Politics

The Treason of the Speechwriter

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Ever want to really stick it to a glory hound colleague who you feel is robbing you and others on the team of the proper share of limelight–perhaps, say, in a national magazine of great reputation for intellectual and policy heft?

Alas, it appears you have to work in the White House to get the chance, which may or may not be worth it. Matthew Scully is livin' the dream for you. See his extended flaying of his dear old friend and colleague (who is also, just so ya know, a lyin' sack of crap, except when he was telling Scully how he just couldn't do it without him when begging him not to quit), Bush superspeechwriter Michael Gerson, in the new Atlantic.

Sample here, need to be a subscriber to get access to all the evenly expressed comic bile. It's a masterpiece of resentment, as well as educational about how playing the press makes reputations in D.C., and well worth seeking out in full.