Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was famous for its content, not its delivery. As this was many decades before even radio was invented, virtually no one heard him give the speech. Instead, it was re-printed in newspapers.
In the modern era, people have to use teleprompters because the public has come to expect perfection from public speakers. If Lincoln stumbled over a word or two, only a handful of people ever knew it. If Obama does, millions of people hear it, and hordes of pundits leap to criticize him for it.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was famous for its content, not its delivery. As this was many decades before even radio was invented, virtually no one heard him give the speech. Instead, it was re-printed in newspapers.
In the modern era, people have to use teleprompters because the public has come to expect perfection from public speakers. If Lincoln stumbled over a word or two, only a handful of people ever knew it. If Obama does, millions of people hear it, and hordes of pundits leap to criticize him for it.