Politico’s Carol Lee writes about President Obama’s ubiquitous teleprompter (which I’ve mentioned a couple times before). Calling it the president’s ”safety net,” Lee writes:

Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual – not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events large and small.

Lee also discusses the hassles the prompter creates for photographers and TV camera operators trying to get a good shot of the president without a pane of glass in front of him.

A White House spokesman brushes off any concern that the president is over-reliant on the device by saying that it’s the message people care about most.

True, but at some point people may begin to wonder why the most gifted orator to hit the White House in some time hasn’t taken the training wheels off.