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No Teleprompters, No Gridiron Club Dinner

By pm317 on March 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM in Current Affairs

[Major H/T to our commenter lark -- her comment on LisaB's post on Obama hiding from Gridiron dinner next week, inspired this post.]

Obama won’t be appearing at the Gridiron Club dinner this year — only the second president in more than 150 years to miss this wonderful opportunity to schmooze with our fine class of journalists. But as we saw all through the campaign, the media whores need no schmoozing from their American idol. They have been Obama’s lapdogs all through the election season licking his stinky feet and continue to be.

Well, if that is one reason for Obama to skip the dinner next week, the other more important reason is what our commenter lark said. You can’t have a teleprompter prompting your jokes! But he had a teleprompter set up at a rodeo ring during the campaign, for heaven’s sake (see picture on the left) — could he not have set one up at the Gridiron? The media would have hidden it very well from the view of the gullible public by not talking about it. But then again, we pesky bloggers would have given you pictures like these which are worth a 1000 words.

What more can I say?

Oh, yes, no sense of humor, no Gridiron!

Anti-Harkonnen Freedom Fighter

Good point. Seeing his speech yesterday at the business roundtable pledging he’s all for “free markets” in the midst of 15 minutes of canned 100% Obama economy spin only reinforces the point – he’s gotta have that Teleprompter
candymarl

I think the real reason is that some, okay a few, journalists have begun to be critical of Obama.

Besides, Obama doesn’t need them anymore. They helped him get what he wanted. Now where did that bus go?
Texas Playwright

Another dumbass move by the fraud. Humorless, humanless man.
helenk

In the new economy the only businesses making any money are those who make teleprompters and the ibf things.
Why should he go to the gridiron dinner? he will not need the media whores until 2012 and since they have short memories they will forget the insult.
They can criticize him all they want now. He got the job and there is nothing anyone WILL do about it.

WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE, MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS

PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE
http://www.smashingtales.com quetzalcoatl

Hit ‘em with the do-dad!

http://www.smashingtales.com
Seattle Moss

Helenk

In the new economy the only businesses making any money are those who make teleprompters and the ibf things.

I also see a real increase in business for

Pitchforks
Torches
Wheelbarrows
Tents
http://www.marklevinshow.com/ Seattle Moss

the other more important reason is what our commenter lark said. You can’t have a teleprompter prompting your jokes!

I really enjoy Lark’s comments!
Babs

I see a real increase in the sales of ….TEA!!!
Kat5

This is my comment, as submitted to the NYTimes online caucus blog (can’t believe they actually included it):

Obama owes his seat in the Oval Office to the mainstream media which, instead of doing their jobs, for months on end acted as his unquestioning fan club and chief protector. Now comes the big, Gridiron white-tie dinner in Washington and lo! The media’s creation has snubbed his enablers. Obama’s sending in the second string guy in his stead, the equivalent of saying, “Sorry, guy’s, but I’d rather go bowling.” Talk about gratitude. And karma. Hah!
pm317

Good one, Kat. We need to keep talking about the media’s abdication of its responsibilities to the people for whom they serve.
linad

President teleprompter master of plagerism,yes he can
TeakwoodKite

Neat post PM317,

During the week he spent talking up the economy, which really came on strong Friday morning…(somebody put the foot down about shoveling the talking points) and Obama with his comment, ‘it was not as good/ not as bad” comment….reminds me of Dickens…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it ws the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.”

A Tale of Two Cities

which is set in the years leadin up to the French Revolution…go figure. The “blank slate” of BO requires the teleprompter because I do not believe BO has deep convictions about anything except what his ego dictates. There is no mnemonic activity going on in the gray matter between his ears.
pm317

Good quote, Teak. Seems to me like Obama is afraid of something. When will it all start to unravel?
Peggy Sue

I wish I believed that Obama was simply clueless or “gray matter” challenged. But when I read that on page 11 of the Obama’s budget is a pickup graph from two French socialists [Piketty and Saez], I think we can say the handwriting is on the wall.

I suspected early on that the election of 2008 wasn’t an election at all but a velvet coup.

People need to start waking up.
cynic

Obama’s daughters want to go back home to Chicago over their school’s spring break, which happens to coincide with the date of Gridiron. I suppose they figure since their dad is President, he can chose which is more important.

So, Daddy, which is it going to be?
http://noquarter foxyladi14

a well planned coup too…
beachnan

Yea cynic, and they just had to leave Friday night, and couldn’t possibly leave on Friday or Saturday. Or maybe the girls could have traveled with their Mother, and Obama, could have met up with them after the event. Presidents do make sacrifices, and families have to make sacrifices too. Or is that asking too much of our current leader?
beebop

I am stunned that they printed this criticism of 0mama. I can’t post there any more. I just figured that some of the huffypoo sheeple got onboarded on the boards. I can only post at WashingtonPost …
Elizabeth

I’m not sure exactly what is different between now and the Oct 2008 Al Smith Dinner where Obama got away with praising himself and laughing at his own scripted jokes, but the acute fear of social embarrassment and exhaustive work putting on a front that he’s actually normal must be part of the equation.
cynic

Whether or not Obama attends a Gridiron Club Dinner is pretty much irrelevant to me. Maybe they could just send his teleprompter as a stand in. That would save the Club the price of an additional meal.
pm317

I heard they were going to Camp David and not Chicago.
Ferd Berfle

I suppose they figure since their dad is President, he can chose which is more important.

That One and ~~supporters~~bots like you need to get over that “more important” bullshit of an excuse. He wanted this damn job and now it’s time to ante-up or get out. This is just more of the same crap from a useless, incompetent slacker who can’t walk and talk at the same time.
Animal Control

Ahhh, but, but, but youuu know…
Lyn

He was still running for office so he couldn’t skip that.
Sassy

Well, I’ll bet a (devalued) dollar that all these smug, narrow-minded gossips talk about BO behind his back!
They are saving all their juicy stuff until they can churn out books in the future!
imustprotest

LOL!
sybilll

He is in fact, going to Camp David. Sounds more like a working weekend to me. There is a narcissistic angle to everything he does. Can’t put my finger on the angle on this one, but, I think it is a giant diss that the media will not get their dance card stamped. Hell, they got him to the big dance.
Elizabeth

You’re right of course. Both he and McCain were under mutual obligation two weeks before election day. Although McCain requested a teleprompter at that event as well, the first ever to do so if I recall correctly…
cynic

It kinda lets some air out of the theory that Obama is primarily concerned with standing in the spotlight and pandering to the media, doesn’t it? I mean, he’s blowing off a major photo and televised news byte op and depriving Michelle of an opportunity to flaunt a new sleeveless designer dress, while simultaneously stiffing the people he wants to say nice things about him, isn’t he?
Lyn

Not really, since most of the people don’t say nice things about you, they make jokes about you or make fun of things you do. So it just shows he has very thin skin and can’t take any criticism.
I’m a Linda too

Oh, yes, no sense of humor, no Gridiron!

THAT’s IT!
http://AOL Diane

The obama deception
the last 30 min scare the hell out of me

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7886780711843120756
ACPD

Pathological liars have a difficult time in impromptu events. BO has demonstrated that already. When he has to pause so many times before he completes a sentence, it is an indication that he is running through his mind all the possible responses–probably trying to remember what angle he took the last time. He isn’t spontaneous or humorous, because he isn’t authentic or unguarded.

A person who isn’t trying to remember his lies and the current talking points, just speaks in a direct and fluid manner. This guy is a fraud and an actor. Without a teleprompter or script he doesn’t know what to say….

The media would have discovered this before he got into office, if they hadn’t feed him his lines and played along with the role. The Gridiron folks should just get one of their own to sit a dummy on his lap and do the event. That’s really closer to reality anyway….
John Locke

Obama didn’t have a teleprompter for any of the 3 debates, the broad consensus of which he won all 3. He didn’t have a teleprompter for the Friar’s Club dinner either.

Sorry, fail.
Outis

AHAHAHAHA!! Great one!
CaptainStormfield

The Gridiron dinner.. where the lofty and the priviliged to to hobknob.. Where Bush told his little joke about not being able to find weapons of mass destruction under the desk.. And the beltway elite
laughed..

Maybe Obama is sending them a signal.

I think your really digging here for something negative to print about Obama.
t quigly

I cannot stand listening to this man – people call him ‘eloquent’ because, in contrast to boosh, he can put 2 words together without stumbling over or mispronouncing at least one. But an ‘eloquent’ person can only be one who tells the truth – & obama has proven over and over that he’s a pathological liar.
Watched Alex Jones’ ‘Obama Deception’ (the Only time I’ve seen obama speak) – & every scene of him speechifying, he jerks his head from far right to far left then back again, never looking forward as he talks – far right & far left must be where they place the teleprompters. It was disconcerting to watch. So actually, he could be considered an even worse speaker than boosh. oh gawd, we’re screwed!
PMOB

WOW, THIS PLACE WORRIES ME. GET SOME SLEEP AND GET SOME EXERCISE. IT HELPS WITH DEMENTIA