Former Obama Speechwriter Speaks at GW

by Emma Franklin

On Wednesday night, 32-year old Jon Favreau, President Barack Obama’s former speechwriter, spoke to members of the GW community in the Dorothy Marvin Betts Theatre. Favreau spoke as the GW College Democrats’ fall kick-off speaker for the 2013-2014 academic year.

“We're very excited to host Jon Favreau who obviously played a large role in crafting the narrative of the Obama presidency and helping frame the President's campaign and policy agenda," said College Democrats President Omeed Firouzi.   "We're thrilled to be hosting an intelligent and sharp mind with keen knowledge of what a life in public service is like.” 

Favreau told a full auditorium about "The Journey Into the Life of Public Service,” a topic he considered extensively during his college years and beyond.

Following graduation from the College of the Holy Cross, he was offered a job for then Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. He started by running errands, taking calls and getting coffee. He would wake up at 4 a.m. each morning to pull together the daily press clippings for the campaign. Favreau’s dedication and talent for politics soon became apparent and he was offered a position as deputy speechwriter for the Kerry campaign.

Favreau’s position on Sen. Kerry’s campaign lead to his first interaction with then Senator Obama of Illinois, who was giving the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. There was a sentence in Sen. Obama’s speech that was very similar to Kerry’s speech, so Favreau was awarded the task of informing Sen. Obama that he needed to change the sentence and let the presidential hopeful keep the phrase. Thankfully for Favreau, Sen. Obama took the request light-heartedly.

Following Sen. Kerry’s loss, Favreau began writing speeches for Sen. Obama in 2005. He eventually served as the Director of Speechwriting for President Obama from 2009 through early 2013.

On Wednesday, Favreau talked specifically about his relationship with the president.

“Somehow the two of us made it work for eight years; the longest and most fulfilling working relationship that I ever had,” Favreau said. “And in the process, I learned more than I ever could have imagined about writing, about politics, about life.”

On the topic of what drives politicians, Favreau said that there is no shortage of people who will say that there is a self interested, political motive attached to every decision made by politicians today. These same people say that if you think you can change this you are young, naïve, or foolish. However, Favreau rejects this idea.

“The greatest gift I ever received over the eight years I worked for President Obama is knowing that this is a lie,” said Favreau. 

Following his speech, Favreau took time to answer questions from audience members. Questions ranged from favorite historical speech--which Favreau said was Robert F. Kennedy’s address following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination--to worst day on the job, of which he said there were many. When asked if he is better than Obama at anything, Favreau laughed and couldn’t think of anything.

Audience members responded to Favreau’s speech in an overwhelmingly positive way.

“Favreau’s speech was fascinating. He shed a positive light on working with the president, with anecdotes not only about the kindness of Obama as a human, but also of his morality as a president,” said student Lauren Hoffman. 

Since leaving the White House, Favreau co-founded Fenway Strategies, a small but popular communications firm, and became a columnist for The Daily Beast. He plans on someday writing a television show about the presidency and politics.

The GW Democrats kick-off event was co-sponsored by The Student Association, The Graduate School of Political Management, The School of Media and Public Affairs, and the Student Dining Board.