Teleprompter v2

your pic was cute...the link was a bit insulting in my opinion...and you should note NSFW next to the link out of courtesy.

I don't understand the fascination with the teleprompter.  The teleprompter was not there when he decisively won each of the 3 debates with John McCain.  

The picture did make me laugh.

I think it plays into the mindset of the left defining Obama as a super intelligent, excellent speaker, etc... back in 2008.  So the right used the teleprompter as a weapon.  As in "Why would somebody who is such a great speaker need a teleprompter".

I think it's silly personally because I don't really care if somebody can speak well or not.  What I care about is what policies they're going to support and how they effect me.

On a side note about the debate performance last time around (which was good), I'm curious how he'll do this time around.  Not his ability to speak, but the substance of the debates and selling it to the voters.

Everyone has said something they regretted when they speak off the cuff. Not every time they speak (well, maybe Biden), and hopefully not even most of the time, but some of the time. And with a 24 hour news cycle, rapid partisanship, and the "scorched earth" approach that many now seem to take, I think teleprompters are a total non-issue.

I would hope that any actual policies a president would advocate have come about through careful discussion and consideration of the pros and cons. That the rationale for the policies need to be carefully laid out (e.g. no one should need to explicitly make a "don't kick kittens and puppies" policy) and therefore should be carefully stated. Which would require either a written statement issued from the office, or a statement read off a written surface - teleprompter, note paper, whatever.  I would hope if it is going to be of historical significance, it will have been practiced, so that the rhythms and cadences do not diminish what is said ("Ask not what your country can do for you..." or, in the bipartisan spirit "Mr. Gorbachev. Tear down this wall!").