The first great challenge of a State of the Union address is common to every annual presidential ritual - to freshen it up. Almost as dreaded as drafting a State of the Union, for example, are those yearly chores like writing remarks for the St. Patrick's Day visit by the prime minister of Ireland. How many different ways can you accept a bowl of shamrocks, or celebrate the sterling qualities of the noble Irish people?Ahh, the "dreaded" annual visit of An Taoiseach.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Dreaded visit
Matthew Scully, a former deputy director of speechwriting for President Bush, describes the challenges that the State of the Union address poses for the speechwriter.
