Tag Archives: 9/11

Fighting Terror with Humor

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 […]

9/11/01: The Speech Train Kept Rolling

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 […]

Best for Last?

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 […]