactly the one he wants to use. That's okay except it ensures that each word has been scrubbed by his political advisors before hand rather than, perhaps, coming from his heart. Comparing Palin's seven words on her hand to entire speeches, word for word on a teleprompter, stretches the word comparison. To repeat what I have said several times in the past, I don't think Palin was ready to be President at the time of the last election but don't underestimate Sarah Palin. She has a very large contingent of Americans who want her to become President and she is daily being "briefed" on events so that, by 2011, she will be as well versed as anyone. Anyone objectively viewing her speech to the Tea Party Convention and her interview by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday can't help but being impressed with her ability to communicate well, to articulate her positions well, and to connect with her audience. Some of you seem to be fixiated on her, such fixiation, I believe, is an indication of political fear. Why else would her every burp attract such attention in the MSM and from you? I rarely wade into these waters on this board, but wanted to chime in: I'm a staunch conservative, and Sarah Palin scares the $&*# out of me. The idea that so many people with whom I align philosophically on many (if far from all) issues actually take this woman seriously is appalling. She is a total dope - I think those who see any shrewd political calculation in her maneuvers vastly overestimate her. I always said Obama reminded me of Chauncey from Being There, but I think Palin is now the better comparison. The worst part is she will take the lunatic right fringe vote if she does in fact make a run in 2012, and could tear the GOP apart against - if things continue on their current vector - what would be an eminently beatable Obama. She needs to go away - yesterday. Spot on. And I can't understand why intelligent people from the right even bother trying to defend her ("Yeah, she's a moron, but the president uses a telemprompter. So there!").
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Feb 9, 2010 0:15:53 GMT -5
I can't understand why so many on the left are obsessed with her.
Sarah Palin was the lead story on Hardball tonight (and I didn't watch, but I'd bet my signature again that she was at or near the lead of Countdown as well. Maddow was probably a little more sensible and put her in one of the later blocks.)
The LEAD story? Really?
You've got some pretty big news this past weekend, with the Republicans fighting with the FBI, Obama's Sunday interview and it's national security implications among other things, Paul Ryan's budget plan, hell even the politics of the Super Bowl ad, -- all of these things are issues that any liberal would want to take up -- and Chris Matthews devotes his first ten minutes to Sarah Palin.
Can anyone tell me why?
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The Stig
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Post by The Stig on Feb 9, 2010 2:04:10 GMT -5
I can't understand why so many on the left are obsessed with her. Because we're terrified of her. I know the moderate right likes to accuse the left of inflating Palin's importance to create a straw (wo)man. I agree that the left (like the far right) is probably inflating her importance, but for the left I think it's more paranoia than a straw man. I think most lefties really think she's the most popular conservative politician out there now, and Obama's most likely opponent in 2012. Furthermore, the left is genuinely afraid that she'll actually win. She's like a more extreme version of Bush - not terribly bright, but very charismatic and ultra-popular with the Christian Right. Bush won 2 terms as President. Is that likely in reality? Hard to tell. Like I said, there's more than a bit of paranoia in this. But after Florida 2000, Swiftboating, and turning Obama into a Muslim, paranoia seems like the norm for the left.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Feb 9, 2010 6:57:10 GMT -5
I can't understand why so many on the left are obsessed with her. Sarah Palin was the lead story on Hardball tonight (and I didn't watch, but I'd bet my signature again that she was at or near the lead of Countdown as well. Maddow was probably a little more sensible and put her in one of the later blocks.) The LEAD story? Really? You've got some pretty big news this past weekend, with the Republicans fighting with the FBI, Obama's Sunday interview and it's national security implications among other things, Paul Ryan's budget plan, hell even the politics of the Super Bowl ad, -- all of these things are issues that any liberal would want to take up -- and Chris Matthews devotes his first ten minutes to Sarah Palin. Can anyone tell me why? Because she's apparently the only thing all Democrats can agree on. If there were a "Sarah Palin, whatcha think?" bill that were just 1000 pages of not liking Sarah Palin, the Democrats would actually pass a piece of legislation.
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TC
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Post by TC on Feb 9, 2010 8:03:28 GMT -5
Because MSNBC and Fox have little to do with real news and more to do with the narrative.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Feb 9, 2010 11:05:28 GMT -5
Giga - I think you could find more Democrats in the Senate who agree than Republicans who agree. The problem is that 41 is enough to kill any piece of legislation that they may agree on, and the Dems had enough votes for HCR on the first go around and to invoke cloture. I think there were at least 55 Dems who agreed on healthcare in round 2. The problem was 1 independent and 4-5 Democrats in red states.
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tgo
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Post by tgo on Feb 10, 2010 12:55:11 GMT -5
I rarely wade into these waters on this board, but wanted to chime in: I'm a staunch conservative, and Sarah Palin scares the $&*# out of me. The idea that so many people with whom I align philosophically on many (if far from all) issues actually take this woman seriously is appalling. She is a total dope - I think those who see any shrewd political calculation in her maneuvers vastly overestimate her. ... She needs to go away - yesterday. another staunch conservative/libertarian here who couldnt agree more. i know a lot of political friends who love palin. i thought she might be great when she was first introduced but have long since given up that idea. i held my nose and defended bush and also voted for him twice even though he was to the left of Bubba on my score card because the alternative i think would have been far worse but i cant defend her, there are better people on the right to get excited about, i dont know why her act keeps playing so well.
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Feb 10, 2010 13:27:50 GMT -5
I rarely wade into these waters on this board, but wanted to chime in: I'm a staunch conservative, and Sarah Palin scares the $&*# out of me. The idea that so many people with whom I align philosophically on many (if far from all) issues actually take this woman seriously is appalling. She is a total dope - I think those who see any shrewd political calculation in her maneuvers vastly overestimate her. ... She needs to go away - yesterday. another staunch conservative/libertarian here who couldnt agree more. i know a lot of political friends who love palin. i thought she might be great when she was first introduced but have long since given up that idea. i held my nose and defended bush and also voted for him twice even though he was to the left of Bubba on my score card because the alternative i think would have been far worse but i cant defend her, there are better people on the right to get excited about, i dont know why her act keeps playing so well. I remain hopeful that Sarah Palin is simply a stalking horse/distraction and even more hopeful that the Democrats continue to take the bait. She is, to use a phrase I used to use about our President, an empty suit (dress?). I do not believe for one minute that she will be the GOP nominee in 2012. However, the Left's maniacal hatred of her and the nonstop hatchet job the mainstream media does on her, will make the ultimate GOP nominee look moderate and uberqualified by comparison. I don't yet know who that nominee will be, but Mrs. Palin will serve the GOP well by staying out front for now.
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whatmaroon
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Post by whatmaroon on Feb 10, 2010 19:10:26 GMT -5
another staunch conservative/libertarian here who couldnt agree more. i know a lot of political friends who love palin. i thought she might be great when she was first introduced but have long since given up that idea. i held my nose and defended bush and also voted for him twice even though he was to the left of Bubba on my score card because the alternative i think would have been far worse but i cant defend her, there are better people on the right to get excited about, i dont know why her act keeps playing so well. She was McCain's longshot gamble at winning an election he needed to hit on a longshot gamble to win. I hoped she'd go away for a while from the national bright lights and come back maybe in 2016 having decided what she thinks about everything not related to Alaska and why, but, alas, no such luck.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 10, 2010 19:39:36 GMT -5
I suggest you listen to Sarah now, not your characterization of her from the 2008 election.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Feb 11, 2010 2:35:06 GMT -5
I suggest you listen to Sarah now, not your characterization of her from the 2008 election. In fact, she's even stupider and dumbly populist. God help us if this country is ever in her hands.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Feb 11, 2010 11:04:51 GMT -5
I suggest you listen to Sarah now, not your characterization of her from the 2008 election. In fact, she's even stupider and dumbly populist. God help us if this country is ever in her hands. Please cite some things she has done or said that shows she is stupider and dumbly populist. Or is it just the characterization of her that exists? David Broder has a different opinion: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021002451.html
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hoyaclap
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Post by hoyaclap on Feb 11, 2010 13:45:42 GMT -5
I don't have any examples of her being "stupider" or more "dumbly populist," but I have been very bothered by her recent "r-word controversy" I felt Sarah Palin was stirring her own pot when she called for Rahm Emmanuel's job for calling liberal critics "f-ing retards." But I was more than willing to give her the benefit of a doubt, considering that she has taken the mantle of advocating on behalf of special need children and their families based on her own circumstances. And even though I feel she was overzealous in her call, it was rooted in principle, which gives her the political highground. but when Rush Limbaugh crudely repeated the same terms, Sarah Palin had an opportunity to stand on principle. During an interview with Chris Wallace, she could have even repeated the weakly worded statement released by one of her people. Instead, she chose to defend Rush, and draw a fragile distinction between the him and Rahm. Sarah Palin is the mother of a child with Down Syndrome. I doubt she would have lost much with her supporters for upholding her principles regarding use of "retard." Unfortunately, she was so afraid of whatever Rush Limbaugh may say about her to defend him. If she had been willing to stand up to him, I think that would have been positive for her development as a politician. She took a truly cowardly position instead.
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