DAVID LITT: I'll never
forget the first speech
I wrote for the president where
it was a speech he delivered
in Puerto Rico.
PRESIDENT BARACK
OBAMA: Buenos tardes.
[CROWD CHEERS]
DAVID LITT: I remember thinking
how totally bizarre that was.
As a speechwriter, you're
always recognizing that it's not
really my idea, right?
It's inspired by President
Obama, but just the fact
that you can sit
down and be part
of that is totally surreal.
And it never stops
being surreal.
LAURA LING: You were
just 24 years old when
you started at the White House.
How did that come about?
DAVID LITT: I did not mean
to become a speechwriter.
I didn't really mean to go in to
politics or anything like that.
I was on a plane and we had
just begun our initial descent
and I was sort of channel
surfing on the free airplane
cable.
I saw this candidate
who I had heard of
but didn't know a lot
about named Barack Obama.
PRESIDENT BARACK
OBAMA: They said-- they
said this day would never come.
[CROWD CHEERS]
DAVID LITT: By the time
that speech was over,
I was like, never mind.
Whatever he's doing-- I
want to be a part of that.
I was totally awestruck.
It was really one of
those moments where,
like, by the time
we hit the tarmac,
I was on a totally
different life path.
And that doesn't happen a lot,
but it was a heck of a speech.
PRESIDENT BARACK
OBAMA: You did this
because you believed so deeply
in the most American of ideas--
that in the face
of impossible odds,
people who love this
country can change it.
[CROWD APPLAUDS]
LAURA LING: What are some of the
biggest challenges in helping
to craft a speech for the most
powerful person on the planet?
DAVID LITT: You have to realize
how high the stakes are.
We would write speeches
knowing that there
are people whose full-time
job is to pick apart
every single word
the president says
and sometimes just to take
things out of context.
And that can be
incredibly intimidating.
LAURA LING: How do you
even get started working
on a speech for the president?
What's your process?
DAVID LITT: If I really didn't
know what I wanted to write,
I would try saying it instead.
Speeches aren't
meant to be read.
They're meant to be heard.
And so if I felt
like I could start
to finish make that argument
in my own words just talking
to myself, then I could go back
and begin to shape it in a way
where it would make
sense for the president.
LAURA LING: What have been
your sources of inspiration
when you're going
through this process?
DAVID LITT: Sometimes
what I would
do is I would go on YouTube and
pull up that video of that Iowa
speech from 2008 and hit play.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: They
said this day would never come.
[AUDIENCE CHEERS]
DAVID LITT:
Rewatching those words
and feeling that
sense of both power
and responsibility
keeps you going
when you wonder whether it's
all making a difference.
I worked on the Obama
campaign in 2008
and all of my
volunteers, when I left,
they took one of
those hope posters
and on the back
in cardboard they
all just signed their names.
And so I had a sort
of face the other way
where the hope side
was against the wall
so that I could
see all the names.
It was just this reminder
that what I was doing
was not just about my job.
It was not just even
about the president.
It was about people
in places like the one
where I had worked.
For me, really,
all of my rituals
are about trying to recapture
that feeling I had in 2008,
to put you back in that mindset
when you're 21, 22 years old
and you're absolutely sure
you can change the world,
and you're pretty sure
you can do it tomorrow.
LAURA LING: You've worked
on a number of White House
correspondent dinner
speeches which
are known for highlighting
the president's humor.
How has comedy
been a tool for you
in terms of getting a
political message out?
DAVID LITT: Well, one of
the interesting things
over the last eight
years is getting
people's attention has become
harder and harder and harder.
I wrote some speeches on climate
change that I'm very proud of,
but they didn't have
a huge audience.
We did something with
Luther, the anger translator,
and President Obama got really
upset over climate change
deniers in Congress, and
that had 40 million views
on Facebook.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Rising
seas, more violent storms--
LUTHER: You got
mosquitoes, sweaty people
on the train stinking it up.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
It's just nasty.
DAVID LITT: Something
that's funny
just gets people
to pay attention.
It gets people engaged.
LAURA LING: President Obama
has amazing comedic timing.
DAVID LITT: He really does.
The president can hold a pause
for just the right amount
of time that there's a
little bit of tension
and then cut it
was a punch line.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Being
president is never easy.
I still have to fix a
broken immigration system,
issue veto threats,
negotiate with Iran,
all while finding time
to pray five times a day.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
Which is strenuous.
DAVID LITT: Then there's
also just moments
when you write
something, whether it's
a joke or a more serious line
of argument that breaks through
in some way and becomes part
of this national conversation
around an issue.
And a lot of the time,
that's a team effort,
but to be one part of that
team-- it's a special thing.
LAURA LING: What
have you loved most
about working with the
president, President Obama?
DAVID LITT: Well, I think there
is-- there's just something
extraordinary about
working for somebody who
is such a good writer,
such a good speaker,
and has the ability to
just walk into a room
and create memories that
everybody else is going
to remember for a lifetime.
And so you get to be part of all
of these life-changing moments
in little ways and big ways.
And that is-- when I walk into
a room, that doesn't happen.
So that was nice to get to
play a small part in that.
LAURA LING: How do
Hillary Clinton and Donald
Trump differ when it comes
to giving political speeches?
Be sure to watch this episode
of Seeker Daily to learn more.
Clinton is trying to reach
out to younger voters who
may not be familiar
with the Clinton legacy.
And this may take a
little extra effort
than it would take
Trump, who already
has an established
television presence.
DAVID LITT: I think for somebody
who is by her own admission
not a natural performer, she is
trying to get better and better
and focus attention
where it needs to be.
LAURA LING: Thanks for
watching Seeker Stories.
Please subscribe for
new videos every week.
