Obama’s Voice

By Kleinheider Posted on December 18, 2008 at 6:49 am

The Washington Post profiles Barack Obama’s 27 year-old head speechwriter:

“He looks like he’s in college and everybody calls him Favs, so you’re like, ‘This guy can’t be for real, right?’ ” said Ben Rhodes, another Obama speechwriter. “But it doesn’t take long to realize that he’s totally synced up with Obama. . . . He has access to everything and everybody. There’s a lot weighing on his shoulders.”

Especially now, as Favreau and the rest of Obama’s young staffers begin a transition that extends far beyond new job titles. Three months ago, Favreau lived in a group house with six friends in Chicago, where he rarely shaved, never cooked and sometimes stayed up to play video games until early morning. Now, he has transformed into what one friend called a “Washington political force” — a minor celebrity with a down payment on a Dupont Circle condo, whose silly Facebook photos with a Hillary Rodham Clinton cutout created what passes for controversy in Obama’s so far drama-free transition.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Jon Favreau, speechwriter  

Does She Look Like She’s Laughing?

By Kleinheider Posted on December 10, 2008 at 8:09 am

Dee Dee Myers finds no humor in the Obama speechwriter’s interaction with a visage of Hillary Clinton on Facebook.

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Tags: Dee Dee Myers, Facebook, Jon Favreau