State Of The Union with White House Speechwriters
Peter and Lia with White House Speechwriters Cody Keenan and HHS graduate Kyle O'Connor. Mr. Keenan and Mr. O'Connor discussed the writing of the State of the Union with Political Science students on January 26th, 2012, two days after President Obama delivered his State of the Union speech.
Peter- President Obama stated "anyone who says America is in decline doesn't know what they're talking about." Was that a shot at the Republican presidential candidates? ANSWER- No. We're careful to avoid things like that. We look at the numbers and compare us to the rest of the world. America is back.
Lia- In President Washington’s first State of the Union, he stated “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” That statement is still used today. People today recognize President Bush’s “Axis of Evil” phrase from his 2002 state of the union. Have you designed a statement in a state of the union address which was meant to be remembered for years to come? Or has a phrase you didn’t think would have a big impact end up having a big impact? ANSWER- President Obama does not like the catch phrase, he will take them out. He's more about telling a story.
In Front of the West Wing
Erin (2nd from left)- I assume you writers meet with President Obama leading up to the State of the Union. How does the process of creating the speech work with President Obama? ANSWER- We start writing in November, we gather policy. We went through 6 drafts. The President edits almost continuously until the speech. We finished one and a half hours before the speech.
Alexis (left)- President Obama faced criticism after last year’s state of the union when he spoke out against the Citizens United case. Are Supreme Court decisions now off-limits in a state of the union speech? ANSWER- No. There was also praise for him mentioning the Citizen United case. There is praise and criticism in everything. But Citizens United is corrosive to democracy.
Fahduma (3rd from left)- Is it tempting to try to make policy as you write speeches and if so, have you ever gotten away with it? ANSWER- We try to make the policy comprehensible to the people. But yes it is tempting. I don't know if we have gotten away with it or not
Azraf- Hey Shannon you interned last summer for Rep. Jose Serrano. I start next week with Rep. Pete Sessions. What can I expect? Shannon- Well,........
Kyle (right) responds to this question from Jake (below)- This one is just for Kyle. We knew you had an internship when you were at Herndon High School. Would you have the job you have now if you did not have that internship? ANSWER- I would not have this job if I did not have the internship with Sen. Kennedy that Mr. Graney arranged for me. After college I applied to 10 political firms. I got 2 interviews and was hired by one of them. They told me the internship was why I was hired. After that I interned on the Obama campaign and was offered a job when he became President.
Steve- That spilled milk joke. What was up with that? ANSWER- (Kyle) I'm not taking credit for that! A former speechwriter that is now writing comedy thought it was funny so it was included in the speech.
Loudoun County High School students Shannon, Emma, Callie and Rachel.
Ben (left)- What does President Obama do after the speech? ANSWER- After Tuesday's speech he was making calls concerning the rescue from the Somalia pirates. He talked to some of those who attended the speech and was back at the White House by eleven.
Prateek (2nd left)- In Bob Woodward’s book “Plan of Attack” speechwriter Michael Gearson mentioned that President Bush asked him to write his announcement speech, convention speech and inaugural address. Have any of you started jotting down ideas for President Obama’s 2nd inaugural? ANSWER- No. The reason is the world is changing and we don't know what to expect in the near future. And I'm superstitious, I don't want to jinx this.
Max (right)- Tuesday's State of the Union speech was full of proposals. Do you ever want to limit the content of the speech to make it more manageable to those that don't pay that much attention to politics? ANSWER- Yes. We dramatically limit it, from 60 policy proposals down to a 12-page speech.
Khooban- Last year during the state of the union, Republicans and Democrats sat next to each other to show bipartisanship. Knowing that, did it affect how you contributed to the speech? ANSWER- No, but it did help people see political differences.
Rawan (next to Khooban)- Did Michele Obama get a preview of the State of the Union? ANSWER- The President probably showed it to her. I (Kyle) used to help write some of her speeches. She's a good speechwriter in her own right. She is able to zero in on the weaknesses in a speech.
Scott- An issue from President Washington’s first state of the union was immigration and of course that is an issue today. Do you research past presidential statements on current issues or just deal with the current version of the same problem? ANSWER-No. We deal with the world as it is. We only look at past statements to tell stories.
Shelbey (right)- In President Clinton’s 2000 state of the union he stated “My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.” A statement like that forced the Republicans to applaud which made it seem like they approved of Clinton. Do you try to create phrases where Republicans have to applaud President Obama? ANSWER- Yes, but I'm not going to tell you what they are. But every year since Clinton was president it's almost mandatory to say something along the lines of "the state of our union is strong."
Emily- In his speech, President Obama referred to himself as a wealthy American who would be willing to have his taxes raised. Is this intended to put pressure on other wealthy Americans? ANSWER- Obama intended that statement to pressure Congress to do what they're supposed to do regarding the tax code. As a wealthy American he still believes he should pay his share of taxes. It's like someone who drives a SUV realizing they are going to have to pay more for gas.
Kris (top row, 3rd from left)- What makes writing a state of the union different than writing another important speech? ANSWER- This takes a lot longer to write and it's more broad compared to other speeches that are more focused.
Danith (left)- If this was not an election year, how would the speech have been different? ANSWER- It was not different from his previous state of the union speeches. We try to touch on the topics that affect the U.S., not what affects his reelection bid.
Jackson (center)- What process do you use to determine if the state of the union speech has been successful? ANSWER- Did you think it was successful?
Leann- One criticism of the speech was that it was too long. Has your staff ever considered breaking with tradition and delivering a 20 minute State of the Union? ANSWER- Yes! Too many agencies want their say in it. Obama has a lot he wants to talk about with his one chance to really address the whole nation once a year.
Azraf- In President Bush’s 2003 state of the union, he said “The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” That statement was found to be false. What process does President Obama have to make sure everything he says is accurate? ANSWER- The research office finds citations for every fact we use in a speech. They work they do is really important, it saves us from a lot of trouble. The Director of National Intelligence and various other agencies also look through the state of the union speech.
Sapna (left)Were you concerned that the obviously welcomed arrival and presence of Gabby Giffords would distract from the speech and was their discussion of mentioning her in the speech? ANSWER- We were planning on her being there. President Obama wanted to greet her.
Breanna- Regarding the section on energy production, President Obama did not mention the Keystone pipeline decision. Was there a concern that he would be showered with boo’s if he did? ANSWER- No. President Obama mentioned it a week ago so there was no reason to bring it up again.
Russ- In a West Wing episode President Bartlett prayed just prior to giving a state of the union speech. How does President Obama prepare for a state of the union? Does he rehearse, pray, read it over and over to himself? ANSWER- By Saturday we had close to the final draft. He rehearsed and ran through the speech twice on Sunday and Monday. The President will eat dinner about an hour before the speech and just before he has 10 minutes to himself for prayer and relaxation.
Dom- Do you and other members of the White House staff watch the State of the Union speech together? ANSWER- Yes, I watched it with staff members in the press secretary's office. Cody was on a dial test.
Brian (right)- How did the JFK style statement about business leaders come about? ANSWER- We use the JFK style at times. We did not want make it too close to the "Ask not..." but we wanted to reflect the idea that everyone needs to do their fair share.
