All the presidents' words

the long version

Ever since Teddy Roosevelt introduced the concept of the "bully pulpit," speechmaking has become an increasingly important tool of leadership. In this provocative book, biographer Carol Gelderman traces the rise and development of the "rhetorical presidency" - from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Bill Clinton - and the impact each president's approach to speechwriting has had on his ability to govern. All the Presidents' Words examines public and private dramas that took place as Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and others collaborated with their top aides, hammering out the historic speeches that led the United States into World War II, threw down the gauntlet to the USSR in the cold war, and brought the nation back from the precipice during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The speechwriting process changed dramatically when Richard Nixon took office. He and all of his successors have relied on staffs of professional speech-writers and public relations experts, rather than on the assistance of high-level aides. Using famous speeches as examples, Gelderman convincingly argues that when speechwriters are no longer insiders with policy-making responsibilities, and have limited access to the president, the speeches they produce reflect a serious disconnect between what the president says and what he does. This undermines to varying degrees the credibility of his speeches and the effectiveness of his leadership.