White House chief speechwriter: Gerson out, McGurn in

Newsweek reports that President Bush's chief speechwriter Michael Gerson will step aside after the inauguration to take on a "policy role," something only people inside the Beltway and West Wing-watchers can even contemplate.

Being neither myself, a policy job sounds like a nice rest, which Gerson no
doubt deserves after four years of cranking out--or supervising the cranking
out of--more speeches and sets of remarks than business days in which to
crank them.

Gerson's replacement will be Wall Street Journal editorial-page writer
William McGurn. About him, all Newsweek said was that he's a "first rate writer and a familiar name in the Bush White House," who had been wooed a number of times during the president's first term, but who only recently said yes.

SN applauds Gerson his hard work and his general excellence for another. Though his speeches didn't contain immortal lines, he wrote some beauties when only beauties would do. The speech to the joint session of Congress shortly after Sept. 11 comes to mind as Gerson's finest hour.

And with a thousand critics ready to pounce on every presidential word, only
a few regrettable scripted ones got through (unfortunately, three in a row:
"axis of evil").

How did Gerson survive four years of White House writing pressure? We've got two theories, one spiritual and the other earthly:

1. He shared the president's deep religious faith.
2. He often got out of the hothouse to write in a Starbucks around the corner.

How will McGurn survive? That's probably what McGurn is wondering right now.

More on this story here and in the next issue of Speechwriter's Newsletter.