By David Galland in Casey's Daily Dispatch:

...having once been “in the business” of organizing grand speeches, I can attest to the fact that the president is, indeed, a master at using the teleprompter, never failing to match the appropriate emotional emphasis to the words as they scroll by. George W. Bush, by comparison, was hopeless, and it showed in an unending stream of entirely inappropriate smirks, shrugs, and other sorts of onstage jerking about.

But is the use of a teleprompter damnable? I think not. In this era of constant scrutiny, it seems entirely understandable that the president would want to stick with carefully scripted words… versus, say, words scrawled on the palm of his hand.

As such, his reliance on the teleprompter doesn’t concern me at all – though the actual words very much do.

... a point I think should be obvious to those among you who would like to see a Republican unseat the Great One in the next presidential election. And that point is this: if after all of the media she has had to deal with, and all the appearances she has made, she still can’t handle a speech without referring to her hand to recall such simple notions as “Energy,” “Tax,” “Lift American Spirits,” and “Budget Cuts” – and given the long reel of her past snafus and misstatements – why on earth would anyone even consider pushing her forward for a presidential run?

Frankly, I think [anyone] who has chastised Ms. Palin for using her own “challenged” version of a Palm Pilot (apparently, saying retarded is no longer acceptable), have done the Republicans a great favor, because the sooner she exits the stage, the sooner a credible candidate can come forward.

Sarah Palin may have certain charms and may even be philosophically sound in many things, but she’s no Ronald Reagan.

And what this country needs right now is someone who can outtalk, and outsmart, the president – and I don’t think Palin has him on either count.

Crux Note: Each day in Casey's Daily Dispatch, David Galland brings you an informative and entertaining overview of the markets, the economy, and politics... all from his unique and often contrarian perspective. Casey's Daily Dispatch is absolutely FREE and comes right to your inbox, five times a week. To sign up, click here...

 

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