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The Great American Ghostwriter

March 21

While we are still on the subject of Obama (and, thanks to the media, largely following his every move since he assumed office last week), it perhaps pays to pause and give thought to his role as one of the most influential writers of our time.

It is already established that the new President can write. Both his books – Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope – have been well received by critics and the public. Indeed, those of us who a literary-minded are perhaps doubly fond of Obama for this reason – not only are his politics a welcome relief from the Bush era, but here is a leader who also appreciates books, poetry and an eloquent turn of phrase.

Yet Obama’s words are not all his own. Understandably of course, ending the war in Iraq, fighting global warming and steering America through an economic crisis makes for busy times. Cue the President’s chief speechwriter – 27 year-old Jon Favreau (the man allegedly behind the ‘Yes we can’ election catchphrase).

Favreau is quick to play down his role, stating that the effort is one of genuine collaboration. Obama will sit down with him for about an hour, explaining what sort of message he wants to get across. Favreau condenses and organises these ideas into a first draft, and hands it over to Obama for rewriting and editing, before settling on the final version together. Yet despite this partnership, it is undeniable that White House speechwriters also bear significant responsibility for shaping public perception, not only in terms of the national agenda, but also the idea of the President itself. After all, Barack Obama the President is not the same as Barack Obama the man. He is an ideal, a rallying point, a character and (hopefully) a beautiful and enduring fiction. Favreau is, in some ways, a writer seeking to be the ‘voice’ of his protagonist. This is clearly shown by his writing process. Favreau admits that the key is inhabiting Obama’s speech patterns: his phrasing, his inflections, his emphasis and resonance. He is never without a copy of Dreams From My Father, a template from which he draws constant inspiration.

If in doubt about the ability of ghostwritten speeches to set the tone of a Presidency and live on long after, then just think of Roosevelt’s 1933 address and the well-known line ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’, which was inserted at the last moment by presidential aide Louis Howe. Likewise, it has been suggested that Ted Sorenson was directly responsible for JFK’s often-quoted phrase ‘ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country’.

Speechwriting can make or break time in office. A good ghostwriter is crucial to success. On a more macabre aside, nowhere was this more evident than in the case of President William Henry Harrison, who delivered a two-hour inauguration speech in 1841 (presumably due to poor advice) in freezing temperatures, and died one month later of pneumonia and pleurisy. Medical evidence suggests that the cold was not the cause of death, however the idea of fatal speechwriting certainly sticks. Australia’s Prime Ministers understand this – think of the famous pairings between Paul Keating and Don Watson, Gough Whitlam and Graham Freudenberg. Kevin Rudd also became wise to the fact, hiring James Button (son of Labor Minister, John Button) to write for him last year. While it remains to be seen whether they will reach the heights of Obama and Fevreau, it seems important to remember where the words of leaders really come from.


 

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