I sure hope someone is writing this stuff down.
On top of the more than half a million dollars it spends on speechwriters, the White House is using tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a public relations firm headed by Democratic image maker Michael Sheehan — once dubbed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as an “extraordinary media coach” who helped her master the teleprompter.
Mr. Sheehan’s firm, Sheehan Associates, could receive more than $100,000 under a current contract and has been providing occasional speech and consulting services to the White House since 2009, federal purchasing records show.
Weeks before taking office, Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden pledged to end abuse of no-bid contracting and require competitive bidding on nearly all contract orders for more than $25,000.
However, Mr. Carney said at the time that Mr. Nussbaum was able to “provide unique services where no other person can fulfill the contract requirements” and the White House needed extra speechwriting help. He said Mr. Nussbaum wrote up to six “important and substantial” speeches each month.
According to a 2010 payroll report, the White House employs seven speechwriters earning a combined $624,200. The team is led by Jonathan E. Favreau, the director of speechwriting, who earns $172,200, according to the report, which was released by the White House. Two other senior presidential speechwriters are paid $100,000 each. A pair of presidential speechwriters are paid $75,000 each, and a speechwriter and speechwriting assistant earn $60,000 and $42,000, respectively.
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