David:

Some of your loyal readers and I have been having an offline discussion, and they elected me to be the spokesperson. So here we go:

We're all really disappointed that you have chosen not to blog during the speechwriter's conference. One of the great uses of a blog is to bring all your readers to the places that they don't get to go to. And you can write as little as you want, or as much as you want . . . but write something to give us a flavor of the conference, please.

We ALL understand that you're probably posting an article or two on Ragan.com . . . but we would like that personal Murray touch out here, that unique flavoring that you can give a story on the blog that you can't do in a reported story.

Again, I'm speaking for many as I write this. Please remember it for next year. We're all confused as to why you didn't seize this opportunity.

Or, as one of your readers put it: "What a lazy ass."

Steve C.

Yeah, what he said! (Well, except for the "lazy ass" part.)

OK, so I happened to be in DC at the Speechwriters Conference so I feel the need to defend him (just a bit)... I can personally attest that David was VERY busy drinking at the cocktail social... Uh, I mean, working VERY hard at the Speechwriters Conference.

All kidding aside, even with drink in hand, David is a driving force at the conference. People stop him constantly to talk (myself included) and he actively seeks people out when he hears interesting ideas that he thinks might challenge conventional wisdom or push speechwriters in a new direction. Hopefully he'll share a few when he gets back into syndication here!

Since he was obviously busy... and may still be wrapping things up in DC... I'll share a little bit. I have to admit that there is an odd (and pleasant) mixture of family reunion and group therapy at this conference. You see people you've met in years past. You commiserate with people who understand how difficult it can be to get access with your speaker... You learn from others' successes and failures. Not to oversell it, but the conference soothes the frustrated spirit and restores the speechwriting soul.

There were many individual sessions... too many to review here, but I'll tell you about the one that really stuck with me. We closed out Thursday afternoon with a keynote about "messages that move: a view from the brain" from psych/behavioral sciences prof Drew Westin.

Westin talked about "networks of associations"... words that trigger other thoughts and concepts because they are so commonly linked. And, perhaps most interestingly, he placed this discussion in context of politics and the current presidential race. He talked about how "liberal" has become a dirty word and what "progessives" can do to clarify their agenda and networks of associations before the Republicans do it for them (again).

A mixture of theory that had obvious application for the daily grind of speecwhriting, but also a talk that really laid out some fundamental problems with how Democrats position themselves and their issues. I can honestly say, I didn't look at my watch until the speaker mentioned he was out of time... I could have listened to more!

As for the "lazy ass" part.. I don't know about the other 363 days of the year, but, for the past two, David was working his butt off. And, we appreciated it.

With that said, David, what about having some of your speechwriting brethren take a stab at correspondent blogging for you next year? A few quick hits from the conference (shorter than this rambling entry, obviously) might be interesting.

As always, good to see you curmudgeonly self in person!

Vincent, of course your reference to me as the "driving force of the conference" predisposes me to agree with just about any idea you propose. ("Hey, how about next year you serve whippets at the conference cocktail party?" "Great idea, Vincent!")

But that's a great idea. I've got a year to think about where we'd publish those dispatches exactly--perhaps a temporary section on Ragan.com--but it's a winner.

Let's talk about it around the time I'm planning next year's conference, this summer.