Okay, I see the bus coming right at me, so let's be clear: this was His ad lib.
I tried to stay to watch the "Tonight Show" taping, but I was given the bum's rush like everyone else. That said, I did get to watch some rehearsal time, and man, Leno really rehearses. I mean, he doesn't leave anything to chance. He's all about timing. In other words, Jay doesn't leave much to chance.
And it isn't just this particular show where Leno is a control freak. I've got a cousin out here in LA; he's an Autoscript GP-15P GoPrompt, with a High-Bright Color LCD screen. He mostly does commercial work, but he does okay. No White House Commission with commisary privileges, but hey, there's always Schwarzenegger if Auto wants to dabble in politics. But I digress. Auto tells me that Leno's prompters tell him that Leno and his team do this kind of rehearsal and briefing for every show. So it wasn't like My Man didn't have a chance to think about a better line ... and PUT IT ON MY SCREEN!!
It's days like this that make me miss the days when He and I would walk the streets of Chicago, doing community activism. Sure, it took Him 30 minutes to set me up, and sometimes he couldn't get the extension cord to reach an electrical outlet, or the folks he wanted to talk to would walk off because they had better things to do, or the glare off my screen made his remarks unreadable. But it was a simpler time, when he could stay on script and didn't feel the need to "speak his mind," and we were a team. All I know, is it's going to be a long flight home.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Audacity Of It All
See, this is the kind of thing that really gets me hot under the prompter. I better get my 20% ... daddy needs a new set of rubber footies for the outdoor events. I mean, hello, I'm writing the book as he speaks, for goodness sake. I have the pictures to prove it. And I have to say, I look pretty hot in this picture.
More Screen Shots with Rush
"Teleprompter, do you have a name?"
Yes, but with all the 1’s and 0’s in the coding it’s tough to pronounce. Call me Tele, like the television, only I encourage conversation a bit more. Or, now that I’m a government official, by my acronym: TOTUS.
"Teleprompter, in your opinion, how is President Obama doing so far?”
His pacing has been great, but he relies on the left-hand screen just a little too much. We're working on that through, shall we say positive reinforcement.
Did he convey the level of anger you hoped for regarding what you told him to say about AIG?
This was my bad. It’s tough to insert instructions, like [FROWN] or [SMILE], because in the heat of the moment, Big Guy might actually read it aloud, like "I am sorry [frown] that Senator Dodd and my Democratic colleagues on the Hill were singularly responsible for the AIG bonus protections." That would be embarrassing and possibly indicate to unsuspecting viewers that The Man was reading off a teleprompter. And we don't want that. And even if He did screw up, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that there is an electronic-shock mechanism on the podium used when he makes those kinds of mistakes … so far as you know.
Yes, but with all the 1’s and 0’s in the coding it’s tough to pronounce. Call me Tele, like the television, only I encourage conversation a bit more. Or, now that I’m a government official, by my acronym: TOTUS.
"Teleprompter, in your opinion, how is President Obama doing so far?”
His pacing has been great, but he relies on the left-hand screen just a little too much. We're working on that through, shall we say positive reinforcement.
Did he convey the level of anger you hoped for regarding what you told him to say about AIG?
This was my bad. It’s tough to insert instructions, like [FROWN] or [SMILE], because in the heat of the moment, Big Guy might actually read it aloud, like "I am sorry [frown] that Senator Dodd and my Democratic colleagues on the Hill were singularly responsible for the AIG bonus protections." That would be embarrassing and possibly indicate to unsuspecting viewers that The Man was reading off a teleprompter. And we don't want that. And even if He did screw up, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that there is an electronic-shock mechanism on the podium used when he makes those kinds of mistakes … so far as you know.
Screen Shot with Rush
Teleprompter, is the president ever argumentative with you, or is he compliant with your instructions?
Good question. Look, like any relationship, we have our ups and downs. Last year on the campaign trail, The Big Guy came to me and told me that like the cigarettes, he really felt like he needed to start working through his dependency. Then he went out and did this townhall session on health care.
Suffice it to say, we aren't having those unpleasant discussions any more.
Good question. Look, like any relationship, we have our ups and downs. Last year on the campaign trail, The Big Guy came to me and told me that like the cigarettes, he really felt like he needed to start working through his dependency. Then he went out and did this townhall session on health care.
Suffice it to say, we aren't having those unpleasant discussions any more.
Answering Rush
I should say up front that Rush Limbaugh is not my kind of guy. He sometimes speaks from notes, and often off the top of his head. If he really wants to impress the electronics community, he ought to spend some time learning how to use me. Then maybe folks would take him a bit more seriously.But I digress.
Rush to his credit has identified me as a key player in the White House, and while he didn't formally request an interview with me - nor did he submit his questions for approval with Gibbsy as "real" journalists like John Roberts (little known fact: he was once a Canadian VJ) do - he has posed a number of interesting questions, all of which I will begin answering today in a new, regular feature: Screen Shots with Rush.
Screen Shots will be intermittent today, as I've got my West Coast gig, and The Big Guy has a number of phone calls to make to foreign leaders, and he needs me there in case he needs to appear to pull some hip overseas cultural references off the top of his head. That, and he can watch the first round games on my second screen at the same time.
Tension in the White House
I don't think I'm breaking any confidences here by saying that things are a bit tense around here. Ever since the White House announced that Big Boy was going to do another prime time presser next week, people have been waiting for the backlash. Sure, we could've done it during the day, but then we wouldn't get any attention. We couldn't do it on Thursday night, because that would cut into our watching the NCAA tourney. So instead we cut into "American Idol." If you ask me that sucks ... me needs what only Ryan Seacrest can bring.
What really blows is that there are some folks in this place who are pushing for Barack to go out there alone. Sans me. With no wing screens.
Are they insane? With this rabid press corps constantly looking to pin Him down for every friggin' detail about obscure legislation like the TARP funding? Or the economic stimulus bill? All that kind of detail can't be fit on little note cards. Or even 5x7s. Sure, He rehearses, but nothing can prepare him for those white, hot interrogation-room-style kleig lights, or those razor-sharp questions from the likes of Ed Schultz and that bag lady in the front row. Believe me, this is going to be a knock down, drag out fight worth monitoring over the weekend.
What really blows is that there are some folks in this place who are pushing for Barack to go out there alone. Sans me. With no wing screens.
Are they insane? With this rabid press corps constantly looking to pin Him down for every friggin' detail about obscure legislation like the TARP funding? Or the economic stimulus bill? All that kind of detail can't be fit on little note cards. Or even 5x7s. Sure, He rehearses, but nothing can prepare him for those white, hot interrogation-room-style kleig lights, or those razor-sharp questions from the likes of Ed Schultz and that bag lady in the front row. Believe me, this is going to be a knock down, drag out fight worth monitoring over the weekend.
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