CNN’s Jim Acosta: Palin ‘Still Very Much on Script, Teleprompter’

On Monday’s American Morning, CNN correspondent Jim Acosta tried to throw a bit of cold water on the news that tens of thousands showed up in central Florida for a Sarah Palin camapign rally on Sunday. When co-host John Roberts asked about the high turnout, Acosta replied, "[T]his was an enormous crowd out here in Florida. She is still very much on script, John -- still very much on that teleprompter, talking mainly in generalities."

Roberts, besides asking about the Palin rally, asked if the Alaska governor had mentioned the proposed financial bailout during her speech, since the two of them had discussed Barack Obama and John McCain’s responses to the proposal and how it may affect how the two will campaign on the issue of the economy. Besides mentioning the "enormous crowd," he referenced how the campaign stop was located in "that central Florida -- critical I-4 corridor area," and how Palin played up McCain’s credentials with economic issues.

One wonders when CNN will get around to Obama’s use of the teleprompter and generalities during his long campaign for the presidency.

The transcript of the relevant portion of the Roberts-Acosta segment, which aired 34 minutes into the 6 am Eastern hour of Monday’s American Morning:

JOHN ROBERTS: ...McCain did acknowledge yesterday that the President does not have the power to actually fire the SEC chairman.

JIM ACOSTA: Right.

ROBERTS: Sarah Palin drew a huge crowd at The Villages there [Florida] yesterday. How much did she talk about this?

ACOSTA: Not a whole lot, and it's interesting what you just said about the SEC chairman, because you're right. He can't just do that. But I talked to an economist late last week who said Barack Obama and John McCain are essentially being held hostage to what is happening right now because they can't do very much. They're going to have to respond to events on the ground in January of 2009. As for Sarah Palin -- this was an enormous crowd out here in Florida. She is still very much on script, John -- still very much on that teleprompter, talking mainly in generalities. But yesterday, in front of what was an enormous crowd, tens of thousands of people here just out of Orlando, Florida in that central Florida -- critical I-4 corridor area. She once again said that John McCain is the real maverick in this race. He is the guy who has bucked the Republican Party -- tried to warn Congress, warn the government about the unfolding crisis at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that only he can be trusted to fix the economy. John?

ROBERTS: All right. Jim Acosta for us in Lady Lake, Florida. Jim, thanks so much.