THAT'S NOT A HORN, BUT A TELEPROMPTER MOUNT:

Teleprompting Obama (The Prowler, 8/21/2008, American Spectator)

According to several Democrat political consultants presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama spent part of his Hawaiian vacation working on weaning himself from a heavy dependence on teleprompters. Even in what are staged as "town hall" events for Obama, remarks are scripted or formatted into bullet points that scroll on teleprompter screens. Obama has had several embarrassing events where the teleprompter either malfunctioned or the screens were not fully visible.

"He just locks down and can't get the words out," says one political consultant. "For such a fine speaker, it's really quite remarkable that he's had issues."

Obama's troubles with unscripted moments contributed to his campaign's refusal to participate in town hall format debates or discussions with Sen. John McCain, who feels much more comfortable in the unscripted moments.

If speaking required thinking 95% of the Screen Actors' Guild would be out of work.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 21, 2008 7:07 AM