Governing is not campaigning, and, as a former first-term senator, Obama has not held a previous elected position where his words carried even close to this level of influence. And overall he sounded hesitant and halting as he spoke from the prepared remarks on the podium.Īs president, the stakes in what he says are higher. In a break from his routine, Obama did not use a teleprompter during his pre-Inauguration speech at a factory in Bedford Heights, Ohio - and his delivery seemed to suffer. He brought it to county fairs and campaign rallies alike - and once had it set up in the ring at a rodeo. It was a mainstay during the final months of his campaign. Obama has never tried to hide his use of a teleprompter. This is not always true of the media," said Bill Burton, deputy press secretary. "Whether one uses note cards or a teleprompter, the American people are a lot more concerned about the plans relayed than the method of delivery. The White House says Obama’s point of reference is insignificant. When speaking from notes, Fleischer said, the president can pick up his head and make eye contact with those in the audience, as opposed to focusing on the teleprompter to his left and right.īush, Fleischer added, “would use the teleprompter for his major big events, but when he would travel around the country or do events, he would almost always work off of large index cards.” “It removes you from the audience in the room,” Fleischer said. Bush, said while it’s entirely a matter of personal style, using a teleprompter at these smaller events has its drawbacks. Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months - whereas past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.Īri Fleischer, a former spokesman for George W. “Kathy,” Obama said, turning the podium over to Sebelius, who waited at the microphone for an awkward few seconds while the teleprompters were lowered to the floor and the television cameras rolled. Kathleen Sebelius as his choice for Health and Human Services secretary. The president’s teleprompter also elicited some uncomfortable laughter after he announced Kansas Gov. Gary Locke stepped to the podium and pulled out a piece of paper for reference. The president spoke from a teleprompter in the ornate Indian Treaty Room for a few minutes. Just how much of a crutch the teleprompter has become for Obama was on sharp display during his latest commerce secretary announcement. In a way, it stands in the middle between the audience and the president because his eye is on the teleprompter.” “It’s just something presidents haven’t done,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, a presidential historian who has held court in the White House since December 1975.
And it is a startling sight to see such sleek, modern technology set against the mahogany doors and Bohemian crystal chandeliers in the East Room or the marble columns of the Grand Foyer.
His use of the teleprompter makes work tricky for the television crews and photographers trying to capture an image of the president announcing a new Cabinet secretary or housing plan without a pane of glass blocking his face. Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual - not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small.Īfter the teleprompter malfunctioned a few times last summer and Obama delivered some less-than-soaring speeches, reports surfaced that he was training to wean himself off of the device while on vacation in Hawaii. They traveled to the Department of Transportation this week and were in the Capitol Rotunda last month when he paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln in six-minute prepared remarks. They stood next to him on the floor of a manufacturing plant in Indiana as he pitched his economic stimulus plan. Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches in the White House’s stately parlors.