From the Former RNC Spokesman’s Mouth to Hannity’s Ears

Alex Conant, who until March was the spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has made the smooth transition into insightful conservative punditry. He’s pleased with the attention his first column about Obama gaffes and media myths is still getting:

Since I wrote that piece, Obama’s gone on to have many more gaffes, many due to teleprompter errors. And people – especially conservative media – are starting to notice.

The evidence is last night’s episode of “Hannity,” with a panel that includes Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs — too extreme for Little Green Footballs, but just right for Fox News prime time.

“Just like the left-wing hammered Bush’s gaffes until the public started questioning his intelligence,” argues Conant, “Obama is providing more than enough fodder to be taken down the same path.”

I don’t think this is true. There’s a ceiling on how much Republicans will attack President Obama over speech flubs because, frankly, they’ve spent years calling him “articulate.” The man rose to national prominence by giving a speech at the Democratic National Convention and rescued his 2008 primary bid with a speech on race in America. Bush, by contrast, barrelled into the public eye as the presidential scion who had spent years drinking and failing at business, and remade himself as an imperfect, but compassionate, public servant. If he botched a debate with John Kerry, it was because Kerry was a fancy double-talker, and Bush was blunt. The man reinforced his image.

All that said, conservatives have had a surprising amount of success in getting the press to cover TelePrompTer mishaps that used to get ignored.