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Jon Favreau, President Obama's head speechwriter, is departing


February 05, 2013|By Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau




After Favreau landed in the White House four years ago, he became the most recognizable in a coterie of young staffers. Sporting aviator sunglasses and a buzz cut, he occasionally lit up social media with his antics.

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People magazine named him one of the world's most beautiful people. He went out with actress Rashida Jones, best known for her role in "The Office." One night, as he and some friends played a shirtless game of beer pong in Georgetown, someone snapped a photo that ended up on the blog FamousDC, with the headline: "White House Gone Wild."


"When they're working together, it's like watching two musicians riff," said David Axelrod, Obama's longtime advisor. "Jon's stamp is on all of the great speeches, from 2005 until now."


Favreau declined Monday to discuss his departure.

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In a statement, Obama said, "He has become a friend and a collaborator on virtually every major speech I've given in the Senate, on the campaign trail and in the White House."

They didn't start off as collaborators. Obama was an Illinois state senator running for the U.S. Senate when they met in 2004. He was preparing to deliver the Democratic National Convention speech that would launch his national career. Favreau was working as a junior speechwriter for the party's presidential nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is from Favreau's home state.


"It was an unbelievably cruel thing to do, to send the 23-year-old in to do that job," Axelrod joked.


If there were any doubts about him, Favreau quickly dispelled them when he wrote the first inaugural address and the president's healthcare speech to Congress, said David Plouffe, a longtime Obama advisor.

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"Jon wasn't going to come in with a draft that was not Barack Obama-like," Plouffe said. "The president never has to worry that he's going to get something and have to say, 'This isn't my voice.'"

Keenan is known for his handling of heartbreak and sadness. He was the lead writer on Obama's speech at the Tucson memorial after the shooting of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).


His time in the White House should serve Favreau well, Plouffe said.


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