Thursday, November 12, 2009

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Washington Whispers by Paul Bedard

Ghost of Clinton in Bush 9/11 Speech

April 11, 2008 03:15 PM ET | Paul Bedard | Permanent Link | Print

The ghost of Bill Clinton took center stage in President Bush's most important speech, his 9/11 address to Congress, we learn in a new book about White House ghostwriters from our own Robert Schlesinger. In White House Ghosts, he reveals to Bush and the rest of us that the prez's most memorable line was secretly suggested by a former top Clintonista and inserted without the source ever being revealed. You know the line: "Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done." How'd it get there? Bush kept on Clinton national security speechwriter John Gibson, who got it from his former boss Tom Malinowski. Gibson didn't reveal his source; it would have been junked. The irony of Bush uttering his words made Malinowski queasy. "The line I wrote that I think will probably be remembered and quoted more than any other was uttered not by Clinton but Bush."

Tags: 9/11 | George W. Bush

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