This was the most important question during dinner at a client workshop the other night. Did Barack Obama have notes during his much-publicized speech to the Islamic World, from Cairo last week? Obama is, of course, somewhat of a source of pride here in Kenya (given his lineage) and Africa more generally. The idea that he was able (allegedly) to give a 45-minute speech, entirely from memory, just adds to the aura of the man. “It was made in front of a live audience;” it was argued, “no way possible for a teleprompter there. And he never looked down at any notes.”
Really? 45 minutes sans any notes at all? Now, that would be something.
