America’s favorite speech writer Jon Favreau finally comes forward to tell the world how he crafts President Obama’s speeches.  He gives an inside look at wordsmithing at 30,000 feet.

Maybe now that David Plouffe is doing interviews, it’s ok for Favreau to step out of the shadows and video blog as well?

Video by Arun Chaudhary, the official White House videographer

gtruong White House Staff Jon Favreau, President Obama, Tokyo Japan

Release Party for the Beatles Rock Band

The Obama campaign team famously hung together in Chicago and reportedly spent what little “down time” there was available playing Rock Band.

Tuesday night looked like a campaign reunion with Katie McCormick Lelyveld on drums, Jon Favreau on bass, Jenny Cizner and Adam Frankel on vocals, and Katie Johnson on guitar at the Entertainment Software Association’s release party for the Beatles Rock Band video game.

At Gibson Guitar’s showroom in downtown D.C., politicos joined media mavens living the dream on the video game stage. The floor rocked when Viacom’s DeDe Lea (who revealed she was born 9 months after the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show) and Senator Jim Webb’s Kim Hunter were joined by White House Visitors Office Director Ellie Schafer, Craig Hagen, Director of Governmentt Affairs, Electronic Arts and Rich Taylor from ESA. (And yes, he really did reenact Kanye West’s MTV awards show contretemps to the roar of the crowd.)

Also stepping up to the microphone: Representatives Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Joe Crowley, who won rave reviews for their performance of Beatles favorites.

Rock Lighter ruled and there was no mention of health care.

Check out the rest of the photos here!

thaddad Event Coverage, Washington Events Adam Frankel, Craig Hagen, DeDe Lea, Ellie Schafer, Jenny Cizner, Jesse Jackson Jr, Jon Favreau, Katie Johnson, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Kim Hunter, Rich Taylor, Rock Band

The Examiner’s Jeff Dufour got the scoop of the night: Who wrote the President’s comedy routine? Jon Favreau, the president’s chief speechwriter. Favreau told The Examiner it took him two weeks, working with speechwriter Jon Lovett, Obama political adviser David Axelrod, and a team of joke writers, to craft the punch lines. He also said they spent several hours on Friday, working out Obama’s opening sight gag with the teleprompter screens.

thaddad White House Staff David Axelrod, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Obama, The Examiner