Obama's sidekick Teleprompter crashes

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- The Teleprompter that has been part of Barack Obama's life since he began campaigning for the U.S. presidency broke down for the last time, aides said.

The end came quickly for the celebrated speech aid Monday as Obama was looking at it while defending his economic stimulus package in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday

What exactly happened to the Teleprompter -- which was less than two years old -- wasn't immediately known. The Teleprompter was Obama's sidekick while campaigning and after he became president, providing him a rolling text of his remarks on its transparent glass plate and spawning numerous jokes about Obama's heavy reliance on it.

Witnesses told the Times the Teleprompter came loose, falling to the floor and smashing into many pieces on the hard floor.

"Oh, goodness!" Obama said. "Sorry about that, guys."