r9etb wrote:I kind of see your point, r9etb.
I don't think it's reasonable in a general sense to say that the use of notes is an indication of "not having a clue." I'm sure there have been times when you've used notes yourself
If he wants to bring some 3x5 cards with notes to the press conference, and when a reporter asks a question about health care, he flips to the card(s) with his major points on health care, that's one thing. So he looks down occasionally and checks his notes.
In that case, everyone knows what is going on. He's got notes to remind him so he remembers all of his main points.
But the worry with the teleprompter is that he's not actually the one answering the question. With a "dynamically updated" teleprompter, the answers he gives aren't his own words. They are the words of whoever is feeding the teleprompter. He becomes just a reader, a puppet for whoever is feeding him the information.
If he's so poor at answering questions, why bother holding press conferences. Just send out whoever is feeding the teleprompter and have them hold the press conference.
I've already said that, in Obama's case, there is every likelihood that a teleprompter could be abused. Then again, 3x5 notecards could just as easily be abused.
Your underlying assumption here is that Obama has no words, knowledge, or opinion other than what would appear on his teleprompter -- that he would just mindlessly (and flawlessly) read whatever words show up on the screen. Even for Obama, it's difficult to take that seriously.
It makes neither practical nor political sense to attempt that level of mind control. To be of any real use, this prompter would be limited to the display of one or two "mind-joggers," from which Obama would have to supply the bulk of his answer from his own mind, based on his own knowledge of the talking points behind it.