New York Times Refuses To Believe Obama Will Draft His Own Inaugural Address
New York Times Refuses To Believe Obama Will Draft His Own Inaugural Address
In an article about the upcoming White House transition, the New York Times’ Peter Baker and Jackie Calmes note that John Podesta “has been preparing for the task at the research organization he runs, the Center for American Progress.” The article proceeds to offer this sensational claim: “Mr. Podesta has been mapping out the transition so systematically that he has already written a draft Inaugural Address for Mr. Obama, which he published this summer in a book called ‘The Power of Progress.’”
While this claim makes for an interesting story, it’s not true. A couple key facts:
– The book, which was in the works for over a year and was written with the help of CAP’s in-house progressive historian John Halpin, traces the history and successes of progressive politics in the 20th Century, draws lessons from that history, and then applies those lessons to the big challenges facing the country — the global economy, global warming, and global security. At the end, there is a sample inaugural address written not “for Mr. Obama,” but rather, clearly offered as a literary device to summarize the main arguments in the book.
– The inaugural address was written and submitted to the publisher in March 2008, during a time when Podesta was supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Podesta re-did the introduction to the book — but not the inaugural address — in June when it became clear that Obama would emerge as the nominee.
Apparently, Baker and Calmes have a hard time believing that Sen. Obama, who has authored two best-selling autobiographies, could manage to draft his own Inaugural Address if he is elected President.
Baker and Calmes should know better. Obama has been intimately involved in writing many of the most important speeches over the course of his career:
– Prior to his 2004 Democratic Convention speech, Obama “made it clear to his staff that he wanted to create this speech on his own.”
– Obama’s address on race in America in March of this year “wasn’t a speech by committee…Obama wrote the speech himself, working on it for two days and nights,” and staying up until 2 am the night before to finish it.
– For his 2008 Democratic Convention speech, Obama also “wrote much of the speech himself,” staying alone in a hotel room “for 20 hours, until past midnight each day” to draft it.
And yet, despite the record, the New York Times would have the public believe that Obama has already outsourced the most important speech of his career.
While I appreciate Senator McCain's plug for my book, the Power of Progress, his charge is a complete fabrication. He bases this claim on a New York Times story which distorted and confused a chapter I wrote last spring, for a book that was published this summer, with work I am doing this fall on behalf of Senator Obama. The inaugural address in the "Power of Progress" was a literary device I used to sum up the arguments in the book. It was completed well in advance of my work for Senator Obama and has nothing to do with the Obama campaign or pre-transiton. No one involved in pre-transition work has written one word of any address inaugural or otherwise.
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Damn that librul media… in the tank for Obama AGAIN!!!!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHeh… I like TP’s choice of pictures here.
Note the shot of Ali, from the early 60’s, standing over one of his victims…
Nice touch, TP…
October 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pmThey know old johnny and dumb sarah can’t. So they don’t believe that a constitutional scholar can’t either. Guess the NYT is truly dead. They just need someone to bury them.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pmThis is just right-wing ‘code’ for “Obama’s nice teeth are actually dentures paid-for by George Soros!”
October 25th, 2008 at 2:23 pmCorporate media shows it’s ass again… No surprise
In more relevant news… McCain is barley holding on in Georgia, and Montana and No Dakota are toss ups. I read that Ron Paul is polling 4% in Montana, and Bob Barr seems to be doing some damage in GA.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:26 pmI hope he calls the media to task in his address, and tells them he expects them to do their jobs and be critical of his administration at all levels.
Power will eventually cause the democrats to slide towards arrogance and corruption, although I think it will take a lot longer than it took the Republicans. Hopefully Obama, prodigy that he is, will recognize this from day 1 and try to inoculate against it wherever possible.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pmOops having trouble, just a sec
October 25th, 2008 at 2:31 pmMy kids thought this was funny and I’m still passing it on :D
October 25th, 2008 at 2:32 pmThe soft bigotry of low expectations….
October 25th, 2008 at 2:32 pmPower will eventually cause the democrats to slide towards arrogance and corruption, although I think it will take a lot longer than it took the Republicans.
They’re to the manner born, don’t worry your sweet mind about that. They’ll pick it up on the opening day of the next congress, just like they’d never left it off…
October 25th, 2008 at 2:35 pmTangentially, you know what?
The NYT has been slammed by the Right and the Left for at least 8 years and it’s in financial trouble right now.
To survive, the NYT either has to definitively lean Right or Left (Left would be the politcally and financially smarter choice).
OR they could pick a third option:
Dedicate the entire paper to professional journalism! Dedicate the whole thing to fact-finding, truth, and cogent analysis!
I know it sound crazy, but it just might work!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:35 pmUnlike most politicians, especially Republicans, Barack is smart.
¶ AIO
October 25th, 2008 at 2:36 pmHere’s what I was trying to post
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fcGelz8Hw
October 25th, 2008 at 2:36 pmIt’s not an unreasonable guess. Obama may have written his own speeches for the 2004 and 2008 conventions, but an inaugural is an entirely different process. No politician would try to go at it alone; Obama will probably write his own initial draft and have someone like Podesta shape the language for a final draft.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:37 pmWhy would you assume that the top Harvard Law Student couldn’t write, huh?
October 25th, 2008 at 2:39 pmJust because they are stupid they assume that everyone else has the same intelligence level. Top of the class vs bottom of the class don’tcha know
October 25th, 2008 at 2:40 pmWho writes McSame’s speeches? Who writes Phalin’s speeches? Who writes shrub’s speeches?
I don’t think there’s enough brain power in those three to string together a couple of sentences to make an understandable paragraph, much less a speech that can move millions of people.
It’s time to have smart leadership again. No more dumb sons of previlege as president with some unknown hand up under their coat moving their lips puppet fashion.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pmOf all the politicians I have seen, Obama seems by far the most capable of writing his own speeches. He’s one of those rare politicians who, when speaking at length to a crowd, sounds genuine, relaxed, and believing what he says.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:42 pmbronzbootz ( at #5)
From the poll breakdowns I’ve seen the most relevant ‘third party’ candidate is denying important votes to the GOP more than the Dems, for once. IMHO that’s quite a shift and indicative of how far the GOP has fallen ( whilst the left- leaning third party independents don;t appear to be registering at all, suggesting that the Nader camp, Green Party and what have you are either pitching in behind Obama and the Dems or else accepting a fait accompli ).
October 25th, 2008 at 2:45 pmCOProgressive Says: Who writes Phalin’s speeches?
Well, it sure isn’t her! She can’t even give answers that make any sense in an interview. How many times did she use the word “planks” trying to explain a Repub platform?
October 25th, 2008 at 2:46 pmWho writes these speeches for Sarah the AIP Member were she’s quoting the likes of (and I kid you not) Ed the Dairyman, Phil the Bricklayer, Pam the Nurse and Tito the Builder.
I wonder if she call her husband Todd the Pipe Layer.
¶ AIO
October 25th, 2008 at 2:49 pmthe Lone Voice of Reason Says:
AH! Lovely! Firefox wouldn’t play that for me yesterday, but your link sure worked, you betcha!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:52 pmAfter 8 years of sheer stupidity – where Dumbya can’t read a speech let alone write one – is pretty hard to move past, I suspect. I can’t wait until Obama – constitutional scholar, president of Harvard Law Review – sets all of these idiot repukes on their collective a$$e$ while he governs with intelligence and sincere compassion. So many dems were impressed with how much Clinton accomplished with a mainly repuke congress. Just wait and see what THIS remarkable leader will get done!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:53 pmfunny, but i have never heard of “Peter Baker and Jackie Calmes” before…
should i have?
.
i would love to find and read or hear the obama speech that was mentioned on olberman the other night… from 91, to a high school, i think, and he spoke then of how the right person, with the people’s help, could bring the change this country needed, away from the greed and selfishness of the 80s…
anyone remember that countdown segment?
October 25th, 2008 at 2:53 pmFunny how the NY times suddenly seems that it’s beyond Presidential if a Prez cannot craft his own speech.We have had an A1 jackass as Prez(Bush)for the last 8yrs who can’t even read the first sentence in a 5th grader’s text without stumbling & the Ny times never once raised doubt about his ability.All this from the same news source that helped lie us into war.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:54 pmwhat’s your point?
October 25th, 2008 at 3:00 pmfound the segment – worth the hunt, and bit of hassle YOU must go through to hear it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
FIRST, before going to link, remember this:
click on “BEST PERSON” from list at left…
click on “History teach had future vision”, picture of a young obama.
endure a minute of advertising…
marvel at how luck we are now…
October 25th, 2008 at 3:06 pmI would love to read a speech written by sarah palin.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pmAll I ask is that he stuff a copy of the Constitution down the front of his pants, and then open with “Excuse me while I whip this out.”
Credit to Mel Brooks.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:25 pmThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
Heh… I like TP’s choice of pictures here.
Note the shot of Ali, from the early 60’s, standing over one of his victims…
October 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
_______
Are you kidding?? That picture is DISASTER for Obama!
It shows him with a militant black Muslim known for repeatedly PUNCHING PEOPLE IN THE FACE!
How do you think the McCainanites are gonna spin THAT?
October 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pmCOProgressive Says:
Who writes McSame’s speeches? Who writes Phalin’s speeches? Who writes shrub’s speeches?
October 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
This guy.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:45 pmtoaster…
AND, Ali went to jail! Check and mate!
(nice observation, the Palin stance IS remarkably like that of Ali as I recollect it.)
October 25th, 2008 at 3:49 pmGood work in pointing out who’s responsible, toaster!
But Scully’s photo brings up an important question:
Who chose the sartorial scheme he is so confidently displaying?
Given the speeches he’s written I’m guessing it must be him and him alone.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:58 pmEl Bruce – Excellent
October 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pmWait—a candidate who’s smart enough to write his own speeches?
ELITIST!
October 25th, 2008 at 4:51 pmIn all fairness, after eight years of a Republican president who couldn’t read a newspaper if his life depended on it, and a Republican VP candidate who cannot master basic English skills, I can understand why the New York Times would find it hard to believe there are politicians who can read, write, and speak. And do it well, to boot.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pmsilly issue. Who cares who drafted an inaugural speech? It’s a DRAFT!! More important as part of this article are McCain’s possible picks. Get real TP
Many Republicans believe Mr. McCain would bring his top campaign staff with him to the White House, including Rick Davis, the campaign manager, whose history as a lobbyist has come up repeatedly during the election. Others who would most likely accompany Mr. McCain to the White House include Mark Salter, his adviser and alter ego; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, his economics adviser; and Randy Scheunemann, his national security adviser.
October 25th, 2008 at 6:43 pmJohn Kerry Says:
____________
Now here’s someone who could benefit from having his meds regulated…
October 25th, 2008 at 6:50 pmObama has more brains in his little finger than the entire pointy-headed staff of the NYT editorial board!
(And don’t get me wrong. I like that paper very much, even if it is petty bourgeois quasi-establishment in outlook.)
What the hell would Obama need anybody writing his inaugural speech for? I can see him getting input from advisers but that’s about it. A phrase or two, then reworking them according to his own lights.
====
October 25th, 2008 at 7:12 pmJohn Kerry prattles:
blah blah blah… Carter… blah blah… Obama… blah blah… I am functionally illiterate… blah blah blah…
Here is yet another victim of the Reagan-era budget cuts on health care, and the closure of mental health institutions.
This troll is the poster boy for universal health care.
October 25th, 2008 at 7:29 pmIt’s been a long, long time since we’ve actually had elected officials in high office who were capable of writing inspiring and well-reasoned speeches on their own. I can understand if the beltway-types have stopped believing in such a creature.
The future’s looking real bright.
October 25th, 2008 at 10:50 pmre: tokin librul
I take issue with your spelling, not the accuracy of your reference. The phrase is “To the manor born”, not manner. It refers probably back to the age of feudalism when the ruling families of estates lived in the “big house”(the manor)and everyone else was mere estate workers, private security forces or slaves. Perhaps the illustration most people today would recognize is the great mansions of the southern plantations in our early American history. “To the manor born” is, as you correctly imply, most often used as a derogatory reference to mean privileged and, as a result, clueless.
October 26th, 2008 at 12:15 pmre: impeachcheneythenbush
You forgot Mark Buse, his GAY Chief of Staff. Yes, it’s true. The msm isn’t touching it but it’s well documented in the gay media. If McCain wins, Buse would be the first gay White House Chief of Staff in our history (that we know of). Not that I care. I’m gay too so good for him. I think it’s usefull however, to illustrate McCain’s hypocrisy in pandering to his Religious Right base, not to mention the rank hypocrisy of the RR in their silence about it.
October 26th, 2008 at 12:23 pmNabobs of nitwitism.
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