The Sarah Palin Teleprompter Saga

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Sarah Palin

(ST. PAUL) It's one of those mythologizing details that can help a well-received speech be remembered an epic one: According to RedState, citing "sources close to the McCain campaign," Sarah Palin's teleprompter malfunctioned during her speech last night.

The faulty prompter, RedState reported, forced the Republican vice presidential nominee to recite her speech from memory, with the help of occasional glances at the printed text sitting on the podium.

"Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved," wrote Erick Erickson. "Sarah Palin. Winner."

The claim was picked up by the highly-trafficked Drudge Report, immediately launching it into the larger conversation. According to Jonathan Martin at Politico, however, it isn't accurate.

"Perhaps there were moments where it scrolled slightly past her exact point in the speech," Martin wrote. "But I was sitting in the press section next to the stage, within easy eyeshot of the Teleprompter. I frequently looked up at the machine, and there was no serious malfunction. A top convention planner confirms this morning that there were no major problems."

After Martin's post, Erickson defended his report in an update. "MSNBC and Fox both report that there were problems with the teleprompter," he wrote.

"BTW, I've gotten one more clarification from the McCain campaign: by the end of the speech the problem had been resolved," Erickson added. "But you can clearly see during the middle Palin looked at her text often."

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by sethw76 September 6, 2008 8:47 AM EDT: Yeah, you''ll take the word of the lying partisan noise machine of Redstate? I know this is just a blog so you aren''t held to real journalistic standards, but give me a break.; Reply to this comment


by barrylies September 6, 2008 4:22 AM EDT: BARRY SOETORO, INDONESIAN CITIZEN HAS BEEN SERVED!!
(From citizenwells)

SERVICE OF LAWSUIT CHALLENGING SENATOR OBAMA%u2019S RIGHT TO BE A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT BECAUSE HE DOES NOT MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS HAS BEEN COMPLETED
( Lafayette Hill , Pennsylvania %u2013 09/04/08) - Philip J. Berg, Esquire, the Attorney who filed suit against Barack H. Obama challenging Senator Obama%u2019s eligibility to serve as President of the United States, has received confirmation from his Process Service Company that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Senator Barack Obama were served today, September 4, 2008, with the legal documents pertaining to Berg vs. Obama, Civil Action No. 08-cv-4083. The DNC was served at 12:00 p.m. and Senator Obama was served at 1:00 p.m. The U.S. Attorney%u2019s Office accepted service on behalf of the Federal Elections Committee (FEC) on or about August 22, 2008.

# # #

* * For copies of all Court Pleadings, go to

obamacrimes.com; Reply to this comment


by ipublius September 5, 2008 8:34 PM EDT: Why won''t she answer any questions? What is she hiding?; Reply to this comment


by dgt02 September 5, 2008 1:30 PM EDT: The bottom line is that there were times the prompter scrolled past where she was making the prompter useless at times. That is NOT how it is suposed to work. What don''t the liberals get?; Reply to this comment


by tboltaq2 September 4, 2008 9:36 PM EDT: I have been reading postings on many blogs and in many commentary areas and I can''t believe the lack of knowledge of how the "process" works, especially on the left as they complain about the content of Gov. Palin''s speech. She was brilliant, and did exactly what she needed to do. The whole point was to give her a platform to introduce herself to the world and show why she belongs at the big-peoples table. she was there to further compare, contrast and outline who she is and what she brings to the ticket. The lack of specifics was by design. It was not the time or place to play policy wonk. The fact that Obamacons/Democrat lefties are bringing it up shows that they don''t have anything to really hang on her. I can''t wait for the real campaign to begin. She will eviserate them !!! When she gets in there and goes toe to to with Joe, she will eat his lunch.; Reply to this comment


by VegasResident September 4, 2008 9:13 PM EDT: Hellooo:

I saw her teleprompter a number of times during her speech and it was scrolling along right in time with her.; Reply to this comment


by luvienne September 4, 2008 9:03 PM EDT: Where were the issues? I want to hear how to solve America''s problems, not hear a strutting hen try to belittle her opponents. Sounded more like a coach trying to rally his team after another losing quarter. Get with it Mccain.; Reply to this comment


by fstop100 September 4, 2008 8:32 PM EDT: barry obama is finished....his inexperience would be permissible if he were running for V.P. but not for President.
He knows this too, He is now on his way to Oz to see if The Wizard can implant a new brain.; Reply to this comment


by Hartru September 4, 2008 8:23 PM EDT: Have you ever heard of aerial hunting? It''''s a brutal practice. Wolves are shot from low-flying aircraft or chased to exhaustion, then killed at point-blank range.

Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice President, promotes this barbaric practice, exploiting a loophole in the Federal Airborne Hunting Act to allow private wolf killers to shoot down wolves using aircraft. We have to get the word out about this!

Please watch this powerful video by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, and then share it with every wildlife lover you know:

http://actionfund.defenders.org
/palinvideo
Posted by msay3
-------------------
Yep, I''ve heard of it - even watched it in action. Right here in Oregon - only it''s coyotes we hunt.
Now then, where are your great big crododile tears for the lambs and calves that the wolves and coyotes kill and sometimes eat.; Reply to this comment


by sistatee-2009 September 4, 2008 7:48 PM EDT: There must be other things that are Palin''s fault, that the media is HIDING! Gamma radiation from the stars...SOMETHING!; Reply to this comment