Tag Archives: 9/11

Fighting Terror with Humor

September 11, 2009 – 1:30 pm

More on White House speechwriting in September 2001.
Though the period was obviously full of tension and concern, there were several lighthearted moments, too.
For instance, at one meeting – it might have been on September 12th – when the speech staff was spit-balling ideas for the president’s sure-to-come address to the nation, one of our speechwriters, [...]

By Ed Walsh (WHWG) | Posted in Presidency | Also tagged , , , | Comments

9/11/01: The Speech Train Kept Rolling

September 11, 2009 – 10:50 am

Quick story about the mechanics of speechwriting on September 11, 2001.
On that day I was working as a research assistant in the White House speechwriting office. Later in the week, President Bush was to re-dedicate the Old Executive Office Building as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Given the building’s history – it once housed elements of the [...]

By Ed Walsh (WHWG) | Posted in Presidency | Also tagged , | Comments

Best for Last?

January 15, 2009 – 9:41 pm

George W. Bush’s address from the East Room of the White House Thursday evening was among his best. To a degree almost unseen before, he was relaxed, calm, and comfortable at the podium. He looked like a man about to be relieved of a great burden – not the burden of making decisions (he seems to [...]

By Ed Walsh (WHWG) | Posted in General | Also tagged , , , | Comments