Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Obama gives another great speech (Updated)

This thing with Obama and his teleprompter ...
WASHINGTON – Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given.
Oops! Seems Cowen started reading Obama's speech. But that's not the best part. Cowen backed up and let Obama know that it was his speech on the teleprompter. The president took over from there ...
Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over.
Best case scenario: Obama noticed what was going on and thanked himself as a joke.

But I want to see the video.


Update:

The Times (UK) version makes it look worse than the best case scenario for President Obama:

Although used for more than half a century, the device was previously employed mainly for set-piece speeches. The current President, however, often uses them for making small introductory statements at the beginning of press conferences.

On this occasion, as a laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium, the script was belatedly switched over to the Taoiseach's text – leaving Mr Obama inadvertently thanking himself for inviting everyone, to further laughter. "First, I'd like to say thank you to President Obama!" the President said.

I'd have taken an account in the U.S. press to task for "inadvertently"--a bit of an editorial judgment--but that sort of thing is pretty much standard in the European press. Dog bites man.

Still want to see the video.

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