Wikileaks is mad! Calls Obama an authoritarian!

[Generic Other]

73. I don't understand the criticism of teleprompters

I remember making fun of how Bush used them, completely unable to view a whole sentence without moving his head from left to right and sounding out the big words. It wasn't the teleprompter we found ridiculous in this case, it was the grade school like use of it!!

Obama has never done that; however some seem to think any use of the teleprompter is somehow suspect. That's stupid. People used to refer to notes to give speeches. Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on an envelope. No one would have criticized him for referring to his notes. Even reading off them verbatim. Or using cue cards. No one expects a politician to memorize every word of a speech or deliver an extemporaneous speech every time he opens his mouth. They are not actors. So why criticize teleprompters? It makes no sense. When Obama reads off a teleprompter, he clearly takes in whole sentences and delivers them without the gaffes Bush used to entertain us making. There's a reason we laughingly refer to Bush as the "misunderstimator" or the "edjumacation" president.

Do we expect presidents to give speeches like they were delivering lines in plays? Can't we just accept that these are their official words written after thought and revision and delivered live? Honestly. It is a stupid thing to criticize.