Obama Teleprompter Obsession (OTO)

What's with this teleprompter obsession among Obama's critics? And is it treatable?

It's rolling again this morning after Obama used a TV monitor that scrolled the words of his opening statement at last night's press conference. AP's Ron Fournier calls it his "familiar crutch." 

U.S. News' Robert Schlesinger counters that it's receiving a disproportionate amount of attention. Amen.

Google News yields several pieces focused on the great debate.

Of course, this is all supposed to fit into a pair of "narratives"-- that Obama is so cool and detached that he can't speak from the heart and that he's really not as great as advertised when it comes to speaking. The liberal media built him up, but the truth is he's a big faker.

Still, snark and paranoia aside, who the hell in his position, at this point in history, wouldn't want to choose his words carefully and stick with them? He also answer about an hour's worth of questions without a net. 

Back in September, Republicans couldn't heap enough praise on Sarah Palin's fiery, emotional, hard-hitting speech at the Republican National Convention.

I was there. Which meant I could read the speech along with her on the giant teleprompter screen in front of her. It even offered her a pronunciation-guide spelling  for the word "nuclear," so she wouldn't pull a W.  

What's the big deal? Politicians use teleprompters, which the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder notes is harder than it looks.

Even Moses had tablets to read from. Big stone ones. Easy to read.