Mar 9, 2009

Obama safety net: the teleprompter

President Barack Obama doesn’t go anywhere without his teleprompter.

The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president’s prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks.

Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches in the White House’s stately parlors.

They stood next to him on the floor of a manufacturing plant in Indiana as he pitched his economic stimulus plan.

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.

No other president has used a teleprompter so consistently and at so many events, large and small.



Photo above shows Barack Obama using his ever-present teleprompter during an outdoor speech.

Mr. Obama has relied on a teleprompter even when giving the shortest announcements. He also uses a teleprompter when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months.

Past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.

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