Obama Ignores 'Wrap-It-Up' Beeps, Talks and Talks at Climate Summit
President Barack Obama was met with what appeared to be the U.N.'s version of the Oscars' "wrap-it-up" music Monday after he significantly overran his allotted time to speak at a global climate change summit.
Obama was one of 147 world leaders given a three-minute slot at
the COP21 conference to outline their vision for the future of the planet.
The president of the free world, however, had other ideas.( 14 minutes worth )
More than eight and a half minutes into Obama's address — and with no sign he was stopping soon — three beeps sounded across the auditorium, clearly audible to everyone present and watching on TV.
The beeps continued every 30 seconds, but the president plowed on.
After 11 minutes, whoever was manning the "beep" button had clearly given up, and no more prompts were heard until Obama ended his epic discourse just shy of 14 minutes.
By the time he was done, he had spoken for nearly the length of time set aside for four world leaders. If all 147 speakers had taken as long as Obama, their combined addresses would have lasted more than 33 hours.
And it was not as if he went off on a tangent in the heat of the moment; his prepared remarks released by the White House ran to more than 1,700 words.