Campaign notes: Obama's teleprompter on the road
Presidential candidate Barack Obama is now taking his teleprompter on the road...just when voters are demanding frank, unscripted answers in face of the current credit crisis.Obama’s teleprompter looked particularly out of place in Colorado as he addressed a crowd in a bull ring (yes, bull ring) yesterday in Pueblo, CO. The Obama campaign is haunted by the recent extemporaneous comments by the candidate. It’s taken a week Obama's off the cuff remark about lipstick on the pig to fade. His recent interviews have not gone well.Voter Confidence: The decision to curtail impromptu comments by the candidate could undermine confidence in some voters.The collapse of two of the five major investment banks and the large insurer AIG has rattled the country. Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has called the crisis a once in a lifetime event. Voters are evaluating what the two presidential candidates plan to do to stabilize the credit markets and stimulate the economy. They’re watching how the candidates demonstrate an inherent ability to handle crisis--- ‘grace under pressure.’Candidate's Confidence: Using a teleprompter’s for finely crafted speeches in a townhall setting or at campaign stops does not instill confidence, no matter how well the speech is written. It also undermines the candidate’s confidence to answer freely—this could be a problem in debates and interviews. In fact, it might have been the O’Reilly interview on Fox News, during the Republican convention, that convinced the Obama campaign to bring a teleprompter on the road. Obama tends to ruminate and deliberate before answering tough questions, showing a lack of forcefulness and conviction. Not healthy characteristics in the middle of a crisis.The Debates: The real problem is the debates. The more a candidate relies on prepared speeches, and worse, delivered with a teleprompter, the less prepared he or she will be in the throes of a nationally televised debate. So Obama may appear prepared and forceful reading from a teleprompter, but he may also find himself answering debate questions with memorized responses. Bottomline: A lack of knowledge or competence may peak through as debate moderators dig deeper for answers. As a one-term U.S. senator and his experience a campaign issue, that could be a deciding factor in the final weeks of the campaign, especially if the current crisis worsens.
