"This was the most important speech of the year."

What goes into writing a State of the Union address? How does the president convey policy goals to speechwriters? How are they translated into prose? How does a president become comfortable delivering such an important speech in someone else’s words? Paul Glastris, current editor-in-chief of Washington Monthly, wrote quite a few State of the Union speeches while he was serving as senior speechwriter to President Bill Clinton. He gives Rick and Michael a masterclass in presidential speechwriting and a peek at all the work that goes into constructing the “organizing document of an administration”. Nick Johnston, editor-in-chief of Axios, discusses the impact that Congressman Devin Nunes’ memo on potential FISA abuses is having on discourse inside the Beltway.