Huckabee His Own Speechwriter? No

It was ... well, an interesting paragraph in Rich Lowry’s syndicated column about Mike Huckabee.

Lowry, the editor of The National Review, touched on Huckabee’s dynamic personality and rhetorical prowess. Personality has endeared the former Arkansas governor to the national political press, he said, and his rhetoric, while at times powerful and worthy of style points in the campaign, is somewhat lacking in direction and substance.

But, here’s the paragraph — particularly the fourth sentence — that caught my eye:

“With almost no organization, Huckabee lives off his words. In oratorical talent, he’s something of a cross between Billy Sunday and Ronald Reagan. He rose to the leadership of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention on his speaking ability. As governor, he didn’t have a speechwriter, and there was no such thing as an advance text. His staff got reporters copies of his annual state of the state addresses by doing a quick transcription of his off-the-cuff remarks.”

No speechwriter? I’m not sure where Lowry picked that up, but it was something I had heard from the governor’s office over the years.

The idea was that Huckabee, a gifted speaker, was different from other politicians; he knew what he wanted to say and how to say it, which meant that he wouldn’t require the services of a “speechwriter.” It was a point of pride, a line often repeated by his staff and even by Huckabee from time to time. The problem is that it is completely false.

On Monday, I e-mailed one of Huckabee’s campaign press aides to ask if the campaign and/or Huckabee was claiming that he never had a speechwriter or speechwriters while governor. And, if so, what exactly did several former staff members who filled the post of speechwriter — some in practice and others with the title — actually do?

Now-state Rep. Dan Greenberg, R-Little Rock, was with Huckabee in the early years and wrote prepared texts and numerous talking points. Steve Brawner, who later served as a press aide to the late Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, did the same thing.

Douglas Baker was added to Huckabee’s gubernatorial staff for the expressed purpose of helping shape message, where he — you guessed it — wrote speeches. Baker recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with an advanced degree and now lives in Washington, where he works as a freelance communications professional.

DeWayne Hayes held the title “special assistant to the governor” and spent much of his time drafting speeches. Hayes is now living in Phoenix, where he works as a corporate communications executive and speechwriter for one of the country’s largest utilities.

Chris Pyle left his post as the governor’s family policy adviser to write speeches and was allowed to use the title speechwriter. He is now a governmental affairs professional with Delta Dental.

Keith Peterson also carried the title of gubernatorial speechwriter. He left the governor’s staff to work for the state Department of Workforce Education, where last April, in its internal newsletter, the department said Peterson “started his career teaching speech on the college level. That path led him to the Governor’s Office, where he wrote speeches for Gov. Mike Huckabee.”

At this writing, there has been no response from the campaign.

There is a possibility that Lowry wrote the line about Huckabee’s speechwriter-less staff after reviewing old press clips, but it is also completely possible that an overzealous campaign aide, caught up in the moment, threw the line out to attempt to make Huckabee out to be something of a polymath.

The truth is that while Huckabee was governor, he was served by many talented and accomplished speechwriters. After reading Lowry, it’s clear he thinks the popular presidential candidate could use more rhetorical direction and substance from the likes of them.