Profile of Obama speechwriter, “wundkerkind” Jon Favreau, at WhoRunsGov.com omits Favreau’s “groping Hillary” photo

Jon Favreau. Photo credit: Lois Raimondo/TWP via WhoRunsGov.com

While scanning the Washington Post just now, I stumbled on a link to the Post’s offshoot, WhoRunsGov.com, boasting that it “offers the best political profiles on the web.” As luck would have it,  I had unintentionally linked to Jon Favreau’s profile. Favreau as you know has been Obama’s speechwriter since the 08 campaign and the White House speechwriter since January 2009.

The flattering profile of Mr. Favreau begins:

Favreau might have one of the most difficult jobs in President Barack Obama’s office. The wunderkind is charged with writing speeches for a politician considered one of the best speakers of his generation.

I was not surprised, but nevertheless disappointed to discover the profile failed to mention one of the more scandalous episodes in Favreau’s brief career in DC that was covered exceptionally well in a post dated Dec. 5, 2008 at Top of the Ticket (LA Times) by Andrew Malcolm titled “Obama Speechwriter Photographed Groping Hillary Clinton Likeness.”

Favreau is on the left.

 

Malcolm writes:

It might have seemed funny during the party. But a photo has surfaced in recent hours of President-elect Barack Obama's newly-designated chief speechwriter, Jon Favreau, groping a cardboard cutout of the administration's newly-designated secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

That's Favreau on the left in the above photo (the fellow in the Obama staff T-shirt pouring beer in the pretend politician's mouth is unidentified). The photo was first published on the Washington Post's 44 blog.

The shot of the 27-year-old writer with his hand on the 60-year-old cardboard senator's breast reportedly appeared for about two hours on a Facebook page Thursday afternoon before disappearing, along with numerous other Favreau pictures, including one of him dancing with the cardboard female secretary-designate.

An Obama spokesman says Favreau has apologized to the former first lady, who gave Obama a run for his massive piles of money during the Democratic primaries. 

The transition official said Favreau has "reached out to Sen. Clinton to offer an apology," an unfortunate choice of words under the photographic circumstances, as the Swamp's Frank James points out in his item. 

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