THUS SPAKE BARACK OBAMA
Igoogled David Litt to check out if Barack Obama’s daughters had rubbished his book or if someone charged him with disloyalty. Chances were low in any case because Litt is dewy- eyed about his ex- boss. Huffington Post declared its disappointment with its review headlined, ‘ Barack Obama Speechwriter Tells All ( Spoiler: He’s a Big Fan)’. But then, Litt was all of 24 and just out of college ( Yale) when he was hired to join Obama’s team of speechwriters. That’s not the age when one is cynical, hard- wired and hard- nosed. Litt remained an Obama admirer even after eight years in the White House. I guess Obama was like that.
Litt ended up being a senior speechwriter, and that he did some serious stuff for the president is testified to by the fact that Charlie Rose had him on his show talking about the book. But that is not how he started off. Litt’s record as a stand- up comedian drew the attention of Obama’s aides and, as Litt confesses, he was hired to be the ‘ in- house funny person’, produc- ing jokes for the president. Litt left the White House later and moved to Hollywood to pursue a career as a comic script writer. How nice it would be if Indian prime ministers also acquired a sense of humour and interspersed their serious speechifying with humour.
Litt’s personalised account is an unabashed first person account of his initiation into politics and political speechwriting. The kind of writing that generations of presidential aides and advisors have indulged in and are generally expected to produce. Memoirs written by persons in public life serve the purpose of engaging civil society in the ways of the state. In no modern democracy are such memoirs pilloried for making public what ought to be in the public domain. The why, what and how of policymaking.
Litt recounts several episodes of speechwriting involving his colleagues in the speechwriters’ team and POTUS ( the President of the United States). Obama was a stickler for perfection in drafting. He liked neat, clear sentences. Litt bares it all. Several instances of redrafting speeches with the president are fleshed out in detail. Moments before Obama appears before the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where the president is expected to be funny and make a humorous speech, Litt imagines POTUS may be a bit nervous and advises him, “Hold on to your lily- white butt.”
Obama has no problem with such casual talk. On another occasion, when Litt and a colleague ask POTUS if he wants to go through a rehearsal before delivering his speech, an irritated Obama replies, “Nah! The truth is, I’m pretty fucking good at this.”
Imagine an Indian prime ministerial aide recounting the expletives his boss was wont to use!
POTUS was to make a funny speech and Litt, imagining he might be nervous, advised him, “Hold on to your lily- white butt.”