Cool Job of the Week / Current Crush

Jon Favreau, a 27 year old Gemini (obsessed much?), is Barack Obama's speechwriter - surely one of the coolest and most (mentally) gruelling jobs on the planet right now! And talk about geek chic - he just sits in cafes all day (they keep mentioning Starbucks - really uncool, but I'm willing to ignore this), wears glasses (actually, evidently he doesn't but this links in way too well with the Oliver Peoples post below) and gets to cruise the web reading other people's speeches, keep up with current affairs etc etc etc. Wowowowow.

Jon is the youngest speechwriter in the White House on record (however a quick scan indicates speechwriters are actually quite young - the oldest in the Obama camp is 31, and Bush's past speechwriter was in his early 30s also). Jon was 23 when he met Barack for the first time - Obama was rehearsing his 2004 convention speech when Jon suggested he rewrite the last line (at the time, Jon worked for John Kerry. We all know how that one panned out). It didn't take long for Jon to be snapped up by Obama and the rest, so they say, is history.

Given Obama's own writing skills (he has been called the best writer-president since Abraham Lincoln and has written quite a few of his own landmark, stand up and squeal with optimism for the future speeches) and his brilliant public speaking abilities, Jon claims that it's a piece of cake writing for him, but you can imagine it would be a high pressure job. Although, in trademark style Obama sets aside time for joking: When Mr. Obama’s White Sox swept Mr. Favreau’s beloved Red Sox three games to none in their American League 2005 division series, the senator walked over to his speechwriter’s desk with a little broom and started sweeping it off.

Fo his inspiration, Favreau looks to JFK and Martin Luther King speeches and endless cups of coffee (he reportedly doesn't sleep more than 6 hours per night and generally goes to bed around 3am - this is distinctly vampire-like behaviour and a massive turn on for yours truly, despite needing a solid 8 hours per night myself).

In typical geek style, Jon uses big words when talking to girls. When he tries to tell girls that he's Obama's speechwriter, naturally very few (until now - his face is everywhere right now) believe him. To which he replies: "If I really wanted to hit on you, don’t you think I’d make up something more outlandish?" Outlandish. Great work.

Obama will be inaugurated at 3am Australian time tomorrow morning - the world is waiting with bated breath to hear his first words as President. It's amazing to think someone our age has written those words for him. Imagine.