I finally watched this video about the making of the 2012 State of the Union speech. Like all videos from whitehouse.gov, it offers a peek into the hallways and cubicles of the West Wing and shows the real work that happens there. I really liked hearing from some of the staff members who worked on the speech. (I counted three with “Speech Writer” in their title.)

Showing how the different agencies are responsible for reviewing the speech and checking the facts was also included, and I wish there were more details about that. Of course, President Obama makes a few appearances, clearly directing the whole process and providing feedback to those working late into the night. We might include this video in our 2012 update of our State of the Union assignment (here’s the current one), but with all the writing and rewriting featured, it seems like it could be great for students learning about the writing process, too.