Video: NBC goofs on … TOTUS?; Update: Trivia answer
posted at 2:35 pm on June 8, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Heck, they could almost have made this an Obamateurism of the Day. I’d love to see them run this on MS-NBC, except that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann’s heads would explode. The network whose anchorman executed a bow to Obama actually interviews the man behind the TOTUS blog, via e-mail — complete with lame footage of reporters typing on a keypad:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Does anyone else notice that the NBC reporter has the caps lock in the wrong position? Ah, well; I could spend all day picking on the Obama Network, but at least they mentioned this, and in a context that doesn’t include the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy’s obsession with TOTUS or comparisons between TOTUS time in different administrations. They actually admit that Obama has a Teleprompter addiction — and you have to love the table tennis sequence.
Note: Bonus points to anyone who can identify one of my favorite songs in the background during the interview, and why I laughed out loud from the irony of the title.
Update: The song is “Mais Que Nada”, by Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66. The title means “more than nothing” in Portuguese, which seemed like a subtle emphasis on the role that TOTUS plays in Obama’s presidency. LastRick in the comments gets the win.
Note: Some translations of mais/mas que nada are “it’s nothing,” so choose your own brand of irony.
Here’s the band performing the song around the time of its release — and with the Black Eyed Peas in 2006. Sergio Mendes should have stuck to his own band. Feel free to stop at the 3 minute mark:
Blowback
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They still claim he has soaring rhetoric but fail to figure that if it weren’t for TOTUS there would be no soaring rhetoric. He’d be The Wizard of Uhhhs 24/7.
JammieWearingFool on June 8, 2009 at 2:39 PM
And yet, still, comedians can’t find anything funny.
Enoxo on June 8, 2009 at 2:39 PM
I laughed when they explained why President Uhbama may need the teleprompter.
eforhan on June 8, 2009 at 2:41 PM
I was waiting for this to get posted. So funny.
Abby Adams on June 8, 2009 at 2:42 PM
That’s actually a nice segment.
Esthier on June 8, 2009 at 2:42 PM
For those of you who don’t want to give MSNBC the views, I uploaded the clip onto YouTube and put it on my blog:
http://nicholasjacob.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/nbc-mocks-totus/
nickj116 on June 8, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Obama is a perfectionist?
Is that the new euphemsism for “carefully managed by Rahm and Soros”?
myrenovations on June 8, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Just the fact that this was even ran is just…. amazing.
Yakko77 on June 8, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Wonder what NBC producer got fired today?
hawksruleva on June 8, 2009 at 2:44 PM
The James Bond theme 007 in the background?
portlandon on June 8, 2009 at 2:45 PM
TOTUS lands a prime time interview! Cool!
txsurveyor on June 8, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Folks that thing Obama is a great speaker should listen to a couple speeches by Martin Luther King, Reagan, and JFK.
Then listen to Obama and tell me how great he is.
hawksruleva on June 8, 2009 at 2:45 PM
Darn it, was just going to post that. ROFL
Tuari on June 8, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Isn’t that the same song the RNC used in that horribly sexist ad against Pelosi?
/sarcasm
Enoxo on June 8, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Not prime time. But the morning shows are pretty important, too ;-)
hawksruleva on June 8, 2009 at 2:46 PM
I didn’t spot the song, but I did so enjoy this story.
Very cute.
AnninCA on June 8, 2009 at 2:47 PM
This was the best 4 minutes I’ve had all week.
Kudos to the Good Morning Show.
therightscoop on June 8, 2009 at 2:50 PM
2001
SCGOPgirl on June 8, 2009 at 2:50 PM
Yea, I noticed the reverse Caps Lock thing too.
PrincipledPilgrim on June 8, 2009 at 2:51 PM
“2001: A Space Odyessy”? Or “Sunshine of Your Love?” Or “Flight of the Bumblebee”? Or “Bad to the Bone?” or “Beethoven’s 5th Symphony”? there’s a jazz song in there – is it “Take the A Train”? The James Bond theme? There’s a lot of songs in that segment.
hawksruleva on June 8, 2009 at 2:51 PM
I heard Also Sprach Zarathustra, Bad to the Bone, Superfreak, and Sunshine of My Love playing amongst others.
coyoterex on June 8, 2009 at 2:51 PM
Isn’t it: Cocaine?
WriterMom on June 8, 2009 at 2:52 PM
The song that is…
WriterMom on June 8, 2009 at 2:52 PM
I’m just glad somebody else is pointing out how annoying that left, right, left, right head turning is.
But I honestly think they only point this out to 1) try to diffuse it for The One; and 2) Gently nudge their master to maybe become more aware of it.
Sugar Land on June 8, 2009 at 2:53 PM
The is a disarming fluff piece. HBO’s Not Necessarily the News would “balance” out their jokes by:
A. Suggesting Tip O’Neill was fat.
Then
B: Suggesting Reagan was Hitler who wanted to exterminate women, gays, blacks and children.
Hilarity ensued!!
NBC (like Letterman in that clip) is trying to reduce the TOTUS charge to the level of merely being a silly distraction.
mankai on June 8, 2009 at 2:53 PM
I also thought I heard Sunshine of My Love, Eric Clapton.
WriterMom on June 8, 2009 at 2:53 PM
+1
Lance Murdock on June 8, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Oooooooorion Forever?
Abby Adams on June 8, 2009 at 2:54 PM
I laughed when they explained why President Uhbama may need the teleprompter.
eforhan on June 8, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Me, too.
“He’s a perfectionist”?
Lol. Gimme a break.
bluelightbrigade on June 8, 2009 at 2:54 PM
How long before The One get’s angry and they remove this from their website?
therightscoop on June 8, 2009 at 2:55 PM
Off topic:
Is HA going to post anything about the state of Indiana’s suit against Chrysler over the treatment of the bondholders in the bankruptcy proceedings? The supreme court is deciding whether or not to isssue a stay today. I think Ginsburg has it. This case is huge as it will decide whether the federal government can take assets of private citizens without just compensation.
PrincipledPilgrim on June 8, 2009 at 2:56 PM
“Bad To The Bone”?
surrounded on June 8, 2009 at 2:56 PM
And this is a negative, because????????
capejasmine on June 8, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Mas Que Nada?
LastRick on June 8, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Also Sprach Zarathrusta? The 2001 theme? Were you imagining the TOTUS as the monolith, Ed?
MadisonConservative on June 8, 2009 at 2:58 PM
I am shocked, SHOCKED that NBC played this, let alone put it together. They’ve finally found something “funny” about Teh One. ha.
That’s the song I heard that too. Irony in it’s highest form. Someone is definitely getting fired.
Noticed that too. Am waiting for lefty blogs to ask a) why she can’t type and/or b) wHY SHE WAS SCREAMING AT TOTUTS!!!
Did anyone notice how Letterman criticized the critics?
conservative pilgrim on June 8, 2009 at 2:59 PM
I agree, and also suspected the prez himself of pulling the same mind trick when he seemed to fake the “go ahead and pull it up” gaffe…
too cool for school, he is.
surrounded on June 8, 2009 at 3:00 PM
LastRick on June 8, 2009 at 2:57 PM
FTW!
dont taze me bro on June 8, 2009 at 3:00 PM
ina gada devita?
Rose on June 8, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Aaaaah… that’s the name of the song. I could sing it, but couldn’t come up with the title. kthxbai.
Abby Adams on June 8, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Hey, I guess that answers also whether I had been stealth-banned. Because I had been wondering the past few days…
LastRick on June 8, 2009 at 3:02 PM
TOTUS allows aspiring destroyers of nations to pontificate on topics and “solutions” they know nothing about. Great for clueless multi-taskers.
T J Green on June 8, 2009 at 3:02 PM
They could have probably also used http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdTYcnUBADw, or did POTUS just like coke?
WriterMom on June 8, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Mas Que Nada?
LastRick on June 8, 2009 at 2:57 PM
dont taze me bro on June 8, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Didn’t this whole TOTUS thing originate with a commenter here, at HotAir? I saw references that Rush’s mention on March 19th was the first, publicly, but it was in threads here on the 18th.
I think that someone deserves some credit.
progressoverpeace on June 8, 2009 at 3:04 PM
Speaking of TOTUS, he has a great picture of Lady M scowling at la belle Madame Sarkozy at his website.
Buy Danish on June 8, 2009 at 3:07 PM
LONG LIVE TOTUS!
upinak on June 8, 2009 at 3:07 PM
George Thorogood’s Bad to the Bone? WTF?
Wyznowski on June 8, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Handles “Messiah”?
csdeven on June 8, 2009 at 3:15 PM
If you watch carefully, you can see Letterman spit ChimpyO’s C*** out of his mouth just before.
csdeven on June 8, 2009 at 3:17 PM
Clever, very clever!
Schadenfreude on June 8, 2009 at 3:19 PM
What’s with all the baby-boomer music?
lol
bluelightbrigade on June 8, 2009 at 3:22 PM
I’m thinking the Cocaine clip made you laugh. But one of your favorite songs? Now, I’m not so sure.
Wow, the “Cocaine” song shows some chutzpah by the producer. Somebody is definitely getting fired and audited by the IRS.
conservative pilgrim on June 8, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Have Teleprompter Will Travel reads the card of the man
A cipher without a thought of his own in what he’s turning into a bankrupt land
His ah, oh, umm, America is one of the biggest Muslin countries, babbling mouth heeds the calling of a Soros wind
A man without a clue of his own is the cipher called Obamadin
Obamadin, Obamadin, Where do you roam?
Obamadin, Obamadin, Just be sure to never leave your teleprompter at home
He travels on to campaign whenever he feels he must
His yearning for power is his guiding lust
These are legends that themselves do spin
Of the Ventriloquist’s dummy
Of the cipher called Obamadin
Obamadin, Obamadin, Where do you roam?
Obamadin, Obamadin, Just be sure to never leave your teleprompter at home
MB4 on June 8, 2009 at 3:23 PM
And before the hatred rolls out from the 50-60 y.o.’s, I was merely asking…
…I mean, wouldn’t GLAM be a bit more fitting?
bluelightbrigade on June 8, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Schadenfreude on June 8, 2009 at 3:28 PM
You have to loooooove the NBC spin.
He’s not unable to speak without a teleprompter because he’s an abject moron… No, in NBCville he’s “a perfectionist.”
Diogenes of Sinope on June 8, 2009 at 3:30 PM
I disagree dude. We want them to see that this stuff gets noticed. Reward good behavior. That’s how capitalism works.
shick on June 8, 2009 at 3:32 PM
How about we get to choose?
Buy Danish on June 8, 2009 at 3:34 PM
+1!!!!
scalleywag on June 8, 2009 at 3:34 PM
Perfectionist?
On his quest to destroy America, let’s pray he’s not!
christene on June 8, 2009 at 3:36 PM
The Totus Store on CafePress, LOL!
maverick muse on June 8, 2009 at 3:37 PM
Great to see the Today show actually make fun of Obama. But the best TOTUS video is still Iowahawk’s.
Link
Christian Conservative on June 8, 2009 at 3:37 PM
It wouldn’t be journalism if we picked it. Journalism works when it tells a story that people want to buy (or pay for the advertising). If we watch the clip over and over again. They’ll notice. If we purchase the avertise products, the advertiser will notice. If the advertiser notices, the media will notice even more.
Support fair and balanced journalism. Watch this video and purchase advertised products.
Capitalism can win the media back. :)
shick on June 8, 2009 at 3:38 PM
Christian Conservative on June 8, 2009 at 3:37 PM
That’s right, Iowahawk’s got the video that proves Obama’s bumbling rambles have nothing to do with being a perfectionist as the blonde from the MSNBC piece asserts.
maverick muse on June 8, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Funky Cold Medina?
O
Oh, and “he’s a perfectionist”?!?! If so, Obama was the only ‘perfectionist’ at the D-Day celebration; Sarkozy, PM Brown, PM Harper all used note cards…
TN Mom on June 8, 2009 at 3:42 PM
Reward good behavior, fine.
/But “good behavior” is not necessarily how capitalism works.
maverick muse on June 8, 2009 at 3:42 PM
why does obama who’s known for his soaring rhetoric use it so much. The answer’s in the question..
To say that Obama’s the butt of late night comedians?
And this is the first e-mail interview? oh, please.
Phoenician on June 8, 2009 at 3:44 PM
Diogenes of Sinope on June 8, 2009 at 3:30 PM
That stuck out like a sore thumb.
maverick muse on June 8, 2009 at 3:44 PM
That’s what I keep trying to tell people. Obama is no better than your average marginally charismatic politician, actor, news anchor, motivational speaker, or television preacher.
I have had a few college professors and a high school teacher who had speaking skills to put Uh-uh-uh-bama to shame, and all without the benefit of any notes, let alone teleprompters.
ynot4tony2 on June 8, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Also sprack Zarathustra
Something classical and movie themish
Cocaine
Something Rap
Flight of the Bumble Bee
Bad to the Bone
Beethoven 4th
Jazz or swing of some kind
unidentified drum beats
Movie theme Jazz
Hail to the Chief
Something Latin? (Oh, ah-ee-ah)
James Bond Theme (the actual interview)
Count to 10 on June 8, 2009 at 3:45 PM
The media is sticky from a whiteish substance. It’ll never come back. See Chris Matthews – he’ll tell ya what the substance is.
Schadenfreude on June 8, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Awww c’mon. Capitalism does lots of good things, because good works are provide lots of benefits to the doer. For example, capitalism creates higher wages, because employers want to find and keep the best employees. Employers give sick days, because it’s better than sick people coming to work and contaminating people. Companies dispose of waste safely, because they dont’ want to literally sicken their customers.
Capitalism promotes more good behavior than any other distribution system.
hawksruleva on June 8, 2009 at 3:48 PM
That would be “Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes that I referenced at 2:57 pm.
LastRick on June 8, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Well, then, there we go.
Count to 10 on June 8, 2009 at 3:52 PM
You’re talking about a network that has Olby, Matthews, Maddow, and Schultz for hosts. I don’t think they really care about us “rewarding” their good behavior. The network is a sewer, full of swamp creatures.
That’s the nicest thing I can say about it.
nickj116 on June 8, 2009 at 3:53 PM
What’s ironic is that dave lettermen gives matthews a run for his money in regards to his obama man crush. That “joke” that they highlighted was actually letterman bashing BUSH for NOT using a teleprompter. You can kind of tell by his facial expressions and intonation that the joke was his shock that the GOP would go after Obama for his over-use of the teleprompter. If you find the whole clip online, letterman goes into a segment called “TelePrompter vs. no teleprompter” where obama speaks, and then bush speaks, and of course, they deliberately find a clip where bush mispronounces a word or stumbles in a sentence.
God I hate letterman
chilly_willy on June 8, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Was the song Send in the Clowns? Too late they’re here…in the Administration.
kingsjester on June 8, 2009 at 4:04 PM
What a lame argument for journalism and capitalism.
Buy Danish on June 8, 2009 at 4:16 PM
sOMETHING FROM MILLI VANILLI?
faraway on June 8, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Schadenfreude beat me to it, as my first guess was “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”) by Richard Strauss.
It’s based on the tone poem by Nietzsche, which discusses the prophecy of how God is replaced by “The One”.
The Richard Strauss piece is interesting in itself because of the juxtaposition of the B major “chords”, or tonality, in the woodwinds with the C “chords” in the bass. (I use “chords” loosely because the third is never emphasized.) As the Wiki describes, the B represents humanity while the C represents the Universe, and the clash between the two represent his rejection of Nietzsche’s idea.
Strauss is one of my favorites, as music at the end of the Romantic era often stretched the bounds of tonality. It had started early with Chopin et al when equal temperament tuning became the norm which allowed composers to jump between completely different keys thanks to enharmonic equivalence. By the late 19th century, the rules of tonality became a roadblock for composers like Strauss.
pt on June 8, 2009 at 4:19 PM
That’s the only capitalism the state run media allows.
faraway on June 8, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Neologism of the day: TOTUSthustra.
Now that’s funny.
warbaby on June 8, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Manchurian.
RedNewEnglander on June 8, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Now that was really rather FUNNY!
Two thumbs up and a twist!
And the late night comics say they can’t find anything about Obama to joke on?
TOTUS RULES!
sarahpalinfan99 on June 8, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Thanks for posting this! I tired searching the nbc site & couldn’t find it & began to wonder if I just dreamed the segment.
adagioforstrings on June 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Si! And it was in good movie with Tom Hanks too… (Is that a double bouns?)
SkinnerVic on June 8, 2009 at 5:07 PM
I follow BHOs teleprompter on Twitter. My fave nick for an O administration official is that Janet N. is called “Bruno”.
This was a funny clip.
TeeDee on June 8, 2009 at 5:16 PM
That was pretty good. A friend of mine said he thought Obama would stand up there and read the back of a cereal box if someone put it on his teleprompter.
Terrye on June 8, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Here’s a challenge for any hacker lurking the Hot-Air threads:
Hack into the TOTUS and make Obama say ‘Balls’ or something Ron Burgundyesque at an inappropriate time.
Aaaaaaand Go!
Chaz706 on June 8, 2009 at 5:42 PM
I bet that’s NOT what Ed was thinking, but you win anyway. Who can post after that?
TexasDan on June 8, 2009 at 5:51 PM
I thought it was downright amazing that NBC would even touch the subject…
But… He uses it because he’s a ‘perfectionist’? Gimme a friggin break. He uses it because he looks and talks like an idiot without it.
One thing I didn’t know was that the teleprompters go up and down, that’s pretty cool I guess.
RedbonePro on June 8, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Did the nutroots declare a jihad on the Today show yet?
Speedwagon82 on June 8, 2009 at 6:33 PM
One line got me…
HE IS A PERFECTIONIST!
I agree
OneConservative on June 8, 2009 at 6:46 PM
I don’t get it. What’s this “TOTUS,” and why’s it so funny?
Christien on June 8, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Mas Que Nada! Eu gosto tão muito também!
Though I agree with your assessment of the original Mendes version being the best evah. Amamos a música Brasileira!
OC Sandman on June 8, 2009 at 7:25 PM
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