Friday, March 6, 2009
Barry / Politics Radio Fred: Torpidity You Can Believe In
Posted by Bruce Barry on Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 2:00 PM
On the air Fred mumbles and twangs his way through vast oversimplifications of policy, detouring at times into the absurdly tangential. Today he obsessed over Barack Obama's use of a teleprompter, which surely will bring down the republic. Even sillier was Fred's take on the pace of Obama administration staffing, which easily scores as our first (perhaps of many) Radio Fredism of the week: "They just appointed a FEMA head yesterday. Well, FEMA is important, but the weather may hold off a while."
Comments (8)
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What is the obsession with Mr. Obama's use of the teleprompter?! In giving a long speech, one either reads from cards/papers on the lectern or one reads from a teleprompter. Reagan used a teleprompter, too. So the right wing kooks accuse the left of acting like Obama is super-human, then they make fun of him for not being super-human. What is wrong with these people?!
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Obama should use one of the Jumbo Bright Prompters. Then this crazy news story will go away!
I think the obsession with Obama's use of the teleprompter stems from the fact that, without it, he goes from Oratio Silvertongue to Barry Mumblemouth. Here's a challenge for you -- on YouTube or elsewhere on the Internet, find video of those rare occasions where Reagan and Obama had to speak extemporaneously. You'll find that Reagan can still string a few sentences together, whereas Obama is -- dare I say it -- inarticulate.
Oh get real. When Obama speaks extemporaneously, he slows down a bit and tends to use "um" while he is thinking of the most cogent way to phrase things. The key here is that he's actually *thinking,* which is something the right-wingers aren't used to seeing. They prefer snappy bumper-sticker comebacks and one-liner talking points. So when someone actually pauses to *think,* they assume he must be dumb or something.
Obama's speaking style reminds me of Garrison Keillor. Slow, yes - deliberate, certainly. But inarticulate? Not so much.
Tom Riddle, you guys and your "Reagan this, Reagan that" B.S. Man, enough already. Reagan was a very good speaker, having a lot to do with his training as an actor. But Reagan is dead, he's not coming back, and his somewhat overrated presidency ended over twenty years ago.
Obama is also good without the teleprompter, if you watch his press conferences you will see. As Sean says, yes he does pause to think about the question, not just throw out some prefabricated jargon that often doesn't have anything to do with the question, a la Sara Palin. But he's forthright and honest and very intelligent sounding. So Fred Thompson, Phil Valentine, Sean Hannity, and El Rushbo himself can spend hours talking about Obama and his teleprompter. No body outside of the wing-nut base cares. And what's funny, these are the same guys who gushed over Palin and her speech she made at the Republican convention. A speech she didn't even write and read straight from a teleprompter.
Sean -- for all you know, Obama is slowing down and umming because he's trying desperately to remember HIS "snappy bumper-sticker comebacks and one-liner talking points." And yeah, I listened to Lake Wobegon this Sunday and counted 1,728 "ums" from Garrison Keillor.
Chris -- Reagan may be dead, but there are eternal verities that will not die no matter how many collectivist politicians try to stamp them out. And for all you know, Obama may not be pausing to consider the question, he may be trying desperately to remember HIS "prefabricated jargon."
It's been a year... and I don't hear Obummer
making speaches to the likes of Reagan..
Even Clinton made a great speach on camera... let me see.. something like... "I did not have sexual relations with that"... blah, blah, blah.
O'bummer will have prefabricated jargon... he just needs to learn how to memorize a bit more...
Now dont you all worry...
