Opinion: Thompson hires disgruntled Bush speechwriter

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Much already rides on the candidacy announcement that Republican Fred Thompson is expected to deliver in early September. After a buildup that long since passed the excitement stage, he must rekindle the fervor that once surrounded his anticipated presidential bid.

Now, within the small world of aides who write such speeches and journalists and historians who pore over the sentences, the stakes have gotten even larger.

The reason: the hiring by the Thompson camp, detailed here by the Washington Post, of a former wordsmith for President Bush who recently pitched a major hissy fit via a magazine article that caused surprise both because of its target and its ferocity.

In the new issue of the Atlantic (here’s the link, but be forewarned, the full story is available only to magazine subscribers), Matthew Scully vented his spleen against his former boss in the White House speech-writing shop, Michael Gerson. Scully, along with John McConnell, collaborated closely with Gerson for several years in crafting Bush’s major addresses, including those that gained much acclaim in the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks.

But here was the rub --- Gerson got all the praise. And that not only was unjustified, according to Scully’s account ...

but also was the result of Gerson’s efforts to hog the spotlight.

The flap was summarized in this Washington Post story, which noted that it provided the latest example of ‘onetime insiders’ turning on ‘people or policies they had supported.’ Scully’s article also spurred this defense of Gerson by Peter Wehner, a friend and former colleague of both at the White House, and this intriguing reflection by journalist Timothy Noah.

Other acquaintances and associates of Scully and Gerson’s no doubt have quietly chosen sides in the dispute. But we’re betting that all will have their eyes peeled on Thompson’s upcoming remarks, critiquing with a keener interest than usual the speech’s structure and phrases.

Scully would have faced a challenge under any circumstances in his new assignment. A much-heralded speech by Thompson in Newport Beach in early May --- when interest in him was at a peak --- left at least one listener cold. And unfortunately for the former Tennessee senator, his critic was Robert Novak, whose nationally syndicated column on Thompson’s appearance, and its underwhelming reception from a crowd that wanted to be thrilled, gained wide attention in conservative political circles. He also drew lukewarm reviews for his address at this week’s VFW convention in Kansas City.

Since then, Thompson’s prolonged ‘testing of the waters’ for a presidential run has only heightened the questions raised by Novak’s column. Can the actor-turned-politician-turned-actor-turned-almost candidate combine substance with eloquence? Can he articulate a vision that makes a compelling case for Republicans to turn away from the GOP candidates who have been hard at work campaigning, raising money and honing their talking points for several months to embrace him instead?

Frankly, we’re glad we’re not in Scully’s shoes.

-- Don Frederick