Ted Widmer: All Publications, Events and Press

Electoral Excitement, All Over Again

Erin Drankoski — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:38:00 -0500

Not too long ago, I predicted that a solid recent history of the 2008 election (Richard Wolffe's "Renegade") was likely to be the final word until President Obama wrote his own version of those storied events. A few months later, it appears that the conveyor belt is just getting started and that we will be reading about 2008 for a while to come. My bad!

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize A Mixed Blessing At Home | NPR

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:53:00 -0400

Ted Widmer, a former Clinton speechwriter who is now director of Brown University's John Carter Brown Library, predicted that there would be no negative ...

Other Presidents Who Weighed In on Big Cases | NYTimes.com

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:11:00 -0400

“At the end of the day, these are robust human beings who occupy the Oval Office, and they are skilled with robust language,” said Ted Widmer, a presidential historian at Brown. Original article

LBJ Arm Twisting? Not Really Obama's Style | NPR

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:46:00 -0400

Plus, the two men "are pretty far apart in most people's minds, and certainly in [Obama's]," says Ted Widmer, a fellow at the New America Foundation, ...

Ghana, but Not Forgotten | Politico

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:44:00 -0400

Clinton's speechwriter that day, Ted Widmer, recalled a feeling of sensory overload.

"It was surreal in many ways - just one sensation after the next," he said. "Sweat was pouring out of every pore in my body. ... I was seeing these people do a lion dance with deafening drums. ... I've been at plenty of unmemorable political speeches. This one was carnival-esque and fun."

He Flipped! | New York Times

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:21:00 -0400

Indeed, more often than not, parties are vehicles of self-interest -- which was one reason the country's framers were suspicious of them to begin with, said Ted Widmer, a historian at Brown University. “It's odd that parties are sacrosanct to so many ...

New York's Lincoln Memorial

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:03:00 -0400

Assessing the Inauguration Speech of Barack Obama | U.S. News & World Report

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:23:00 -0500

As Ted Widmer, another former presidential speechwriter (from the Clinton White House) told me, Obama began his new job with, "All in all, ...

Speech Mixes Promises with Rebuke of Bush | USA Today

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:50:00 -0500

Brown University historian Ted Widmer, editor of American Speeches: Political Oratory from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton. called Obama's language "a ...

Writers Praise Barack Obama's Inaugural address | The Los Angeles Times

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:32:00 -0500

Clinton speechwriter and author Ted Widmer liked the obvious lack of "elaborate, orotund speechwriter language," the "tight language, short sentences and ...

The Speech | The San Diego Union Tribune

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:07:00 -0500

“I can't remember more anticipation of a speech in my lifetime than this one,” said historian Ted Widmer, director of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown ...

Presidential Powers Don't Extend to Pop Culture

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:05:00 -0500

We're asking a lot of Barack Obama, just to right the sinking ship of American politics. Can we expect him to save American culture as well? Can a president spin that much gossamer from his oratory? Can the American people make better books, movies and music, inspired to new heights by better speeches and our better angels?

If history is any guide, the answer is simple: No, we can't!

The Past as a Guide for Obama’s Inaugural Address | The New York Times

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:24:00 -0500

“He doesn’t want to create the feeling that he will magically solve all of these pretty difficult problems right away,” said Ted Widmer, ...

Cambridge on the Potomac | The Boston Globe

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:41:00 -0500

... followed by almost at the same moment a strong temptation to dismiss power," says Ted Widmer, a historian who is director of the John Carter Brown ...

America: What in the World Does It Want | The Associated Press

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:10:00 -0500

"Inspiration is our export," says Ted Widmer, author of "Ark of the Liberties: America and the World." That tendency to be a model for humanity created a ...

Obama's Inauguration Speech: Lincoln, FDR, JFK Showed the Way | The Chicago Sun-Times

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:13:00 -0500

It stopped the panic," said historian Ted Widmer, director of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University and the former head speechwriter for ...

The Voice of Hope | Ottawa Citizen

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:06:00 -0500

"I don't think there has ever been this degree of expectation of greatness before an inaugural speech," says presidential historian Ted Widmer, ...

The Elements of Styling a Great Inaugural Address | Minnesota Public Radio

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:32:00 -0500

Speechwriter Ted Sorensen spoke with Clinton speechwriter Ted Widmer earlier this week about what went into the creation of that speech, and what elements ...

Tocqueville on the Bush Years

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:14:00 -0500

It takes time to assess a presidency.

Harry S Truman left office reviled, only to enjoy huge popularity after colorful biographies were published, decades later.

Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, but enjoyed partial success burnishing his credentials as a foreign policy sage.

Bill Clinton left office after surviving impeachment, but has earned high marks for his charity work since then, despite some bumps in the 2008 campaign.

Ted Widmer on Minnesota Public Radio | 'War and Diplomacy'

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:10:00 -0400

The notion that America is an "exceptional" nation has guided our foreign policy from the earliest days of the Republic. But critics say that idea has been used to justify some questionable adventures abroad. This is the latest discussion in Midmorning's election-season series examining the debates that define and inspire our country, using Howard Fineman's "The Thirteen American Arguments" as a guide.

Guests:

Marilyn Young: Professor of history at New York University, and co-editor of "Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam."

Ted Widmer: Director of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, and a fellow at the New America Foundation. He was a foreign policy speech writer for President Clinton. His newest book is "Ark of the Liberties."

LINK to audio