Vanity Fair’s edit of Sarah Palin’s resignation speech illustrates beautifully, in all its technicolor glory, the importance of competent writers, editors, and proofreaders (and research departments):
The art and craft of editing: a case study
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I feel sick.
Hmmmm, I’ve done some essay grading that ends up looking like that …
Thank you Kellie and Vanity Fair. It was great to be able to peruse this speech in its entirety since I had previously only heard the briefest of sound bites from it. I read the whole thing, the original and the corrections, and found it fascinating and sometimes a little horrifying. One does not often get to witness the amount of polishing that goes into the making of a political speech, or in this case, what the raw, unpolished version looks like. The difference is astonishing.
There were two sentences in particular that caused me to shudder and chuckle simultaneously. “God gave us energy.” That sentence would have great punch if The Divine One was indeed a sports drink. “The world needs more Triggs, not fewer.” I’m sure he is a charming little boy, but if his mother really wants to shield him from ridicule, she needs to stop saying things like that.
Thanks again.