Washington Post: Palin Didn’t Write Her Own Speech

• September 4, 2008

According to the opinionators at the Washington Post, Palin’s speech doesn’t matter because she had speech writers. Or, more accurately, because McCain’s campaign speech writers re-wrote her original speech.
Am I the only one thinking that’s more than a little petty? All politicians have speech writers. Politicians haven’t been writing their own speeches since probably the advent of television. Hell, maybe since the advent of radio.
McCain’s got speech-writing professionals working on his campaign. Presidential campaign-caliber writers who are, no doubt, pretty dang good at their jobs.
Regardless, that criticism of Palin’s prepared speech is coming from people whose championed candidate who, when asked to deliver a speech without a few rehearsals and a teleprompter, sounds a bit like a slow fourth grader reading a report about American politics is more than a little ironic.
Update: Surprise, surprise. The “Palin didn’t write her own speech” talking point is coming directly from the Obama campaign.

The speech that Gov. Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush’s speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we’ve heard from George Bush for the last eight years. If Gov. Palin and John McCain want to define ‘change’ as voting with George Bush 90 percent of the time, that’s their choice, but we don’t think the American people are ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.

Anyone else notice that the Obama campaign didn’t have a direct shot at Palin in there? Just more Bush-bashing.
Someone should remind Obama that Bush isn’t on the ticket this year. Someone should also ask Obama who writes his speeches.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics, The Loony Left

http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/ Chief RZ

I repeat. How many lies do they get to fabricate before they are revealed for what they are.
Reminds me of the 1970s when certain people were “allowed” twenty plus DUI arrests before they were finally put in jail and had their licenses revoked.

it takes a lot of effort to figure out that every attack liberals have launched against Palin turned out to be a lie.

AC.
Jay

Duh!!! ya think??? actually, she wrote most of it with the campaign editing and approving, is what I heard on the radio

Then you’re listening to the wrong radio station. That’s not true. Pay attention.

From WaPo.

“There was a flutter of attention when McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told a group of Post reporters and editors yesterday that his team was having to rework the vice presidential acceptance speech because the original draft, prepared before Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen, was too “masculine.” While we all wondered to ourselves what might make a speech masculine or feminine, no one batted an eye at the underlying revelation: that the campaign was writing the nominee’s speech before knowing who the nominee would be.”

You guys can try and frame it any way you like. But the real argument isn’t that she didn’t write her own speech (because many politicians don’t)…it’s because the speech was written before she was picked for VP. You see, it didn’t matter WHO got out there to trumpet it, because it was always going to be a collection of the same, tired, Republican hackery from day one. It was nothing but a boilerplate hit piece with some “insert personal anecdote about eventual pick HERE” scattered throughout. You know, keep it simple stupid. And that, more than anything, is a testament to the level of expectations the speech writers have for the recipients of the speech. They know the speech GIVER is unimportant because the speech isn’t going to be tough to give… just use the same old sophomoric smuggery to get the base frothing at the mouth.

She did it well. I knew she would. But everyone knew the social conservatives would like her. Do you actually think her right of right views are going to play well with the middle?
http://hickeyblogspot.com/ Pat Hickey

And all this time I thought that Keith Olbermann had America’s # 1 Juice Bag all to himself – I hear footsteps Keith! WAPO is gaining.

However, give the Fat Boy a challenge . . .

MSNBC- The Tool Shed! These are the Clowns who want to play “Hamlet!” The Bowery Boys are to the Royal Shakespeare Company, MSNBC is to Journalism. However, the more MSNBC Keeps on Keeping on – McCain landslide is assured. Americans LOVE to be told ‘what just happened’ by a fat Game Show Host with the intellectual pretensions and shouted at by a Milky loudmouth; not mention a Gertrude Stein with no vocal control or intellectual balance whatsoever. Me and the guys that work on the loading docks are sick of it!

http://hickeysite.blogspot.com/2008/09/msnbc-thetool-shed-clowns-want-to-play.html
Hannitized

I thought she read her speech very well from the TelePromTers. What would you expect from a former talking head?
prvanhorn

Duh!!! ya think??? actually, she wrote most of it with the campaign editing and approving, is what I heard on the radio…
prvanhorn

Palin & the Teleprompter [Rich Lowry]
I’m told by a McCain aide that the teleprompter operator mistakenly rolled through the applause lines throughout the speech. So he rolled over the first two lines of the next paragraph after applause. But she was unfazed by it.
09/04 12:58 AM

She performed well despite the circumstances…
Lestat

Obama’s chief speech writer is named Barack.
Pomerdorgrad

Mark Levin on speechwriting:

The Speech-writer’s Role [Mark R. Levin]

I have never been a fan of speech-writers who reveal themselves. It is demeaning to the person for whom they work and, frankly, a betrayal of an unspoken code of ethics. And I don’t think it helps the speech-writer who wants to remain anonymous for others to reveal him. Speech-writing and speech-giving are a collaborative process. But the words are only part of it. Whether the speech is successful and has a broad appeal requires more than clever wording. A great speech in the hands of a poor orator is an announcement. Middling language in the hands of a greater orator can be a timeless oration. A great speech requires superior communication skills, including emoting and pacing and connecting. These are things that speech-writers cannot accomplish. And the speaker has to mean the words and defend them and stand by them. It is odd and disquieting that more and more speech-writers, on their own or others on their behalf, seem to claim ownership of their boss’s message. There’s just something unseemly about it to me — credit taken for the Challenger speech, “the axis of evil,” etc., etc. When the words come out of the speaker’s mouth, they belong to the speaker. I notice speech-writers don’t take credit for bad speeches.

09/04 10:15 AM
Hannitized

Well said Jay!!
docdave

The liberal press is really grasping at wind blown straws in their attempts to demonize Palin. I think this transparency is obvious to most of the electorate.
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

As if Obamalama is anything but a prepared speech writer.

These guys are scared to death.
HG

I noticed this talking point right after the speech. Even Brit Hume had to ask what was it all about since all the candidates have speech writers.

The libs got nothing, they gotta find something, even if it too is nothing.
carrick

True, Lestat. Barrack can write speeches. Hell he can write entire books lol. Given his campaign’s predilection for exaggeration of Obama’s resume though, I don’t trust their word that he wrote that speech primarily by himself though (but I admit it’s certainly likely).

In any case, public oration is a separate skill than speech writings. There are many writers who definitely stink at it, and vice versus. Public speaking is clearly a gift that both Obama and Palin have. (She had a better stage presence than Guiliani in my opinion, who looked rather stilted at times…)

I definitely think that Palin hit a home run here. Unfortunately for the Obamanoids, Palin can also speak easily and freely in unscripted moments. Look at how she took apart her opposition during the AK governor debates for example.

On the other hand, there’s a reason we call him “Uh-bama”.
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

Obama’s chief speech writer is named Barack.

…and I have a bridge to sell you!
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

And he gets no help? I doubt it.
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/sparkiearbuckle sayanything-81

No politico writes their own speeches nowadays. But we are actually praising her for her teleprompter reading skills? C’mon.

SayAnythingBlog.com

Washington Post: Palin Didn’t Write Her Own Speech

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