The Quintessential Writer

  I had mentioned that Theodore Roosevelt was the last American President to write his own speeches.

 The writer, Mark Paxson in a comment said...it would be far better if they spoke to us in their words than the words of some craftsman.

 It made me think.

 Nowadays the State of the Union leaves the listener flat, no offense to President Biden who has so many other things pressing on his plate; and not everyone has been gifted the  passion to be heard, I’m sorry to say.

 Teddy, on the other hand was, penning 47 books in his 60 years, and they’re all wonderful. Even the letters to his children, compiled into a modest collection, are so funny and heartwarming.  

 I believe Mr. Lincoln also liked putting his thoughts down as did his Secretary of State, William Seward who one could say, was the very first speech writer. The difference though is, Abe always made the final version his own, unlike I’m sure many others, like Mr. Trump who was too busy playing golf.

JFK was a wonderful writer, honing the skill while being stuck in bed, ill most of his life. Of course in his day he had Richard Goodwin, Arthur Schlesinger and Ted Sorensen, the best and the brightest, as they were coined by the esteemed writer David Halberstam, writing for him.

 But be that as it may, I guarantee Kennedy had considerable input.

 But I’m sorry to say King Midget, Mark’s blog name, the days of…

. We wish peace, but we wish the peace of justice. The peace of righteousness.

 The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and my personal favorite…

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies…by the better angels of our nature, are long gone, alas, probably never seen again in our life-time.

 Let’s hope the words of Teddy, FDR and Abe at least will be remembered.

 Thanks Mark. You inspired this piece.

SB