Updated

President Obama, usually lauded for his eloquence and oratory style, stumbled over his words today during his remarks at the National Academy of Sciences. But don’t blame him – the teleprompter operator seemed to be asleep at the wheel.

The President, often criticized for his overuse of the teleprompter, had decided to adlib the portion of his speech where he introduced his designates to the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.  The problem with not sticking to the script? The teleprompter operator didn’t seem to catch on.  After noticing the same names he had just uttered on his teleprompter screen, President Obama stopped midsentence, paused awkwardly and told the crowd “I just noticed I jumped the gun here.”  Then after a second, Obama spoke directly to the unseen teleprompter operator,” Go ahead move it up.  I already introduced those guys.” 

It still took a second or two before the operator caught on but the rest of the speech appeared error free.