Speechwriting in the Institutionalized Presidency: Whose Line Is It

(Hardback)

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Description

This book traces the evolution of the speechwriting process for presidents in the White House from the administration of Franklin Roosevelt to the present. While institutionalization of the speechwriting process has often been blamed for bland presidential rhetoric, this book draws out the many varied consequences of institutionalization on the speechwriting process. Ultimately, it concludes that the institutionalization of the process has actually served the presidency well by helping presidents avoid the adverse effects of poorly chosen words.

Reviews

What presidents say and why has never been more important.Colliers excellent book gives a first of its kind insight inside the mind of presidential speechwriters and voice to what shapes presidential speech. The impact of speechwriting on policy and the tone of American politics is too important to stay inside the black box, and Collier gives us a rare window into this essential process. -- Brandon Rottinghaus, University of Houston
Speechwriting in the White House is both art and science, and no one understands that better than Ken Collier. Collier deftly explains how the institutionalization of speechwriting duties evolved along with the rise of the public presidency. Readers will come away equally informed and fascinated by the details as Collier narrates the path presidential speechwriting took from the ghostwriters of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's era to the celebrity staff wordsmiths of the Twenty-First Century. -- Justin S. Vaughn, Boise State University
Ken Collier has written an engaging, historically detailed study of presidential speechwriting. The book is grounded in careful archival research and enlivened by his interviews with presidential speechwriters. It is accessible to undergraduates and informed enough to be of interest to scholars and practitioners. I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in the contemporary presidency. -- Mary E. Stuckey, The Pennsylvania State University

Author Bio

Kenneth Collier is professor of political science at Stephen F. Austin State University.