Jeff Shesol is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

, speechwriter

Speechwriter

A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are used by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors.-Skills and training:...

, and comic strip author. He served as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 and is now a partner at West Wing Writers, a speechwriting and strategy firm in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

.

As a White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 speechwriter from 1998 to 2001, Shesol took a lead role on two State of the Union Addresses

State of the Union Address

The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...

, the President’s 2000 Democratic National Convention

2000 Democratic National Convention

The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore as its candidate for President and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman as its candidate for Vice President. The convention was held at...

 speech, and the Farewell Address. His hundreds of other speeches covered a range of issues, including economic policy, global health, the federal budget, and the arts. Shesol also helped produce the noted mockumentary “The Final Days” for Clinton’s appearance at the 2000 White House Correspondents' Association

White House Correspondents' Association

The White House Correspondents' Association is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend...

 Dinner.

From 1994 to 1998, Shesol wrote the nationally syndicated comic strip "Thatch"

Thatch (comic strip)

Thatch was a comic strip created by Jeff Shesol. The strip began in Brown University's student newspaper The Brown Daily Herald. It was later picked up for syndication by Creators Syndicate in late 1994....

. In 1997, he published his first book, Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Defined a Decade, about the rivalry between Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy. In 2010, Shesol published his second book, Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, about President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

's court-packing plan.

In 2002, Shesol was the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow in American Studies at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, teaching a course on the history of the presidential speech. He has written essays and articles in his own name for publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Politico

Politico (newspaper)

The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...

. He also offers regular commentary on television and radio.

Shesol graduated from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 in 1991 before earning his masters in history from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and children.

External links

• Shesol.com - Jeff Shesol's Official Website
• Booknotes interview with Shesol on Mutual Contempt, November 30, 1997.