Why Can’t I Just Wing It?
President Barack Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne … – Yahoo! News Photos.
A few years ago when the Canadian Prime Minister Harper was first elected to office, a phalanx of reporters and camera crews followed him to his son’s school where Mr. Harper stiffly sent his son off with a formal handshake. The media in Canada, with it’s notable left bias painted this scene as proof of Mr. Harper’s cold personality and to reinforce why Canadians couldn’t warm up to him.
Contrast this to the present day in the United States where the current President is acclaimed to possess other earthly communications abilities and especially praised for his skills in oratory. There have been the odd criticisms of his use of teleprompters during all of his major speeches, but I suppose we can cut him some slack there because of the serious material involved. At least we know he’s a good reader.
It is amusing though, to see the picture above where the President is addressing a grade 6 classroom fully armed with teleprompters, looking as if he were addressing a throng of thousands. Notice the serious G man behind him at the podium. A number of possible conclusions can be drawn from this image. First, it’s possible that the message to be conveyed to the sixth graders is so complex that teleprompters are necessary to keep the message on track.
Secondly, it’s possible that he cannot even be called upon to give a simple speech to these kids with any spontaneity and therefore he relies on a canned deliverance.
Thirdly, the formerly appreciative audiences for his speeches, ie; voting adults, are indifferent to his messages and therefore he is now moving to influence a younger audience.
Fourthly, there is the possibility that the classroom setting is merely a prop for a speech and the kids are irrelevant.
If I was betting, I’d go with number 3.