Jon Favreau '03 lectures on Kerry campaign experience

By: Dan Kittredge

Posted: 12/10/04

Jon Favreau '03 returned to the College on Dec. 2 to talk about his experience working as a speechwriter for the John Kerry presidential campaign in a lecture entitled "Politics as a Vocation: 2004 Campaign." Favreau spoke before a crowd in the Rehm Library.

Professor Donald Brand, chair of the political science department, introduced Favreau. He noted that it is the goal of the department to instill in students the characteristics of a good citizen, and said that Favreau "understands this better than most."

"It's great to be back at Holy Cross," said Favreau upon taking the podium, adding, "I had hoped it would be more triumphant."

Favreau said that he first became associated with Senator Kerry during his time in the Washington Semester Program. He worked as a press assistant in the Senator's office, and became close to the press director during this time. On the eve of his commencement, he received a call from the press director inviting him to be a press assistant on the Kerry's presidential campaign, which he accepted.

His duties as a press assistant, Favreau said, involved getting up at 4 a.m. each morning and assembling the news stories of the day, and then travelling to the office to do more work. He continued in this capacity through the summer and fall of 2003.

During this period of time, Favreau sat next to Kerry's head speechwriter, and the two got to know each other. He said that one day his commencement address came up, and Favreau jokingly sent the speechwriter a copy. The address impressed the speechwriter, he said, and when a position opened up shortly thereafter he got a new position as a deputy speechwriter.

In his new role with the campaign, Favreau said, he got to travel to Iowa and was present at many of the primary victories. He said he was also present when President Bush called to congratulate Senator Kerry on clinching the Democratic nomination. Then, when the head speechwriter took a new position at the Democratic National Committee, Favreau assumed the role of head speechwriter.

This role brought him into a more in-depth role, as he took part in weekly strategy meetings that included such Democratic luminaries as James Carville, Paul Begala, and Bob Shrum. Favreau said that he assumed the role of peacemaker in addition to his speechwriting duties, taking the competing advice of Kerry's advisors and creating a final product. The speechwriting process, he said, would typically take two days, with the first day spent on creating a draft and the second devoted to revisions. Favreau said that Kerry was picky about his speeches, being a very intelligent man and a good writer himself.

"It was a really good feeling" to hear the Senator start to give a speech that he had written, said Favreau.

"When we lost, I wasn't sad for the staff, and I wasn't sad for Kerry," said Favreau, "I was sad for the people who believed in him." He related an anecdote about a man in Pennsylvania who had suffered a heart attack and who's employer refused to pay for his insurance. When Favreau asked the man what he planned to do regarding his health care bills, the man responded that he planned to campaign for Kerry, because only Kerry could help people like him.

"There was a lot of stuff to remind me why I started doing it in the first place, why I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop," said Favreau.

During a question and answer session, Favreau was asked to assess why he thought Kerry had lost and what he saw in the future for the Democratic Party. He said that he believed Kerry ultimately had trouble relating with middle class and middle American voters, and that towards the end of the campaign headlines about Iraq had clouded Kerry's economic message. Kerry, he said, had too many advisors offering conflicting messages, and suggested that the "flip-flopper" label applied to Kerry early on in the campaign did irreparable damage. Voters also liked Bush more than Kerry, he said, who could not escape his elitist image.

Favreau noted his belief that Kerry should have talked more about his faith, describing Kerry as a devout Roman Catholic. The Church's teachings of social justice, Favreau said, play a central role in Kerry's liberal politics, and he believes the Senator should have related that to the American people.

"I don't think it's the end of the world for the Democrats," Feavreau said of the election, but noted that it would be a mistake not to reassess.

Favreau said that while he has no immediate plans for the future, he said he will probably attend law school at some point. He has also talked with the staff of newly elected Illinois senator Barack Obama, who is looking for a speechwriter.

"The campaign was the best, most gratifying experience I ever had," said Favreau. "It was an unbelievable experience, and I had a wonderful time. I'd do it again."