Mondale: Obama needs to ditch the "Idiot Boards" Teleprompters - Prevent him connecting with voters

[RamboLiberal]

Former Vice President Walter Mondale said on CNN that President Obama relies too much on a teleprompter -- which Mondale called "idiot boards" when speaking to the American people.

In a discussion of whether Obama projects empathy in his speeches, the 82 year-old Mondale said the president "has got to connect with the American people." When CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked why Obama has not projected more empathy, Mondale answered, "I've seen places where he's done it. The Milwaukee speech, I thought was terrific. I think some of these backyard events are terrific. But I think he -- he's very bright -- as a matter of fact, brilliant. And I think he tends to -- and he uses these idiot boards to read speeches on television and I think he loses the connection that he needs emotionally with American voters."

"You're talking about the teleprompters that he always has when he's delivering a formal speech?" Blitzer asked.

"Yes, right," Mondale said.


Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Mondale-Obamas-teleprompters-are-idiot-boards-keep-him-from-connecting-with-audiences-104306374.html#ixzz11Qhfn8h0

[Thrill]

1. Mondale certainly knows how to connect to voters

lol

[karynnj]

9. My first reaction too - his race was a landslide

I think he was a good liberal, just as Humphrey was, but reaching people - not so much. Of the Democratic races, the only person who seem less able to was Gore (who oddly was good doing so as a climate change action advocate) and the 1980 Carter, who promised - unwisely not to campaign while people were held hostage.

Not to mention, the Obama is dependent on a teleprompter is a RW meme - and it is easily disproven by the many excellent informal Q & As, even before the Republican caucus.

[stevenleser]

47. What an idiotic thing to release publicly. If he had advice, he could have made a call

I am sure a former Democratic Vice President could have gotten at least the Chief of staff on the line if not Obama himself.

[Mass]

11. +1

[Doremus]

2. Yeah, so much better to look down all the time reading from the paper script.

Or is he suggesting Obama should memorize 10 or 15 minutes of dialogue?

[CakeGrrl]

3. How to connect with voters - from the guy who LOST 49 states in the GE

:rofl:

[Drunken Irishman]

17. From the guy who told the American people he'd raise their taxes...

[Dr.Phool]

76. What? An honest politician?

He lost for telling the truth, and they got raised anyway.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Mondale is a fool.

There is a time to use teleprompters and a time not to.

Mondale is probably taking a nap or already gone to bed at night when the President is on the news.

[jaxx]

5. It's sad when an old timer can't keep up with technology.

;-)

[Jennicut]

24. Yup...man is he old, at least acting old.

[Dr.Phool]

77. It's sad that they have everything scripted.

There's no humanity involved.

I read Tip O'Neills book "All Politics is Local", several years ago. He said, "Never read from a prepared speech". At worst, memorize it. One woman told him, "If you can't remember your speech, why would you expect me to"?

A lot of wisdom in that book.

[dennis4868]

6. Obama does not use....

teleprompters anymore than any other recent US president....Bush, Clinton, Daddy Bush and Reagan used them! Spineless dems always fall for the fake repub outrage of the week....as a matter of fact, Obama went into the lions den last year at the repub annual policy meeting in Baltimore and knocked the shit out of the repubs....he does alot of town hall meetings with no teleprompters...SO WHAT THE FUCK IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

80. Easy. The brilliance of the Right Wing is that they take an opponent's greatest strength--

in this case Obama's speaking prowess, and turn it into something bad or a liability. For them, he only speaks well because there's a teleprompter.

Haven't we got it, yet? This was KKKarl Rove's greatest strategies.

Take your opponent's weakness (e.g., Al Gore's intellengence, John Kerry's war service) and turn it into a liability, especially if your candidate lacks those qualities.

Another good example: remember how the righties, aided by the M$M, pushed the meme that Obama lacked substance. He's a rockstar, according to them. All he knows how to do is give a good speech.

Well, look at their candidate, Mrs. Palin. Everything that they accused Obama of being, they projected onto him through Sarah Palin.

Media attention? I can't get through the fucking day without another Sarah Palin story, even though she lost the election BIG TIME.

Rock star? The Republicans only need her for one thing and one thing only: to rally the troops, generate large audiences at their functions, and push their talking points. Remember how Obama was "the puppet" or the "Manchurian Candidate"? No, in reality, it really was Sarah Palin.

The Republicans have profected the art of projection! They are brilliant at it!

[Pirate Smile]

7. So, he should read his speeches off of note cards OR he could spend huge amounts of time memorizing

them. I'm sure he has nothing else to do.

Democrats need to stop reinforcing idiotic RW talking points and defend the President instead.

[Drunken Irishman]

16. Off his hand!

[ProSense]

8. Some stories just make you laugh

Mondale? Sometimes some statements should just be ignored. He said it on CNN and, of course, Politico jumps on it. Here's the update

UPDATE: Mondale will be introducing Vice President Joe Biden at a rally for Mark Dayton tomorrow in St. Paul, Minnesota. Teleprompters will be present, a source said.

:rofl:

[Warren Stupidity]

10. We should always cave in to rightwing idiocy

it is all our party knows how to do well.

[Demoiselle]

12. Fritz, I love you, but please, please hush. (nt)

[FrenchieCat]

13. Hey...that took place during the 3 minutes I watch CNN a few minutes ago.....

Wolf also asked about Teabaggers (because of course, the One Nation Rally didn't happen), and asked Mondale about these folks protesting. Mondale said that people are angry, and have a right to be....but that he didn't like the rancor and divisiness. The whole time, Teabaggers were featured.
Mondale seemed out of touch. Probably why he was invited to "share" his views exactly because of what his views were gonna be.

[JoePhilly]

14. Mondale just explained why he got spanked.

Mondale never got the chance to use teleprompters as President.

Dope.

[Drunken Irishman]

15. No one should ever take election tips from Walter Mondale.

[jpgray]

18. Did I seriously just read a thread of vituperative hatred for Walter Mondale?

Decent senator, first VP to actually do things, chose Ferraro as his running mate, and he's suddenly a piece of shit? No need to erect an equestrian statue or anything, but Christ. Why the hate?

[Drunken Irishman]

19. I'm not even sure you read the thread...

Where did people call him a piece of shit?

His comment was stupid. He should be called out for it.

[awoke_in_2003]

49. "He should be called out for it"...

but a lot of people here are not for accountability for democratic politicians.

[Teaser]

23. He's said something stupid.

People jump on stupid statements. This is the interwebz.

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dflprincess]

50. And he stepped up for us when Wellstone was killed

He was happily retired but agreed to run. I was at the Central Committee meeting when we endoresed him - it was not an easy night for anyone, including Walter & Joan Mondale. Had there been time for those who had filed absentee to vote again and had the media not turned Coleman into the victim after the memorial service, he would have won that election.

Mondale is an FDR/Humphrey liberal - the type of Democrat who is considered "fringe" by the "new Democrats" and he dared to question how Obama does something - of course he's going to be called names.

The fact is, Obama doesn't need to drop the teleprompter as much as he needs to learn how to use it better so he doesn't come off so stiff when he's reading from one.

[Arkana]

56. Cause he said something jaw-droppingly retarded, maybe?

[niceypoo]

73. You have no clue what Mondale was refering to, do you?

Having no point of reference will definitely make people jump to conclusions.

[Arkana]

81. Looked to me like he was buying the RW crap

about Obama using *gasp* teleprompters.

[niceypoo]

84. I had same initial reaction

[Phx_Dem]

20. ROFLMAO!! Because Mondale knows how to connect with voters!

I remember when he ran for President and got huge crowds of people kinda like Obama did in Portland. Not.

:rofl:

[AspenRose]

21. Is he serious?

Really?!

:wow:

Jimmy Carter needs to give this guy a call and tell him what's up!

[cliffordu]

22. If mondale would have had the same prompters, he might been a contenda...

Jealous...just jaleous...

[niceypoo]

52. He is obviously refering to Jimmy Carter, who didn't use prepared speeches

Carter made his speeches from notes, not prepared text. A lot of ignorant responses in this thread.

[Born_A_Truman]

25. You can view his commercials

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984

Good website to watch each side's commercials.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Shaddup, Fritz

:dunce:

[depakid]

27. Now let's all turn and pile onto Fritz!

rather than consider what he has to say.

:rofl:

One of Clinton's best speeches was delivered as suggested (although not intentionally).

Most of the pile on's are probably too young to remember, so here's an excerpt about it:

Oh yes, typical Clinton speech fest, where several people had concocted a bunch of drafts and worked all night and tried to get it just right, and with him, the editing process goes all the way 'til he's on the podium. And he will be riding in the car, going over there, with his left hand changing things.

And so when he got there, George Stephanopoulos, David Dreyer and I were with him, and I had printed copies of the speech. David Dreyer had the disk that it was on. So I went over to go make copies so that the members of Congress could have the printed copy of the last draft, which was a close approximation. And then Dreyer went and had them load it into the teleprompter. Unbeknownst to us, the teleprompter operators needed something to practice with, so that they could make sure that the screens were at the right height, so they loaded in last year's economic speech.

So the president gets up there, and he looks out at the screen and he sees it says, "William Jefferson Clinton"--we'd always put a heading on it--"William Jefferson Clinton, Address to Joint Session of Congress, A New Beginning for the American Economy." And he turns to Gore and he says, "Al, they've got the wrong speech up there." Gore says, "No, no, that's not possible." So Gore kind of looks down so he can see, and--so Gore calls George over and tells him, and they go through holy hell to try to find the speech.

Afterwards I asked Clinton, "What was going through your mind? I've got to know." First I went and apologized. I had played a role in that. I was terribly sorry. I wanted to make sure he knew that I felt responsible for it. He was utterly forgiving, not at all angry, and I said, "What did it feel like? What was going through your mind?" And he said, "Well, I stood up there, I saw it was the wrong speech, and I thought, "Well, Lord, I guess you're testing me. Okay, here goes." And with brimming self-confidence--now we had given him a backup text, but it was too small for him to read without his glasses. We had taken his glasses out of his pocket so there wouldn't be an unsightly bulge for the TV cameras.

So the poor guy is up there alone and naked on the most complex public policy issue, a fairly complex bill, and he went the first nine minutes without a note, and nobody could tell. It was phenomenal. Worse than that, the teleprompter screens are whizzing forward and backwards with last year's speech, trying to find it, and finally, they killed it all together and reloaded it. Nine minutes the guy went without a note, and no one could tell. It was a phenomenal--it's part of the Clinton legend.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/anecdotes/

While some of us may not have approved of Clinton's policies, one thing the guy could do is connect with people. He had the empathy thing down pat.

A little more of that in these troubled times for America can't be a bad thing, can it?

[ClarkUSA]

30. Bubba sure knew how to "connect with people" alright... especially if they were nubile females.

:rofl:

[depakid]

32. Sometimes, that's part of the bargain...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-C39xrAQUGM/SsliLeRCnVI/AAAAAAAABLA/khVCN2W-TCo/s320/kennedy+monroe.jpg

(Of course, there's no accounting for taste).

[ClarkUSA]

36. What "bargain"? I'm glad President Obama isn't one to "bargain" with his marriage vows.

President Clinton's style of talking is reminiscent of a particularly good used car salesman. His oratory skills don't compare favorably to President Obama's at all. For example, Bubba's rambling four-hour long 1988 convention speech was a real groaner and a joke in Democratic circles for years.

[ProSense]

33. Yeah,

he connected to people in 2008.

You can't be seriously suggesting that Clinton is better at connecting to people than President Obama, who got 25 million votes more than Clinton in his first term and has never reached Clinton's low 37 approval rating.

This is simply kneejerk to try to justify a stupid comment by Mondale.

[depakid]

34. This isn't 2008

though since it's pointless to attempt a reasoned discussion about rhetorical styles, let just leave it at that.

[ProSense]

35. Is it 1998?

Speaking of pointless.

[saracat]

46. Obama HAS been criticized by many for lacking empathy a. Mondale

is just looking for a reason. Big Deal. He also says a great many nice things about the President.Funny how some are ignoring that and concentrating on what Mondale hoped was a constructive remark. The ageism displayed in some comments is despicable.

And despite election numbers, Clinton and Obama cannot be compared as speech makers. Clinton "felt our pain". Obama intellectualizes.The GOP fear Clinton to this day. The meme of his era was to try and prevent him from speaking to the people because he always turned them around. The public forgave him for anything , including impeachment.

[treestar]

62. I can hardly believe there are attempts to justify the comment!

Come to think of it, there's aren't, just complaints we are "piling on" the poor old man!

[azmouse]

66. Because it was an insult to Obama, they will find a way to justify it.

They love seeing President Obama insulted and it doesn't matter who says the insult.

[treestar]

61. Obama is even better at it

Way better than old Fritzie.

Obama won the election and became the President. Not so Fritzie.

[Onlooker]

28. Mondale's point is a good one

When Obama talks impromptu he's a great speaker. Look at how he handled the House Republicans when he took Q&As at their meeting a year or so ago. He's great at town hall's too. He certainly does an excellent job giving formal speeches, but when he speaks from the heart, he's one of the truly great speakers.

[DeeDeeNY]

29. Blitzer had to question 82-year old Mondale?

Is that the best he could do? I guess Dukakis was busy.

[zulchzulu]

31. Mondale's political advice is akin to paying $200 to see a Carrot Top show n/t

[ecstatic]

37. Teleprompter use was never a problem before

Now that Obama is in office, suddenly everyone is concerned. Gee, I wonder why? :eyes:

[Mimosa]

38. Why trash Mondale?

Actually when I was watching Obama on video speaking in a classroom, he does have a habit of saying 'ummm' and 'uhhh' excessively. He needs to work on that. I suspect the 'ummms' and 'uhhhs' are why Obama does rely on a teleprompter.

[AngryAmish]

39. He has a point (to a point)

Notwithstanding the ill-chosen words...


I speak in public a lot as part of my job. You can write out a speech completely or work on a speech to the point where you know the material and just need an outline.

Speaking from an outline is just more natural and sounds better. If one is reading a speech verbatim one tends to get sing-songy and you lose the natural cadence. Verbatim reading is a crutch and just gets in the way. You spend too much time reading, not enough eye contact with the audience.

All that said, I give many times fewer speeches than the President. It takes a lot of work to remember all the talking points in an outline. I get why he uses a teleprompter.

[Arkana]

57. Every President since Kennedy has used a teleprompter to deliver speeches.

I fail to see why Obama is not allowed to do so as well.

[saltpoint]

40. Preferred Hart to Mondale in their primary matchup.

Still do.

[Arkana]

58. Wasn't it the SuperDs who put Mondale over the top for the nomination?

[saltpoint]

83. Significantly, yes -- Mondale held that inside track in

the race and never really relinquished it.

There were some strongly-worded remarks on that convention floor, is my guess.

I just personally prefered the range in Hart over Mondale.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ensho]

42. what is he talking about? seldom is there Idiot Boards" Teleprompters

I don't see them???

[speppin]

43. they are in his contacts.

:evilgrin:

[ensho]

48. lol good one

nt

[bvar22]

44. Time for the Two Minutes of HATE on another great Liberal.

sigh

[ClarkUSA]

45. Um, no. People are incredulous and responding to Mondale's baseless and asinine comment.

Quote any "HATE"-filled replies directed at Mondale on this thread. I doubt you can, because there aren't any.

Mondale said something stupid and people are mocking the man because of his arrogance. He was possibly the worst Democratic presidential candidate in postmodern history and he thinks he can give President Obama tips on how to "connect to people"???

:rofl:

Mondale personified "stiff as a board" when he ran for president and lost in a landslide. He's the second-to-last person who Team Obama would take campaigning advice from. Mark Penn is the last.

[speppin]

54. with a liberal dose of name calling and agist responses.

[ClarkUSA]

65. That's your opinion. Those who responded may feel they are being factually descriptive.

[speppin]

78. ah yes, thanks for your opinion.

[treestar]

60. Great liberals do not use RW talking points against a Dem President

Nor do they give unsolicited, stupid advice.

[azmouse]

67. +1

:thumbsup:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

51. I respect Mondale

but that is just stupid IMHO and makes him sound like a Fox News "tool". Teleprompters were never an "issue" with any recent Presidents (or any for that matter AFAIK) and I don't understand why they have been an "issue" with President Obama. I consider myself to be above average in terms of intelligence and I can't for the life of me understand why some people think it's an "issue". It seems pretty stupid and petty to me, especially since we've all seen Obama "connect" just fine with people with OR without a teleprompter. His Q & A with the Republicans at their Winter Retreat wasn't scripted, was it? Does he have his teleprompter with him during town hall meetings?

:wtf:

:shrug:

[azmouse]

68. It's the RW strategy of going after the strengths of the opponent.

boosh couldn't string two coherent sentences together so Obama has to be attacked on his ability to give a great speech.
It's sad to see a Dem pull the same shit.

[young but wise]

53. "Obama not connecting with voters."

This has got to be the most funniest shit that I've read all day.:rofl:

He had to connect with somebody because he is President.

[Arkana]

55. Yeah, I remember with much fondness the Mondale presidency.

Oh, wait...

This is absolutely fucking stupid and anyone attacking the President for using a teleprompter needs to be dope-slapped, D or R.

[treestar]

59. that's like a high school kid giving medical advice to a doctor

Ridiculous. Further he must not be paying much attention. Town halls, rallies, Obama connects well with voters.

And I don't see that he uses the teleprompter any more than any other politician.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

63. He Should Have Given The Advice In Private

He is a good and decent man, an "Old Democrat" if you will. I supported Hart in 84 but nobody was beating Reagan that year.

[mcollins]

64. with friends like these. nt

[Blasphemer]

69. He called the President brilliant and had some very mild criticism for him...

I don't even know that it can truly be called "critical." Hardly anything worth getting up in arms over. Anyone who believes that Mr. Mondale's criticism can be equated to anything said or done by the right wing has been living in a capsule somewhere for the past 20 years. Anyone who lived through the Clinton administration knows what an attack on a President REALLY is.

If one ever wonders why the country and it's people became what it did post 9/11 and why criticism of a President became a reason to turn people into outcasts for having the gall to share an opinion, they need only visit this site and check out a thread such as this one. The idea that such a thing is only a right wing phenomena is clearly untrue.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

75. No, Mondale and the rest of the Dems need to get it through their skulls that the media is not on

our side.

Out of his whole interview, what gets a headline? This.

That this would happen should have been obvious and Dems need to stop walking into these traps.

[Kweli4Real]

70. Today, Tele-prompters ...

Tomorrow, his penchant for wearing ties that are shades of purple ... when he is wearing a tie.

[AtomicKitten]

71. As if other politicians don't use them! This was never an issue til Pres Obama came along. nt

[SemiCharmedQuark]

74. Yeah ok. I stood crammed with thousands of other people in Madison last week who thought Obama

did just fine "connecting".

I am sick of people saying "the American people" when what they really mean is one specific group of Americans.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

79. Taking advice from a loser who got his ass kicked up and down the street vs.

A winner who won in a major landslide victory?

No, thanks Walter. When you start winning campaigns, then maybe...just maybe we'll take your advice...

[txlibdem]

82. I never liked Walter Mondale - but I wish that we had more Repubs like him

He was not a demagogue nor a right wing wacko. It just sounds to me like Mr. Mondale is suggesting that Pres. Obama engage the public like he did during the campaign, talking from the heart, no script. That ability to be both convincing and exceptionally knowledgeable is Obama's gift.

[Odin2005]

85. Walter must be going senile.

[BlueIris]

86. Obama without a teleprompter.

Never happen.

Neither will Obama "projecting empathy." I've seen a lot of things from this man but empathy isn't one of them.