Obama’s Stolen Teleprompter Recovered
Oct 18, 2011 9 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
First, the bad news: They recovered President Obama’s teleprompter.
So, anybody going to his speeches on the current Darth Vader armored bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia is still going to get the full 22-minute monty about how he’s there to listen.
The Real Good Talker’s top speech aide was in a truck stolen from a Richmond hotel parking lot early Monday morning and recovered in another hotel parking lot about 12 hours later.
The truck, actually belonging to the Defense Department that handles presidential communications, contained the “Now Say This” machine as well as nearly a quarter-million dollars in communications gear and the all-important presidential seal.
Anybody who’s ever attended a presidential speech has noticed the seal. It’s a big perk of the job. A guy with a large gun under his suit coat walks out onto the stage just before POTUS is introduced and places the seal on the front of the podium.
That way we all know for sure who is going on and on about people in Washington not listening when he isn’t in Washington listening either.
Many politicians use teleprompters, of course, especially for new standard speeches they are testing or learning. Few politicians appear so fond of the teleprompter as Obama, though, who once during the 2007-08 cycle had one set up in the dirt of a rodeo arena, a place that might call for “Hey, how are you all?” less formality.
And the Democratic administration has demonstrated some sensitivity over his need for the aid, since Obama’s White House teleprompters have been rigged to recede into the floor when his formal remarks are finished and the cameras pull back.
The truck and presidential gear were one of several sets that hopscotch the president’s itinerary and were waiting in Richmond for Obama’s arrival today. They disappeared from a Courtyard Marriott lot and were found in a Holiday Inn Express lot near the Richmond airport.
That tells forensics experts two things: First, that the thieves quickly realized they had pilfered more than they could pawn and had to leave Dodge asap, and 2) at least they got a free continental breakfast with their room after the heist.
