Shockingly Not Shocking: Obama Didn’t Write Inaugural Speech Libs Have Been Drooling OverBut he did read it off a teleprompter.Quote:
It is surprisingly difficult to write speeches for President Barack Obama, one of the most gifted orators in recent political history.
Yes, written words tend to sound better when he’s reciting them. But the sheer number of speeches he’s delivered and the magnitude of the moments in which they are given make it tough to be original and even harder to be memorable. The speech-writing process can be arduous and time consuming; it provokes self-doubt.
In his first interview since helping write the president’s second inaugural address, Jon Favreau, director of speechwriting for the White House, acknowledged grappling with all these challenges. The speech, which Favreau said would probably be one of the last he will write in his current post, was praised as crisp, bold and assertive -– a standout in Obama’s already rich canon of past addresses. But getting to that point was difficult.
“It was one of the hardest speeches I’ve written,†Favreau said.
And he’s written quite a few. Favreau has worked with Obama since 2005, helping his boss speak about his greatest triumphs, his public humiliations, dicey political topics and complex policy negotiations. The second inaugural address, an affirmation of sorts of the work they’ve done together, was conceived through a now familiar routine.