The news on the Swamp wire is that the Vice President Kamala Harris has lost two more top-level staffers, including Meghan Groob, head speechwriter of almost four months. Groob stepped in after Kate Childs Graham took her leave in February. The exodus from Harrisville is raising the eyebrows of the powerful Democratic elite and anyone who follows American politics, wondering whatever could be the problem.
Groob was formerly Bill Gates’ speechwriter – yes, that Bill Gates – so her skill set and temperament were up to the challenge of Harris speechwriter. But Groob is just the latest staffer to jump the listing ship; from disastrous poll numbers to cat fights with the boss, Harris’ office has been in disarray since the inauguration. And in all seriousness, Harris cannot afford to lose anyone who can string three words together to make a simple sentence, a feat she appears to have the utmost problem completing.
Losing a Speechwriter May Alter a Legacy
Why would a wordsmith who might be lauded for creating phrases that could live on in perpetuity throw in the towel so quickly? President Ronald Reagan did not come up with these words when the space shuttle Challenger exploded: A speechwriter wove together a eulogy that quoted a poem by John Gillespie Magee, saying that the astronauts had “slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.” Peggy Noonan created President George H.W. Bush’s mantra, “a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” And lest we forget, David Jeffrey Frum, former President George W. Bush’s speechwriter, coined the infamous phrase “axis of evil” for Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address.
(Illustration by Ed Vebell/Getty Images)
Of course, some elected officials have contributed more significantly to the process of producing a speech that will be quoted for hundreds of years. For example, Abraham Lincoln wrote and rewrote the Gettysburg Address several times. Still, he also had more time traveling by train to craft the line he would deliver: “and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It’s incredible the long-lasting impact of Lincoln’s 272-word text.
The vice president may already be a lost cause if the allegations of a toxic, unprofessional office environment are true. Or perhaps she is just a victim of her own making, believing she is too cool for what professional staffers advise. In that case, a Harris speechwriter may become an endangered species.
Is It Any Wonder Harris Speechwriter Said Bye-Bye?
Liberty Nation has been on top of the flubs and blunders committed by the vice president, including a cringeworthy analysis by Harris on Russia and Ukraine:
“’Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine, so, basically, that’s wrong.’ Hell, I’d fire myself if Harris ignored my briefing paper on problems in Eastern Europe and pulled that stunt.”
Other former staffers have fingered Harris as ill-prepared and seemingly apathetic to learning the subjects she is assigned. That is a problem: Staffers believe their work is being butchered, and the electorate wishes she would turn the teleprompter around so they could read her remarks themselves.
Arrogant and dismissive natures have no business directing professionals to do what they do best. Unless Harris finds a way to buffer her grating and inexpert nature, she might be eclipsed by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg who no doubt has spent two years polishing his people skills.
