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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.

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.

r9etb wrote:
Then again, 3x5 notecards could just as easily be abused.

Not really. Not if we assume that the press conference is a legitimate event where reporters ask the questions independently (meaning the question is being heard for the first time at the press conference). If the question isn't known in advance, the 3x5 note card can't have the exact words of a prepared answer.

Obama doesn't do well when he goes 'off the script' in the teleprompter. When asked questions, he often gives more honest answers, which reveal his true position, well to the left of what polls well. The whole "spread the wealth around" comment to Joe the plumber is a famous example. Nobody preparing his remarks in the teleprompter would ever have written the phrase "spread the wealth around" into his script.

Now, if we had a team of writers preparing the 3x5 cards in the next room after they hear the question, and handing them to him to read, that would be the same as a teleprompter.

r9etb wrote:
Your underlying assumption here is that Obama has no words, knowledge, or opinion other than what would appear on his teleprompter

No, my assumption is that the teleprompter isn't just about telling him what he should say. It's also about avoiding saying things that he really wants to say, but his advisors and focus groups think he should hide.

He wants it for two reasons. First, he doesn't always want to show his real opinions and plans. That's what all the "uh, umm, " is about. It's him filtering out the things his advisors tell him he shouldn't say. And the other reason he wants the teleprompter is because all those "ummmm, err," and the stuttering are his "tell" (to use poker terminology). When he's stuttering and "ummmm, err," you know you aren't getting the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The teleprompter help him conceal things that he wants to conceal.