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Did Mitt Romney’s Impeachment Speech Rise to Greatness?
From this speechwriter’s perspective, the Utah Senator’s remarks contained elements of the nation’s great speeches
A Personal Perspective
Understanding what goes into a national-level speech
Over my 30-plus-year career as a speechwriter in service to Members of the House and Senate, and as a speechwriter for six cabinet secretaries under four presidents and both parties, I long ago lost count of how many speeches I’ve written that invoked the soaring or sobering words of some of the world’s great orators, philosophers, religious leaders, and politicians. Of all those inspiring resources on which every good speechwriter leans, I have the greatest affection and respect for men and women of courage whose remarks, written or spoken, define America’s treasury of notable speeches.
It is my unbreakable habit as a journalist and speechwriter to watch events like the recent impeachment House hearings and Senate trial with an ear tilted toward speeches that might rise to the level of the greats. I am usually disappointed; most Congressional speeches are staff-written and fall along the same tired and trite lines (that is not to say that Congressional staff…
