In drafting a major address, it’s not uncommon for Barack Obama to assemble a circle of outside advisors or pick the brains of scholars and experts in one-on-one phone calls. But for yesterday’s big speech responding to the Jeremiah Wright controversy, Obama more or less locked himself in a room and put pencil to paper, an aide says:

He made a final decision on Saturday that this is something he wanted to do and he wrote it himself, largely on Sunday and Monday, putting some finishing touches on it this morning. He restricted everyone else to editing, mostly proofreading. This was 100-percent his speech.
I don’t think you’ll find too many politicians of his magnitude who really only consult with oneself and one’s God and really search the depths of one’s soul to convey the message on this sort of stage. It says something about this candidate that he was able to do that, and with such success.

It also explains why the speech was so short on sound bites. Despite the glowing media reviews, it’s yet to be seen whether that approach–which made it difficult for the evening news to play clips summarizing Obama’s address–served him well with the Pennsylvania voters he’s targeting.

8