From Bush’s ‘Freedom Speech’, by William Safire, The New York Times, Jan. 21, 2005:
On his way out of the first Cabinet meeting after his re-election, President Bush gave his longtime chief speechwriter the theme for the second Inaugural Address: “I want this to be the freedom speech.”
In the next month, the writer, Michael Gerson, had a heart attack.
SPOILER ALERT!!
With two stents in his arteries, the recovering writer received a call from a president who was careful not to apply any deadline pressure. “I’m not calling to see if the inaugural speech is O.K.,” Bush said. “I’m calling to see if the guy writing the inaugural speech is O.K.”