Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner reported that in speaking to David Gergen at Harvard's Institute of Politics on March 27, former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau said "it's a lie" the way the news media portray President Obama as "purely cynical" and pursuing selfish political interests.
Does Favreau watch the networks? They love offering Obama the mantle of idealism whenever they can. But he insisted:
One week after Politico declared President Obama to be a "puppet master" for his ability to manipulate media coverage, on Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Willie Geist was a willing participant in the string pulling as he conducted a fawning interview with outgoing White House speechwriter Jon Favreau: "[Obama] calls Favreau his mind reader....the departing speechwriter takes us inside his life as the voice of the President."
With a headline on screen declaring "Words That Made History," Geist touted how Favreau "spent the last eight years taking hand scribbled notes...and turning them into soaring speeches for Barack Obama." Geist gushed: "The two have been inseparable writing partners since Favreau joined then-Senator Obama in 2005."