Meet Obama's Boy Speech Writer

As we creep closer to Inauguration Day, critics of President-elect Barack Obama have been faced with one concern after another, whether it be the I.Q. of his supporters, the whereabouts of his original
birth certificate, or his mother-in-law's influence on Lincoln bedroom curtain patterns. Now, there's another bombshell.

He doesn't write his own speeches.

This month, Esquire profiled Jon Favreau, Barack Obama's 20-something speech writer, a 2003 Holy Cross graduate who, along with cowriters Adam Frankel and Ben Rhodes, is charged with the task of writing crowd-stirring pronouncements based on the 30-minute ramblings of his boss.

It can't be easy, but Favreau (who, incidentally, is not the guy from 'Swingers') has several sources of inspiration, including Ronald Reagan's speechwriter Peggy Noonan, whose Pointe du Hoc speech marking D-Day's 40th anniversary is among his favorites. He's also a big fan of Michael Gerson, President Bush's main speechwriter, singling out his address to the joint session of Congress after the September 11 attacks.

Budding writers might want to know, what does Favreau read in his spare time? Unfortunately, he's too busy to read. "I'm embarrassed to say that since college I've been so busy speechwriting for Kerry and then Barack that I haven't been reading all the good literary stuff I used to read back in the day."

Don't worry, John. There'll be plenty of time down the road to curl up with a copy of 'Awesome Takes Practice'.

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.