Sarah Palin and the Rebel Alliance

Posted on 09. Feb, 2010 by James Devere in American Politics

A word in the hand is better than two in the teleprompter.

Are we really talking about this? Instead of covering the rift between America and our leaders, journalists are out making silly and often bitter (see the SFGate’s blog Sarah Palin Gives Hand Job to the Tea Party Movement) comments about 3-4 words written on a palm. The take from the liberal media seems to be that Sarah Palin used some hand scribbles in a speech in which she criticized Obama for using a teleprompter. I prefer to look at the event as an underdog, low-funded, grassroots movement using handmade signs and jotted down notes vs. a well-funded, ethically corrupt leadership with a technically superior teleprompter to feed every thought into the mind of its well-polished mouthpiece. I prefer to look at the whole issue as the Rebel Alliance out to find a chink in the armor of the Galactic Empire.

The mainstream media spent considerable time pointing out that Sarah Palin used a crib note written on her hand during a question and answer session at the Tea Party convention. I have to admit that I have, just before a presentation, scribbled a few key reminders on my hand. Unlike Ms. Palin, however, my sweaty palms rendered the text unreadable and worthless after the first few minutes of public speaking. Maybe the press should comment on Sarah Palin’s ability to stay cool under pressure and her ability to read completely sweat-free notes hours after they were written.

The use of a “hand prompter,” as some are calling it, should not be condemned. We are in the middle of a huge budget crisis and the federal government could save millions by adopting its use rather than dragging teleprompters to every Obama speech. In this case, the President should take a cue from the little man, the everyday guy who jots down some hasty notes to make sure they emphasize their key points. After all, it can be nerve racking to speak to a large audience as Ms. Palin was doing, and, as the President knows, it can be down right terrorizing to address an audience of 11-year-olds. In the John Stewart clip below, the comedian pokes fun at Obama for setting up two teleprompters to address a sixth grade class.

Obama addresses a 6th grade class and speaks from the heart er. teleprompter

Luckily, Palin was able to pronounce each of the words on her hand prompter. Of course, she didn’t have any big words like “corpsman.” One mispronunciation could be explained away, but for the Commander-in-Chief to seemingly have no clue as to how to pronounce the word properly (and may not even know what a corpsman is) is a little embarrassing. In this case, at least, I would say that the rebels are up on the Empire and their superior technology two to one.

Update: Sarah Palin responds to a ridiculous controversy with humor.

From the Daily Mail:  Now even Palin’s mocking Palin: Sarah writes ‘Hi Mom!’ on her Palmprompter for the cameras

Tags: Address, Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Grassroots Movement, Journalist, Mainstream Media, Obama, political, Political Humor, Tea Party