David Murray becomes first paid blogger in
the world to retire! Hal Gordon takes over …

Hal Gordon was my first choice for doing the Speechwriter’s Slant.

I was my second, or third.

But when I approached him to do this last fall, the former President Reagan and General Powell and ConocoPhillips speechwriter said: No way; too much work. (Yes, Hal speaks in semicolons.)

So I launched the thing myself despite the fact that I knew Hal was the better fit. Why? Because he sees the world—its present and its past—through a speechwriter’s eyes and I see it only on behalf of my speechwriter friends.

So it was with a double motive that I asked Hal to fill in for me when I went on my China adventure in July. I knew he’d fill in capably; I hoped he’d have enough fun to make it worth the work and convince him to eventually take the blog over.

And so when I returned, I approached him again. This time, he said yes.

The Speechwriter’s Slant will become Hal Gordon’s after Labor Day.

Not that my Labor on this blog is done. I expect to check it almost as obsessively as I’ve done in the past and contribute frequent posts—even occasionally contrary stuff, I’m sure (Hal and I don’t agree on everything, which is one reason we like one another).

And anybody who has grown accustomed to reading my opinions on rhetoric and speechwriting can read my frequent editorials in Speechwriter’s Newsletter.

Meanwhile, as I thank everybody who has read this blog and supported my work on it, I must say I’m tickled to give Hal the con. He will steer this slanted ship straight.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

David