I knew the operator who was running the prompter that night. I worked with him at the White House on several occasions during Clinton’s first term—a good guy and a consummate professional. Nevertheless, he never lived down that momentary gaffe.
In September 1993, Bill Clinton came to Congress to deliver an address on health care reform. But the wrong speech was in the teleprompter. This would have been an epic calamity for the current occupant of the executive mansion but President Clinton adroitly ad-libbed and remained on topic for some ten minutes while the problem was fixed.
I knew the operator who was running the prompter that night. I worked with him at the White House on several occasions during Clinton’s first term—a good guy and a consummate professional. Nevertheless, he never lived down that momentary gaffe.