Pres. Obama and the Teleprompter

Michael Gerson has an interesting article at townhall.com arguing that the use of the teleprompter by Pres. Obama is not a bad thing. The teleprompter is just a tool. The point is that really great writing is really great writing no matter whether delivered from memory or a teleprompter. Mr. Gerson even uses two of my favorite speakers as examples, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, both of whom were known to edit and re-edit their speeches, even to the point of near-memorization.

I would agree with Mr. Gerson's premise. I would agree that a great speech would be a great speech with or without a teleprompter. I dare say Lincoln and Churchill would have been great speakers in any age because they certainly could construct and convey ideas, ideals and principles in truly wonderful and inspiring ways. They took the time to craft their speeches. I would also say that great speeches are given in these modern times, and aided by a teleprompter. As those who read this blog regularly will know (thanks Mom) I am LDS, Latter-Day Saint or "Mormon." The LDS General Conference is coming up soon and the speakers will all use a teleprompter. They will also deliver some wonderful and inspiring words.

The problem I have with Mr. Gerson's article is not the premise, it is the conclusion. Pres. Obama is not a great speaker. He sounds polished and can deliver a speech well, but he has no substance. The "great speeches" he has delivered have not provided anything but great theatre. The only ideas I associate with Pres. Obama (after all his "great speeches") are hope and change, and his first months in office have soured those ideas. The teleprompter is a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is that Pres. Obama's speeches are flowery and vacuous. The great speeches of Lincoln and Churchill, the ones they tenderly and tenaciously crafted, contained great ideas and great substance. I cannot help but get the impression that Pres. Obama does use the teleprompter as a "crutch," not to avoid having to memorize the entire speech but to avoid having to spend too much time preparing it. I get the impression Pres. Obama thinks he could read the phone book off the teleprompter and his audience would be enraptured (which is probably, unfortunately true). At least Mr. Gerson and I agree on one thing: use of the teleprompter is not Pres. Obama's weakness.