Hello-My-Name-Is-Prime-Minister-Cowen
(Hey, I Thought My Name Was Barack Obama!)

Did you hear about Obama misreading his teleprompter and thanking himself for hosting the Irish Prime Minister? Probably not as the "objective" mainstream media dutifully hushed it up to avoid embarrasing The One. Not all is rosy however. In recent days, I've noted a couple of journalists not only take note of Obama's dependence on the device, but a couple have even poked fun at him for it. First, Politico commented:

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter

Carol E. Lee Carol E. Lee Thu Mar 5, 1:04 pm ET

President Barack Obama doesn’t go anywhere without his TelePrompter.

The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president’s prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks.

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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.

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Just how much of a crutch the teleprompter has become for Obama was on sharp display during his latest commerce secretary announcement. The president spoke

from a teleprompter in the ornate Indian Treaty Room for a few minutes. Then Gov. Gary Locke stepped to the podium and pulled out a piece of paper for reference.

The president’s teleprompter also elicited some uncomfortable laughter after he announced Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his choice for Health and Human Services secretary. “Kathy,” Obama said, turning the podium over to Sebelius, who waited at the microphone for an awkward few seconds while the teleprompters were lowered to the floor and the television cameras rolled.

Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months — whereas past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post virtually snickered about it in a recent story:

As the president read from his teleprompter yesterday about "this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat," he developed a tickle in his throat and tried to clear it. "Excuse me," he joked. "I'm choked up with anger here."

The best so far was in today's New York Times in a column with uber-lib Maureen Dowd mocking The One:

Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad.

Wow! Now that the New York Times has taken a shot, look for *lesser* liberal lights to feel free to take their shots.