Obama can't do a town hall meeting...he needs his teleprompter so he can
Posted By: peanut on 2008-09-24
In Reply to: On a level playing field that would be correct... - sam
remember what to say on that given day.
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Obama does not want a town hall...
anywhere because he has difficulty thinking on his feet. Town halls are two unstructured. He would be more likely to say what he really thinks instead of what has been rehearsed and talking points...and believe me that is the LAST thing his campaign wants.
I don't believe Obama doesn't want town hall meetings....
because of the format...not to snub any particular town. He does not do when the questions are not scripted. No one knows what is going to be asked at a town hall meeting, and they are asked by regular folks, not paid commentators. Not enough control to suit Mr. Obama. I don't blame him. He doesn't have the experience to handle one, he would come off looking bad and he knows it. Politics 101. You would think, though, as much as he talks about hope and change and the people, he wouldn't mind answering a few questions from the people...?
Town hall meetings
Did Bush have town hall meetings with Gore? Kerry? Clinton with HW Bush? Dole? Reagan with Mondale? what's the big deal here? Aren'tthe nationally televised debates enough. Just because he declined town hall meetings with McCain does not in any way mean he "snubbed" New Orleans. Ridiculous. This is a non-issue.
Yep...and today he is holding a town hall in France...
yukking it up with Europe as his own country circles the drain....pittiiiffullll.
Obama needs a teleprompter
and he is running for pres. Once again....the argument people try to use against Palin can usually be said about B.O. but that is okay because it is Barry Obama. All hail uhhhbama.
SAY NO TO B.O.!
That's why Obama called for a meeting with McCain....(sm)
Obama is going to have to *waterboard* that info out of him....ROFL....
Yeah, I often amuse myself.
In White House Meeting -- Obama muddied the waters. sm
Who really derailed the Thursday meeting?? It's coming out on the Internet now, See below.... ***Edited by Moderator***
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/09/26/in-wh-meeting-obama-muddied-waters/
Joint Chiefs Chairman "Very Positive" After Meeting with Obama
Joint Chiefs Chairman 'Very Positive' After Meeting With Obama
-
By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 30, 2008; A01
Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went unarmed into his first meeting with the new commander in chief -- no aides, no PowerPoint presentation, no briefing books. Summoned nine days ago to President-elect Barack Obama's Chicago transition office, Mullen showed up with just a pad, a pen and a desire to take the measure of his incoming boss.
There was little talk of exiting Iraq or beefing up the U.S. force in Afghanistan; the one-on-one, 45-minute conversation ranged from the personal to the philosophical. Mullen came away with what he wanted: a view of the next president as a non-ideological pragmatist who was willing to both listen and lead. After the meeting, the chairman "felt very good, very positive," according to Mullen spokesman Capt. John Kirby.
As Obama prepares to announce his national security team tomorrow, he faces a military that has long mistrusted Democrats and is particularly wary of a young, intellectual leader with no experience in uniform, who once called Iraq a "dumb" war. Military leaders have all heard his pledge to withdraw most combat forces from Iraq within 16 months -- sooner than commanders on the ground have recommended -- and his implied criticism of the Afghanistan war effort during the Bush administration.
But so far, Obama appears to be going out of his way to reassure them that he will do nothing rash and will seek their advice, even while making clear that he may not always take it. He has demonstrated an ability to speak the lingo, talk about "mission plans" and "tasking," and to differentiate between strategy and tactics, a distinction Republican nominee John McCain accused him of misunderstanding during the campaign.
Obama has been careful to separate his criticism of Bush policy from his praise of the military's valor and performance, while Michelle Obama's public expressions of concern for military families have gone over well. But most important, according to several senior officers and civilian Pentagon officials who would speak about their incoming leader only on the condition of anonymity, is the expectation of renewed respect for the chain of command and greater realism about U.S. military goals and capabilities, which many found lacking during the Bush years.
"Open and serious debate versus ideological certitude will be a great relief to the military leaders," said retired Maj. Gen. William L. Nash of the Council on Foreign Relations. Senior officers are aware that few in their ranks voiced misgivings over the Iraq war, but they counter that they were not encouraged to do so by the Bush White House or the Pentagon under Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"The joke was that when you leave a meeting, everybody is supposed to drink the Kool-Aid," Nash said. "In the Bush administration, you had to drink the Kool-Aid before you got to go to the meeting."
Obama's expected retention of Robert M. Gates as defense secretary and expected appointment of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser have been greeted with relief at the Pentagon.
Clinton is respected at the Pentagon and is considered a defense moderate, at times bordering on hawkish. Through her membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee -- sought early in her congressional career to add gravitas to her presidential aspirations -- she has developed close ties with senior military figures.
Some in the military are suspicious of "flagpole" officers such as Jones, whose assignments included Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, Marine commandant and other headquarters service, and who grew up in France and is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. But Jones also saw combat in Vietnam and served in Bosnia.
"His reputation is pretty good," one Pentagon official said. "He's savvy about Washington, worked the Hill," and at a lean 6-foot-4, the former Georgetown basketball player "looks great in a suit."
Although Jones occasionally and privately briefed candidate Obama on foreign policy matters -- on Afghanistan, in particular, as did current deputy NATO commander Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry -- he is not considered an intimate of the president-elect.
But as Obama's closest national security adviser, or at least the one who will spend the most time with him, Jones is expected to follow the pattern of two military predecessors in the job, Brent Scowcroft and Colin L. Powell, who injected order and discipline to a National Security Council full of strong personalities with independent power bases.
Although exit polls did not break out active-duty voters, it is virtually certain that McCain won the military vote.
In an October survey by the Military Times, nearly 70 percent of more than 4,000 officers and enlisted respondents said they favored McCain, while about 23 percent preferred Obama. Only African American service members gave Obama a majority.
In exit polls, those who said they had "ever served in the U.S. military" made up 15 percent of voters and broke 54 percent for McCain to 44 percent for Obama. "As a culture, we are more conservative and Republican," a senior officer said.
Obama has said he will meet with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs as well as the service chiefs during his first week in office. At the top of his agenda for that meeting will be what he has called the military's "new mission" of planning the 16-month withdrawal timeline for Iraq. Senior officers have publicly grumbled about the risk involved.
"Moving forward in a measured way, tied to conditions as they continue to evolve, over time, is important," Mullen said at a media briefing four days before his Nov. 21 meeting with Obama. "I'm certainly aware of what has been said" prior to the election, he said.
The last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, clashed with the chiefs during his first sit-down with them when they opposed his campaign pledge to end the ban on gays in the military. The chiefs, some of whom held the commander in chief in thinly veiled contempt as a supposed Vietnam draft dodger, won the battle, and Clinton spent much of his two terms seen as an adversary.
But Mullen came away from the Chicago talk reassured that Obama will engage in a discussion with them, balancing risks and "asking tough questions . . . but not in a combative, finger-pointing way," one official said.
The president-elect's invitation to Mullen, whom Obama previously had met only in passing on Capitol Hill and whose first two-year term as chairman does not expire until the end of September, was seen as an attempt to establish a relationship and avoid early conflict. While some Pentagon officials believe an Iraq withdrawal order could become Obama's equivalent of the Clinton controversy over gays, several senior Defense Department sources said that Gates, Mullen and Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of the military's Central Command, are untroubled by the 16-month plan and feel it can be accomplished with a month or two of wiggle room.
These sources noted that Obama himself has said he would not be "careless" about withdrawal and would retain a "residual" force of unspecified size to fight terrorists and protect U.S. diplomats and civilians. The officer most concerned about untimely withdrawal, sources said, is the Iraq commander, Gen. Ray Odierno.
Even as the Iraq war continues, defense officials are far more worried about Afghanistan, where they see policy drift and an unfocused mission. With strategy reviews now being completed at the White House and by the chairman's office, an internal Pentagon debate is well underway over whether goals should be lowered.
Although Gen. David McKiernan, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has requested four more U.S. combat brigades, some Pentagon strategists believe a smaller presence of Special Forces and trainers for Afghan forces -- and more attention to Pakistan -- is advisable.
Bush's ideological objective of a modern Afghan democracy, several officials said, is unattainable with current U.S. resources, and there is optimism that Obama will have a more realistic view.
A number of senior officers also look with favor on Obama's call for talks with Iran over Iraq and Afghanistan, separating those issues from U.S. demands over Tehran's nuclear program.
One of the biggest long-term military issues on Obama's plate will be the defense budget, currently topping 4.3 percent of gross domestic product once war expenditures are included.
Obama has said he will increase the size of the Army and the Marine Corps, finding savings in the Iraq drawdown and in new scrutiny of spending, including on contractors, weapons programs and missile defense.
"They know the money is coming down," a Pentagon official said of the uniformed services, and many welcome increased discipline.
But it's neither the military's nature nor its role to volunteer the cuts, the official said. "It's for Congress and the administration to say 'Stop it.' "
Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta and research Editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Teleprompter versus no Teleprompter
Check out Letterman!
Teleprompter versus no Teleprompter
by: Alex Leo
Critics say Obama relies too heavily on his teleprompter. As Politico notes:
"Obama's reliance on the teleprompter is unusual -- not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small."
They make an interesting point, why would a president want to be prepared and careful about what he says? The guy who had the job for the last eight years didn't need no stinkin' teleprompter!
Well, David Letterman addressed the outrage last night with his segment 'Teleprompter Vs. No Teleprompter.' It was enlightening to say the least.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/24/teleprompter-vs-no-telepr_n_178474.html
Yep, I like the town halls too. So far, Mr. Obama has...
refused to take part in any. I hope that changes after the conventions when campaigning begins in earnest. His advisors don't like that venue, for pretty obvious reasons.
You kinda have to hear the negative as well as the positive...because whoever you vote for you are going to get, warts and all. Better to know what the warts are up front I'm thinkin. Speeches are nice, and both candidates are going to tell us what they think we want to hear. I just wish they would have the guts to tell the truth about what they really think and feel and what their real agenda is....and let the chips fall where they may. I won't hold my breath for that tho.
Nice visiting with you.
They were at Football Hall of Fame
talking about how much bigger football players are. He jokingly asked reporter if he used to play and after reporter said no, he tapped his chest and told him to work on his pecs. It's called having a sense of humor. It's not like he felt up somebody.
The guy is a little nuts sure, but it is nice to see a candidate loosen up and act like human instead of a robot.
McCain leaving the hall
I don't know why he left without glad-handing his "friends." I do think it cooked his goose with a lot of people. How rude. I doubt Obama cared any more about the "friends' than McCain does but at least he put forth the effort to act like they were "friends" and he WAS a gentleman, even obviously angry at times, i.e. when he didn't get an opportunity to rebutt something McCain said. It was of so little substance I don't even remember what McCain said.
Of course: Teleprompter. NM
x
No teleprompter for O
A friend sent this to me. Can't argue with it, can ya?
I'm writing J.Leno and D.Letterman ato why they have not aired this yet. Are they prejudiced against GWB?? Nah! Bush Derangement Syndrome had better go away once The Messiah gets in. I'm not putting any bets on it, though.
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyW9e5QdWxk Obama - When There Is No Teleprompter
Circuits must be misfiring.
Incidentally, I'm looking forward to Glenn's new show! What you see is what you get with him!
Like when SP lied and said her teleprompter
didn't work and it didn't work for like 2 seconds, but she wanted to sound good so she said she didn't have the teleprompt and just winged the speech. Yep, like that.
Perhaps had she attended the meeting
When she voted for Obama, may she missed the part where he repeatedly and emphatically said he would close Gitmo. Of maybe she bought into all the fringe rhetoric calling him a liar, saying he would never live up to his campaign promises, could not be trusted, etc and felt reassured that Gitmo would not be closed.
BTW, did you see the video interview of the mother who decided not to attend the meeting...you know, the one Fox tacked on the headline that read, "Mother of USS Cole Victim BLASTS Obama...?"
Here's what she said. she is upset. She is disappointed. She is disillusioned. She THINKS she MAY have made the wrong decision. Despite the reporter's best efforts to provoke a stronger, more emotional response from her, she maintained that calm and rational demeanor throughout the interview. No place in the interview did she state she "wished" she hadn't voted for Obama.
Sorry. What I saw was a mother in grief. What I did not see was anybody anywhere BLASTING Obama over this decision. I respect her decision not to attend the meeting, but at the same time, I think if she had attended the meeting, she MAY have come away from it feeling reassured.
Beyond that, it is WAY too much of a stretch, to conflate this report into such inane assertions as Obama supporters are changing their minds in droves and "finally seeing the light," as the propaganda meisters on this forum have been attempting to do.
I voted for Obama. I fully expect he will not march lock-step with me through the next 4 years and do my bidding. I expect to be disillusioned and disappointed along the way. This does not mean that I "wish I hadn't voted for Obama." It means I am no child and don't throw temper tantrums every time I don't get my way and will not be packing up my marbles and going home anytime soon.
You probably need to get a bigger teleprompter as I see
you are all stumbling in your reply here. Duh?
Pretty hard to fight city hall........
There isn't a whole lot he can do with the pubs obstructing everything he is trying to accomplish. My theory is, they put up McPalin because they KNEW they wouldn't win because they have NO IDEA how to clean this freakin' mess up either. That way, just possibly, the RNC can gain some ground since they have all but buried themselves. Kinda like Carter inheriting Nixon's upstanding accomplishments. Gotta love the RNC, they are such an honest, upstanding, homophobic and value-oriented tribe. How's that for a wide stance?
Oops! He left his teleprompter for a
you will notice, he is getting his economic TEAM together to come up with him some new IDEAS for a new policy. You would think he could come up with his own ideas and then ask for help making them work.
G20 meeting. Lavish meal
 So...seems the upper echelon doesn't give a darn about cutting back. Their dinner consisted of
"fruitwood-smoked quail with quince gastrique; quinoa risotto; thyme-roasted rack of lamb; tomato, fennel and eggplant fondue; a salad course of endive, baked brie and walnuts; and a pear torte to cap the meal.
Among the wines: bottles of Shafer Cabernet "Hillside Select" 2003 — about $300 per bottle — for the main course and the much cheaper Landmark Chardonnay "Damaris Reserve" 2006 for about $40 per bottle with the appetizer course. The Chandon DEtoile RosDe sparkling wine that accompanied dessert runs around $30 a bottle.
Presidents pay for their own groceries, even while living in the White House. But during official or state dinners, such as Friday night's, U.S. taxpayers foot the bill.
Bush's guests for the dinner included Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper; Chinese President Hu Jintao; French President Nicolas Sarkozy; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. About two dozen leaders in all attended the dinner in the White House's State Dining Room."
It must be nice. Oh, and BTW, since my DH is self-employed and work as been so slow this year, does he qualify for a bailout??? Of course not.
Financial crisis meeting;
November 14, 2008
World leaders dine in style as they discuss financial crisis
(CNN) – The global economy may be undergoing a significant downturn, but the White House's dinner budget still appears flush with cash.
After all, world leaders who are in town to discuss the economic crisis are set to dine in style Friday night while sipping wine listed at nearly $500 a bottle.
According to the White House, tonight's dinner to kick off the G-20 summit includes such dishes as "Fruitwood-smoked Quail," "Thyme-roasted Rack of Lamb," and "Tomato, Fennel and Eggplant Fondue Chanterelle Jus."
To wash it all down, world leaders will be served Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003, a wine that sells at $499 on Wine.com.
The exceedingly pricey wine may seem a bit peculiar given leaders are in Washington to discuss a possible world financial meltdown, but Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush, said it "was the most appropriate wine that we had in the White House wine cellar for such a gathering.
McDonough also said the White House purchased the wine at a "significantly lower price" than what it is listed at.
"Of course the White House gets its wine at wholesale prices," she said. "Given the intimate size of the group, it was an appropriate time for The White House to use this stock."
The leaders of the U.K., France, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and 11 developing economies have all come to Washington at the behest of President Bush in an effort to express confidence in the fundamental underpinnings of the world's economy.
– CNN's Becky Brittain contributed to this report
We may end up meeting on a life boat then
I'm in OR and I heard about that too.
I will give The Teleprompter credit. nm
xx
Some educational advice. Go to your local hospital and city hall....sm
Ask them how births are recorded. I think you will be surprised. EVERYTHING is now computerized. Even old birth records.
His teleprompter didn't give him an answer
/
Romney is a joke, he tried meeting w/black folks
if you all had seen it - it was very_inappropriate..........showed us all he has little to no interaction with people of color.........isolationist in my mind..........
On teleprompter at Convention, they had nuclear spelled as newclear
so she would pronounce it correctly! Unfortunately, she did not have it there for Gibson interview, so she said nuculear. Pet peeve of mine.
Maybe they'll be serving up Sunday-go-to-meeting dinner
all the fried chicken, ribs, hog jowls, chit'lins, collard greens, fried okree, black-eye-peas, conebread, hush puppies, Aunt Jemimas, buttermilk biscuits, fried grits, watermelon and sweet potato pie (O's favorite) you can eat....and save you from slaving over that hot stove all day. Keep us posted on the minutes.
With the President meeting with the Republicans in closed door talks to come to agreements,.....sm
find middle ground, listen to their concerns, and try to modify where needed? Condemn and Condemn, has a Republican come forward with an alternative package? George was handing out money o the banking pirates before he left office, remember?
Built into this plan, which is very complex, are social programs for schools, which are going down fast, health aid, food stamps for those who have lost their jobs and need to eat while looking for new jobs that Obama is tring to create, funds to build companies to work with alternative energy and green solutions to get us less dependent on foreign oil and stop poisoning our earth.....
There is no quick fix!!! Just like the Great Depression, it is going to take time to reap all the benefits from this package, but they are meant to be real, lasting jobs and benefits to our society, not a quick boo-boo bandaide,which is all that Bush could provide with his quickie tax rebates!!!! Take off the jaundiced glasses and blinders, forget party lines and affiliations, and just go to MSN or CNN and read the copious outlines there.
Right.........several in your town, huh?
And you can believe EVERYTHING a prisoner says, uhm, a tortured prisoner, um, naked photographed prisoners.........if I was innocent and incarcerated like they were.......I would probably become terroristic, too. What does this have to do with the USS Cole?
Yes, several in my town......
They are sent in groups you know? Just like my SIL's brother is now being sent over to Afghanistan with his TROOP, all from this county. More than one in one place.....get it? You need to stop listening to the liberal propaganda; I believe those are all the words THEY used.
Most of the immigrants in my town
legal and illegal left already. The majority of them were from Brazil. They couldn't get enough work anymore to make it worthwhile to stay here. A lot of them had bought houses and just abandoned them, so there are lots of affordable houses in my area right now.
Yes, but WE don't live in your town.
Like I said, we ALL work on this board, or we wouldn't be on a TRANSCRIPTION chat site.
I'm sorry about the moochers where you live. Maybe you should move.
DH, son, and myself are going to the TEA party in our town...sm
My sign says: "3 Simple Words: We The People."
Son's sign will say: "Just say NO to socialism."
DH's sign is "No taxation without representation."
And if, by chance ACORN is there, so much the better. I read this somewhere...maybe on here....sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Where have you been the last 2-3 weeks, out of town??? sm
Janet Naplitano and the FBI and another alphabet soup group sent out a document to the president on what groups they considered "domestic terrorists." The list included returning war vets, people who oppose abortion, people who oppose gay or other similar ideas, etc. Basically it was anyone who did not agree with what the "Anointed One" and his party line. She also included the TEA party people.
Google DHS Domestic Terrorism memo.
When I lived in town
I lived across the street from the girl scout leader that I mentioned. Do you think I was inconvenienced by the amount of vehicles there EVERY WEEK? You bet. Did the police come by and stop the little girls from meeting? No. And they never will, because no one feels threatened by the girl scouts.
I can't believe you are so vehemently denying what this is. You know dang well that if it was any other "not-for-profit" group, they would be left alone. For now.
You are saying along the same lines that if your daughter wanted to have a study group every week at her home with fifteen of her friends that you would go out and get a license for her to do so?
I live in a very small town. sm
My state is a red state, but my hometown newspaper carries one column and that is Molly Ivins. You don't get much further left than that. I agree.
She is what small-town America is all about
Loved the speech, love the candidate!!!
Those small-town values are
EXACTLY what the big bad world needs to take it on. Resolute, firm in beliefs, freedom, country first.
they were 10 bucks in my town before they sold out
This woman is originally from my town
I saw on the news last night that this woman is originally from the city I live in. They say that she and her son were interviewed up here in 2004 about how hard it was for lower income people to get health care and pay for it and then miraculously her and her son ended up down in Florida in the City where the president was speaking sleeping in their truck. I think that is too much of a coincidence to be real. Plus that truck looked awful nice for 2 people who had been out of work for 9 months and according to the story here they had been out of work up here too before they left for Florida. I think they were a plant, but by which party? They both are looking good by helping these people.
That describes most of my town......I could add lazy
((
Bush came to my town awhile back,
but I just felt he was very disrespectful of the questions people were asking. Someone would ask something very important to their lives, like farming or healthcare, and not only would he avoid the issue (which many politiicans do), but he just outright laughed numerous times, and that did it for me. These people were looking to answers to questions they agonize about in their lives, and he would laugh it off and make a dumb joke. It really bothered me, but that is just one of many things that make me very wary of him. I just don't trust the man. I go with my gut feelings through life, and my gut is screaming not to trust him. May not be logical to many, but it's the way I feel.
If he passes the Children's Health Plan I will definitely have a little more respect for him. I think if he has a conscience he will. Many middle-class families are losing their homes and everything else they've got because they are drowning in medical bills. Our kids deserve it in my opinion, and even though he has promised to veto the bill, I hope in HIS heart of hearts he knows it's the right thing. Maybe I won't feel like saying anything negative about him for awhile if he passes it!  I will be so grateful.
I live in small-town America (less than 3,000), and I
We don't believe those with all the cash should get to call all the shots, skip paying taxes, and get rewarded for shipping American jobs to foreign countries.
a small town dweller with hemorroids.
nm
Come live in my town. I'll take you for a tour of the
11
You lived in a town of 5000 people
know who you dated? Or did you just think they didn't know? LOL
Prejudge? Honey, I see it EVERYDAY in my town
In case YOU don't know, there is a big difference in mooching and actually needing assistance. Assistance is what the funds are supposed to be there for in the first place, for those who have lost jobs, fallen on hard times, etc., but NOT just because you don't want to work!
Get a clue!!!
We have a meat packing plant in my town
it has been here for 60+ years and never had problems getting those "lazy" Americans to work. My uncle was employed there for years and it was backbreaking work. He wasn't lazy. He was trying to feed his family. Over the past few years, the owner has tried to sneek in illegals so he could pay less as well as a construction business making roof framework for homes. They never have had trouble finding hard working folks; they just want to get the job done for LESS and LESS. So, please don't try pulling that "lazy" American routine.
Judging by some of the prior town meetings
1. Gimme a house.
2. Make my boss pay me more (than I'm worth).
3. Gimme.
4. Gimme.
5. Fix everything for me.
This is more the behavior of subjects toward a monarch than citizens toward a president. Thanks, think I'll just stay home and improve my own life.
Some very liberal dems attending in my town.
My best friend, who is a very liberal democrat and voted for Obama, is going to the tea party in my town, along with many of her friends - all of whom campaigned wildly for Obama.
Her sign is going to read:
The opposite of Progress is Congress.
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