Posted on 01/20/2009 2:19:04 PM PST by nickcarraway
When Barack Obama steps up to the podium to deliver his inaugural address, one man standing anonymously in the crowd will be paying especially close attention. With his cropped hair, five o'clock shadow and boyish face, he might look out of place among the dignitaries, though as co-author of the speech this man has more claim than most to be a witness to this moment of history.
Jon Favreau, 27, is, as Obama himself puts it, the president's mind reader. He is the youngest chief speechwriter on record in the White House, and, despite such youth, was at the centre of discussions of the content of today's speech, one which has so much riding on it.
For a politician whose rise to prominence was largely built upon his powers as an orator, Obama is well versed in the arts of speech-making. But today's effort will tower over all previous ones.
It is not just that Obama has set an extremely high bar by invoking the inaugural speeches of Abraham Lincoln as his inspiration - admitting to feeling "intimidated" when he read them. It is also that, as he begins his term with the US in an economic crisis and two wars, he knows he needs to kick start his presidency with a soaring rhetoric that both moves and motivates the American people.
The tone of the speech could be decisive in determining how the public responds to his first 100 days, as Franklin Roosevelt's famous line "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" helped to determine his.
Obama aides have let it be known that a key theme will be restoring responsibility - both in terms of accountability in Washington and the responsibility of ordinary people to get involved.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
The 27 year old speech writer just bombed.
Should’a hired Peggy Noonan.
27 years old?
No wonder the speech was a POS.
The speechwriter needs to get off the decaf.
“The tone of the speech could be decisive in determining how the public responds to his first 100 days”
On the other hand, the somberness may be calculated to help sell the “stimulus” largesse Obama wants to dole out. Being positive about the economy would help kill the chances of that bill.
speaking of Noonan-has she been out salivating anywhere on MSNBC?
The Guardian liked it, so after passing it through my Guardian inverter-filter, it matched reality (e.g., it sucked eggs).
Is this the icky guy who was pictured with that cardboard figure of Hillary?
Jasons speech confirms what is going on in Os mind is not worth writing about.
I thought I heard somewhere today (Rush?) that Obama had sequestered himself for 2 days and written the speech himself.
Someone turned such an important job over to a young punk? The speechwriter suck also.
suck = sucked
Mr. Favreau could serve at Starbux after that speech, the clips I’ve seen and posts I’ve read (having ‘boycotted’ the whole thing and read only the live thread)
Oh yeah! Well Obama crafted his Oath of Office himself. So there.
.. or was that the Oaff of Office that Sen. Feinstein introduced?
On the plus side, Jon Favreau was awesome in Swingers. And Iron Man was pretty good as well.
I haven’t heard the speech yet so I can’t comment on that. I do agree with your reasoning though. I do have to ask if a guy 27 years of age actually has the gravitas to write a speech like this though.
Obamanation Crisis - America Held Hostage: Day 1
LOL..sense the speech bombed...even if Obama DID write it..there’s no way they are going to allow him to take the blame!
Undeniably bad. This is not mere partisanship. The speech stunk. If I was teaching a class in public speaking and I was in a charitable frame of mind, I might have given Obama a “C-” simply for showing up.
The speech did not accomplish anything other than to suggest that Obama will go soft on Islamic fanatics.
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