Ex-White House writer accused of taking undue credit [View All]

Source: Houston Chronicle/Washington Post

Aug. 10, 2007, 11:47PM
Ex-White House writer accused of taking undue credit

By PETER BAKER
Washington Post

WASHINGTON — He has been hailed as the best White House speechwriter since Theodore Sorensen, the muse behind President Bush's most famous phrases. But now Michael Gerson is accused by a former colleague of taking credit for words he did not write.

According to Matthew Scully, who worked with him for five years, Gerson is a "self-publicizing" glory hog guilty of "foolish vanity," "sheer pettiness" and "credit hounding."

In Scully's account, Gerson did not come up with the language that made him famous. "Few lines of note were written by Mike," Scully says, "and none at all that come to mind from the post-9/11 addresses — not even 'axis of evil.' "

Scully's blistering portrait of one of the president's most prominent former advisers in the new issue of the Atlantic touched off an intense pushback by the White House Friday as top Bush aides jumped to defend Gerson.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5046143.html

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On edit, adding photo:

Michael Gerson

"Gerson has evolved into one of the most central figures in Bush’s inner circle, often considered among the three or four aids closest to the president. Beyond shaping the language of the Bush presidency, Gerson helped set its broader direction.” - The Washington Post

• Senior Policy Advisor to President George W. Bush
  
• Director of Presidential Speechwriting, 2000-2005
  
• Washington Post Op-Ed Columnist
  
• Senior Editor, US News and World Report

http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers_pitch.cfm?Spea_ID=970