Does the President of the US tell the speech writer the points he wants to express? And is the final draft reviewed by a number of individuals for content? Or does the speech writer first puts down on paper what he/she thinks should be said during a presidential speech and then additions or subtractions are made?
Depends on the President.
I WAG that it varies tremendously from President to President and even from speech to speech. I’ll assume the speech last night (what a beaut, huh?) was the catalyst for this question.
My take is that the speech delivered by President Bush last night was a group effort. The President, speech writers, and appropriate advisors gathered in a room and hashed out an outline of points that should be covered. I’m sure Bush had some things he wanted to say and the advisors had points that they wanted covered (or knew the public wanted to hear). Salient facts and examples are then added to the outline points. When everyone was satisfied with the outline the speech writers went away and produced a rough draft of the speech. Everyone gathered again to go over the rough draft and make changes, add facts or examples, adjust the ‘stress’ given to each point, etc. Once the speech was finalized I’m sure it was shared with cabinet members, some Congressmen and possibly even some military leaders well before it was delivered on TV.
OTOH, I would not be surprised to learn that Reagan used speech writers very little. If you have ever read his self written radio addresses from his time as Governor of California you would see that he was a very writer all by himself.
yes, definately depends on the pres. but i have an overwhelming feeling that dubya doesn’t like to overuse his speech writers, cause his speeches sure suck. he did pretty good last night (9/20) but he usually hesitates and stumbles a lot. maybe he just needs to learn how to talk.
It does depend on the President and the occasion, if you would like an inside view of the speechwriter’s life I suggest the book What I Saw at the Revolution by Peggy Noonan.
The speechwriter who advises Mr. Bush to use the term Crusade, or Mr. Bush himself if the word is his choice, needs to brush up on the history of the Middle East between 1095 (The First Crusade) and 1272 (The Eighth Crusade).
The use of this term is greatly offensive to the people of those very countries with which the US is trying to forge alliances.
The excellent speech Bush gave yesterday WAS the catalystt for my question. As my mother used to tell me yrs and yrs ago: Once you say a word, you can’t stick it back in your mouth…meaning who is the final determinant as to the degree of threat? (ie. NO CONDITIONS!). I woule think there would be some disagreement amongst the cabinet or chiefs of staff as to the strength to be employed in a particular statement…and if so, does the President actually have the final word?
I was reading in a magazine article – Newsweek? Time? they’re all jumbled together now, I’m sorry – that Bush specifically inserted the line about “terrorism and countries that harbor terrorism” in his original speech from the day of the attacks. So apparently, yes, the Prez does have final say, and can add stuff in at the last minute (or strike it out) if he wants.
I thought Ms Rice wrote the speech?? It was a good speech. I suppose the President could tell the speechwriter what he wants to say and then they take it from there.
I was listening to a local radio talk show yesterday, and the host was discussing this. A caller said that earlier in the day, on the Rush Limbaugh show, a caller claiming to be a White House staffer had said that Bush had written the speech all by himself. The local host said he didn’t believe it. I know I don’t. Can anyone who heard the Limbaugh show on Friday confirm or deny whether this was said?
Who wrote the word “Terra”
Depends not only on the president, but also on the occasion. Presidents typically give several thousand speeches per four-year term, most concentrated around election cycles. Most speeches never make the national news and the relatively few that do only receive fleeting attention through ten-second news bites. Therefore, much of a presidential speech is boilerplate–the same themes, the same words, the same vision repeated again and again. As reiteration is key to advancing your agenda, this makes sense and also lessens the load on the speechwriters.
When a major policy shift/declaration is indicated, key portions of the president’s speech will emerge from major themes kicked around in meetings between senior advisors. A president will then tap his pool of speechwriters–formed of senior and junior-level writers–who either work in group or in solo to craft the many drafts. (The president can also retain independent contractual talent as needed.) For key addresses, there is usually much back and forth between president and speechwriter; obviously, the former has the final say.
Each speechwriter is known for his/her stylistic voice. When an event calls for a more poetic delivery, for instance, the appropriate speechwriter/senior staff member is tapped. Presidents often make many costmetic changes to speeches, but also events find presidents crossing through entire portions of a speech and thus forcing hurried middle-of-the-night revisions by speechwriters.
Many speechwriters have law backgrounds and are paid surprisingly little money–not much over $100,000. The big bucks, of course, are waiting when they later either start their own political consultating firms or become senior partners in established law/consulting/investment firms.
My AP US History teacher told us that Pres. Bush has trouble reading off the teleprompters and speaking. From what he said Bush had memorized his entire speach.
We can discuss who writes presidential speeches, and who wrote the President’s recent address, but let’s not discuss how good or bad Bush’s speech was, or what he should or shouldn’t have said. There are already threads in other forums for that.
GD: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=88554
MPSIMS: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=88543
bibliophage
moderator GQ