A Tale of Two Speechwriters
This past week, the “axis of evil,” a locution Bush started using six years ago, has been altered for the first time. North Korea’s officially off the US terror watch list (and out of the axis) — leaving just Iran and Iraq. And now, the term is more controversial than ever.
We spoke to David Frum, former Bush speechwriter and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech. Frum is generally credited with coining the phrase — here he is both contemplative of his role as speechwriter and regretful of the way “axis of evil” has been used, most notably when it comes to US policy towards Iran. A president’s words must match his actions, he says:
It’s easy to compare Bush’s mistakes to the ones JFK made, even if Iraq is different than the Bay of Pigs. Ted Sorensen, JFK’s speechwriter and close adviser, reflects on JFK’s admission of guilt in the matter. Sorensen also looks to Robert McNamara as an extraordinary politician who has become comfortably repentant in his old age:
