Fire your speechwriters, Barry

Speechwriters have become enablers, manning an assembly line of recycled bullet points so presidents can serve as the nation’s pep-talk-givers, instant reactors, TV friends. The constant access to television coverage can tempt any presidential ego, but it’s a terrible trap. Even President Obama’s pal Oprah knows when to go on hiatus from her show and give her viewers a break…

As a conservative, it might be in my interest to urge the president to hire even more writers so he can keep droning on — and turn “yes, we can” to “yes, I ramble.” But as an American, I’d prefer to protect the presidential voice. If we don’t keep it elevated above the idle chatter of the moment, we may see a future FDR or Reagan delivering an Oval Office address commemorating the fifth marriage of Britney Spears.

I realize that eliminating the speechwriting office is a radical measure. It would be a shock to the system, forcing the president to give more care to the remarks he delivers, if only because he has to write them himself. No doubt the pressures on the president to perform for the 24/7 media world will grow regardless. The only way to calm such a monster is to not overfeed it.