# Teleprompter, Wasilla-style **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071 "2010-02-07T22:54:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/41 "2010-02-08T15:06:59Z")
> [@JeffB](#): > > Coming this summer on Fox – _Are You Smarter Than Sarah Palin?_ No losers - all contestants win! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/42 "2010-02-08T15:11:38Z")
This could only have been more hilarious had she used white-out or had “you betcha” written on her hand. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/43 "2010-02-08T15:21:19Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The actual words she wrote on her hand were kinda funny to. “Energy, Tax cuts, Lift America’s Spirit”. I mean, that’s basically been her entire schtick for the last two years, you’d think she mumbles them in her sleep at this point. Weird that she felt the need to make sure she had them writen down somewhere, especially for a fake interview infront of a small, friendly crowd. > > It’s like finding Rush Limbuagh with “Democrats=bad, Republican’s=good” written in his radio booth, just to make sure he remembers who he’s angry at. This, this and this. Makes me think it’s all a ruse, that they found her doing dinner theater in Tulsa. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/44 "2010-02-08T15:26:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No drama, no suspense, predictable plot and a telegraphed conclusion-who would watch it? Plus she’d leave halfway through the first season. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/45 "2010-02-08T16:01:45Z")
I have no problem with anybody using a teleprompter, or a written transcript, or crib notes during a public speaking engagement. I would do it too. The funny part to me is that she _wrote the notes on her hand._ Is she still in 7th grade? If she became president, would she use one of those folded paper finger-counting things to decide policy? Will she choose Joe Jonas as her running mate because he’s so dreamy? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/46 "2010-02-08T16:07:12Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Plus she’d leave halfway through the first season. I bow. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/47 "2010-02-08T16:11:12Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > The funny part to me is that she _wrote the notes on her hand._ Is she still in 7th grade? If she became president, would she use one of those folded paper finger-counting things to decide policy? Will she choose Joe Jonas as her running mate because he’s so dreamy? Plus she uses Facebook to take shots at people, as noted in that SNL bit last show. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/48 "2010-02-08T16:21:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Some people just pounce without thinking or knowing anything. [From someone who is no fan of SP.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12087918&postcount=14) Is **Jonathan Chance** seeking to run for the highest office in the land? Did he actually run for the second-highest office in the land? Apples and oranges. Presidential-caliber speakers don’t need to write on their hand to make sure they hit their three major themes. I’d be a lot more sympathetic if she used an actual index card with some particular facts and figures on it that she wanted to make sure that she was absolutely accurate about. I’d still think it was inappropriate for a presidential candidate, but it would be much more defensible than what she did. Plus, she could take a little dig at her critics in her own inimitable style when she pulled it out, implying that they were waiting to pounce on the smallest error. Her fans would eat it up. > [@sleeping](#): > > So, if she was to actually debate someone, all they’d have to do is make her sweat a little … and her talking points would dissolve, leaving her staring at the camera and wondering where she is? > [@Wheelz](#): > > The funny part to me is that she _wrote the notes on her hand._ Is she still in 7th grade? I _did_ write dissolving crib notes on my hand in 7th grade! Several of us decided to do that for a Latin quiz that we were having immediately after gym class. So we wrote our declensions on the palms of our hands with ballpoint pen. Unfortunately, we failed to consider that we were playing gym hockey that day and thus had to wear big disgusting protective gloves. Naturally, by the time gym was over, the notes were gone and we didn’t have time to re-do them. Our evil plot was foiled by tweener sweat and moldy gym equipment. > [@](#): > > If she became president, would she use one of those folded paper finger-counting things to decide policy? Will she choose Joe Jonas as her running mate because he’s so dreamy? I loved those folded paper thingies! And she would totally pick one of the Jonas brothers–they pledged to remain virgins until marriage, just like her and her daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/49 "2010-02-08T16:37:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Still, the OP is a knee-jerk SP bashing by someone who appear to have no more grasp of facts than SP herself. > > Lame. I actually agree that this thread is kind of pointless, but having a. watched Sarah Palin speak on several occasions and b. met **Drain Bead** a number of times, I would say that of the two, **Drain Bead** seems to have a stronger grasp of facts and reality than Sarah Palin. She certainly strikes me as more intelligent and more curious about the world around her. And she has a much dirtier sense of humor, which is just an added bonus. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/50 "2010-02-08T16:38:05Z")
She is pitted a lot because she provides cannon fodder every day. Yesterday Rush can say retard. Rahm can not. Today she talks about Obama using a teleprompter while she reads off a whole speech and requires notes written on her hands when she is speaking in front of like minded conservatives. It is not the liberals fault that she makes it so damn easy. And of course, the criticisms are true. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/51 "2010-02-08T16:49:29Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I’m a trial attorney. I write out what I want to bring up ahead of time, but I never have to refer to my notes while I’m actually in the middle of a trial. I plan and practice so I don’t look like a moron later on. I would outline closing arguments, but seldom refer to my outline except an unobstrusive glance as I wound down, to make sure I hit every point. Exception: in federal court, in both Virginia districts, you pretty much had to stand behing a podium the whole time, and then I made a virtue of necessity and used my notes a bit more liberally. Never used my hand. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/52 "2010-02-08T16:52:04Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I would outline closing arguments, but seldom refer to my outline except an unobstrusive glance as I wound down, to make sure I hit every point. > > Exception: in federal court, in both Virginia districts, you pretty much had to stand behing a podium the whole time, and then I made a virtue of necessity and used my notes a bit more liberally. > > Never used my hand. Judge: “How does your client plead” **Bricker** : “Guilty…(glances at palm of hand)…Innocent!!..I mean innocent, definately innocent” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/53 "2010-02-08T17:12:12Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I have no problem with anybody using a teleprompter, or a written transcript, or crib notes during a public speaking engagement. I would do it too. > > The funny part to me is that she _wrote the notes on her hand._ The part that’s funny to me, or that I think is being overlooked, is that the notes corresponded exactly to the question she was asked. Was it planned in advance? In front of the friendliest possible audience, did Sarah Palin actually have to stage a mock Q&A? Are her appearanced on Fox News planned or rehearsed as well? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/54 "2010-02-08T17:17:41Z")
Yes, definitely, to her Fox appearances. You can see her reading the teleprompter. Most probably yes to the Q&A as well. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/55 "2010-02-08T23:13:58Z")
While no less embarassing and stupid, I think it made perfect sense to her to use her hand. Someone who would benefit from having the teleprompter meme stick to Obama should not be caught dead using one. In her mind, she could be thinking “at least I didn’t use a teleprompter”. I hate to say this, but listening to her makes me feel less unhappy about my country’s third world status. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/56 "2010-02-09T00:35:06Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > I hate to say this, but listening to her makes me feel less unhappy about my country’s third world status. 😃 In Soviet Russia, the hand reads you! (or something like that) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/57 "2010-02-09T01:19:34Z")
Yeah, this isn’t so much OMG SHE NEEDS NOTES (although the content of what she wrote down and actually referred to by looking down at her hand at points was really simplistic), it’s the format in which she used them, and how ridiculous she looked doing it. Obama uses a teleprompter for long speeches, just like any other politician, including Palin. You wouldn’t catch Obama dead writing “Yes We Can” on his effing palm and reading it off during a friendly-audience Q&A. It just wouldn’t be necessary, just as it’s not necessary for me to refer to my notes and outlines during a trial. It looks clunky and stupid, and anyone with a modicum of ability to prepare ahead won’t need it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/58 "2010-02-09T02:18:08Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > … to refer to my notes and outlines during a trial… What, another self-confessed lawyer on the Boards?! What is that now, ten, twelve? I warned you guys this would happen… ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/59 "2010-02-09T02:25:15Z")
I can see the 2012 slogan now: “Sarah Palin. Knows the issues like she knows the palm of her hand.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071/60 "2010-02-09T02:36:58Z")
I listened to her speech, have a fair recollection except for those moments when seized with giggling fits. What struck me, what made me think she’s got better handlers than she did before was the way she finessed the issue of her absurd paycheck for the speech. She reassured her audience that it was all going right back into The Cause. Said it a couple times, as I recall, but with no more specificity than that - The Cause. And she skated. That’s pretty slick. I’ve heard it said that talented liars give details, but the really good liars never do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teleprompter-wasilla-style/528071.md?page=4)