JAMES LILLIN
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Fredonia’s ALL IN Democracy Challenge Committee continued its steady march of events to drum up political involvement on campus with a lecture from Craig Smith, a former speechwriter for President Gerald Ford and consulting writer for President George H.W. Bush.
All throughout his lecture, Smith was able to weave a compelling tapestry of the history of speechwriting in America, from its foundation to the current election cycle, beginning with the first president to ever employ a speechwriter, George Washington.
“If you look at Washington’s inaugural, it’s fairly high-minded,” said Smith. “Washington was really speaking to the members of Congress, his cabinet and the wealthy white landowners who made up the voting population. Washington’s second inaugural is two paragraphs long, the shortest inaugural in history.”
Smith seemed to demonstrate a remarkable knack for engaging and playing with the much younger crowd, working in plenty of topical references, like his allusions to the recent smash-hit musical “Hamilton.”
“Hamilton, of course, wrote everything for Washington in hip-hop. That’s why it works,” said Smith. “Lin-Manuel Miranda could never have written it if Hamilton didn’t write in hip-hop.”
Smith drew plenty of parallels between past campaigns and the current election cycle, particularly between the emotional fury of Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump.
“[Jackson] was not well educated, and he wasn’t a good writer,” said Smith, “but he changed the landscape of campaigning forever.”
Smith’s wealth of knowledge and even-handed approach struck a chord with many students who appreciated his passionate yet calm demeanor when discussing campaigns of the past and present.
“I think that Craig’s talk is more relevant now than ever simply because of his bipartisanship and ability to see multiple perspectives,” said senior English and international studies major Zachary Beaudoin. “In a time where the country is so polarized, I think it is important to hear stories from Craig and for people to understand that politics isn’t just black and white. He indicated that he doesn’t like Trump, but he was always respectful and calculating in his responses.”
Smith was first hired by President Ford after hearing a particularly lackluster speech and sending in a five-page rhetorical criticism of the speech to the White House, not expecting to get any response, much less a job offer.
“His story about helping President Ford find his presidential voice was one of my favorite moments,” said senior history and adolescent education major Jefferson Dedrick. “That story, and many that he shared, showed the real difference any of us could make in our political system.“
Smith was adamant that the importance of a speech can stretch beyond just rhetoric, as he recounted the story of President William Henry Harrison, whose massive inauguration speech towered over all previous presidential inauguration speeches, prompting his advisers and writers to beg him to cut it, which Harrison flatly refused to do.
“He got up to deliver his address, and there was a cold rain in Washington,” said Smith, “and spoke for 75 minutes, the longest inaugural by far. He caught a cold, it turned into pneumonia, and he was dead a month later. So, listen to your speechwriter.”
Smith was met with a long stretch of applause at the end of his lecture, with students flocking to him afterwards to shake his hand and get in a few more questions.
“This was undoubtedly my favorite guest lecture in my three years at Fredonia,” said Dedrick. “I hope that people will take this interesting election year to come out and learn about the candidates with the Fredonia ALL IN Committee. And above all else: vote.”