No Second Opinion

A certain high-level politician made life absolutely miserable for his speech-writer …

The speech-writer was regarded by political observers as one of the best in the business. Nevertheless the politician for whom he wrote seemed impossible to satisfy. According to him, the speeches were either too long or too short, too dull or too daring, too abstract or too concrete, too distant or too personal. Nevertheless, over the years, the politician had benefited greatly from the writer’s efforts. Finally, the speech-writer, fed-up with his boss, decided to write one last speech. He gave it to the politician just minutes before it was to be delivered. Consequently, with no time for rehearsal, the speaker began reading it “cold turkey.”

He orated his way through several pages of the manuscript until he came to an instructional note from the speech-writer. “Read the next line with special forcefulness.” This he did, saying, “And now I give you ten vital reasons why this country should immediately reevaluate its…