Meeting with White House Speechwriters

Members of President Obama's speechwriting team including Sarah Hurwitz, Cody Keenan, Jon Lovett and Kyle O'Connor met with Political Science students on September 24th, 2009. Discussion ensued on the craft of presidential speechwriting. Following the discussion students visited the Oval Office, the front lawn of the White House and an anti-Iran demonsration on Pennsylvania Avenue. Pictures from the Q&A and the rest of our day are below. Answers are edited and summarized. Many thanks to Kyle O'Connor for arranging this meeting and a great experience at the White House.

Connor- What was it like the first time you heard the president say words that you wrote?
Answer- It's a great honor, but it was also an unusual experience to hear my words coming out of the president's mouth. It's incredible. Yeah, it's great. I wrote a 3-minutes statement Obama made to the NAACP. I was mouthing the words as I watched Obama speak.

Shannon- Peggy Noonan wrote "We came to Washington because of Reagan. He moved us. We loved him." Was that the case with all of you and President Obama or was it more the opportunity to serve your country?

Answer- We obviously believe in President Obama and all the people here are here because they believe in what he is trying to accomplish. And of course there are other ways to serve your country than working for the president as you all will find out when you intern.

Kyle O'Connor brings us from the EEOB to the West Wing. Pictures were not allowed in the West Wing or Oval Office.

Emily- John Gibson was a speechwriter for President Clinton and accepted a position in the Bush administration because "writing for the president and helping the country was a high honor." If Sarah Palin wins the 2012 election and she asked one of you to stay on and work in her administration, would you?

Answer- No way. Noooooo. Not a chance. Now that may sound rough, but if Sarah Palin runs for president or is elected, she will need and deserves people that are committed to her agenda. If you're not you should not work for her. There are some people that can work for both parties but I can't.

Ken (right with Dave)- This question is for Kyle O'Connor. As someone that will be interning next semester, I'm wondering to what extent the internship you had when you were at Herndon High lead to the position you have now?

Kyle's Answer- I would not be sitting here if it were not for the internship I had when I was at Herndon High. The internship for Sen. Kennedy led to a sequence of events that landed me in the Obama campaign and then the White House.

Lea (right, with Yasmin)- There was a scene in West Wing where the Chief of Staff told his wife that working for the president for the next 4 years was more important than his marriage. Is your work more important than anything else in your life?

Answer- We are all pretty young without many outside obligations that interfere with our job. If we had kids it would be much tougher. We see Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel who has young children and how tough it is on him. For right now work is more important than friends but a family emergency would be more important that work.

Anti-Iran government demonstration by members of the Bahai faith.

All of you need to know that when you are interns, you may be doing the most mundane, tedious jobs there are. But you have to do the best possible job you can and do it with a smile and good attitude. You will be noticed and down the road you will get to do something or experience some really interesting...if only because your boss feels guilty about giving the boring work all the time.

Carson (center, with Elysha and Stephanie)-This question is for Adam Frankel (arrived after the others)- Were you a speechwriter prior to helping Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorenson write his memoirs or did that experience push you in the speechwriter direction?

Answer- I had an interest in speechwriting when I was in college. I met Ted Sorenson, who may be the best presidential speechwriter of all time, in college and that sparked an interest. I joined the 2004 Kerry campaign and met Jon Favreau (current head of speechwriting for President Obama) who brought me on to the White House.

Gonzo- This question is for Cody Keenan. What did you see in Kyle O'Connor that made you think "this guy can write for the president?"

Answer- Well he arrived at work before I did and left after I did. I was able to see his confidence grow with more assignments so I thought he was ready. Kyle has a great sense of Obama's voice and he picked that up quickly.

Aakriti- This question is for Kyle O'Connor. Former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panata said "the difference between working on Capitol Hill and the White House was that on the Hill you had breaks. At the White House you don't." Since you worked in Sen. Kennedy's office, how would you describe the differences between working in the legislative and executive branches?

Answer- I really like the generosity and pace of working at the White House. But I'll be lucky if I get a week vacation. The Hill had a summer recess. The whole experience is at another level at the White House.

At Lafayette Park

Regarding your internships, people on the Hill see lots of interns and many of the interns seem like they don't care. You can't be that way. You have to be proactive. You have to be assertive. You may think you are doing meaningless work but it's important or it would not be assigned to you. If you were not there to do it someone higher up in the office would have to do it. You have to accept each task as if it were the most important task in the world and go above and beyond in your approach to it. Sooner or later you'll get rewarded for those efforts. And once you've completed your internship you'll have the skills and attitude to be hired on Capitol Hill or other government agencies...or even the White House.

Amanda (left with Ryleigh)- Do you feel protective of the president because your words help to shape his image and if so, what is your reaction when phrases like "death panels" and "socialism" are expressed?

Answer- Well we get frustrated when people make stuff up. There is plenty of things to disagree on with real issues. In some cases we have to cut important information in order to debunk the rumors.

Marissa (right) with Rachel- Do speechwriters compete for the most influential speeches?

Answer- No, we are very collegial. An email is sent out and we can pick and choose. Everyone discusses it with each other and people do have certain preferences. If there is any competition, it is competition not to do a speech.

Lester- When Peggy Noonan wanted to find the president that sounded most like a president, she went back to FDR. Which former president would you look back to with that task?

Answer- FDR is the one we would go back to. JFK and President Reagan gave excellent speeches too. There are some that are terrible. Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter are completely unquotable. I like to look back at the best speechwriters and see their notes more so than presidential speeches so I'll look at Peggy Noonan and Ted Sorenson.

Sydney- How many non-speechwriters have a say in any given speech by the president and please describe the frustrations of having administrations officials having a hand in the words you write for the president.

Answer- We are all responsible for our own speeches but we help each other out. We all have strengths and weaknesses and we're all team players. Others will add comments but we can rephrase it in the language Obama likes to use.

Christeen and Shayma

Shannon and Alex

Elysia and Cody Keenan Yasmin and Sarah Hurwitz Aakriti and Adam Frankel

Working at the White House is too big an opportunity to pass up.

photo by Rebecca Small

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