Originally posted by Yumi
Come on, if normal people like mwa can do a speech from memory and a few cliff notes the President shouldn't need to rehearse a speech that is on a
teleprompter and coming through his ear piece seconds before the speech is to be given.
A presidential speech is a big deal. There is a lot "riding" on a speech by a president. Ever since the famous Nixon-Kennedy debates of the
sixties, presidents realized the power of the televised medium but it works both ways. In the sixties, Nixon simply did not "look good" on
television whereas Kennedy was photogenic and his personal charisma translated very well on TV.
In this case, I won't say that Bush is the most photogenic president we've ever had. I would expect that he'd practice his speech and I certainly
wouldn't fault him for doing so. He's dealing with a press corps that would jump at every mistake. Like any actor, the president -- any president
-- needs to rehearse a major speech and I certainly wouldn't fault George W. Bush for doing this.
Yes, "normal" people give speeches all of the time without the benefit of teleprompters and cues given over ear pieces but, face it, the president
-- any president -- aren't like "normal" people. Few, if any, "normal" people have the power over life and death, over waging war or making
public policies that affect the lives of millions as does a president.