Washington Post Hires Bush Speechwriter

The newspaper has brought on as a columnist Michael Gerson, the man who coined the term “Axis of Evil.” Time magazine called the evangelical writer “The President’s Spiritual Scribe.”

Editor & Publisher:

Michael Gerson, a key aide and speechwriter for President Bush until this summer, will soon join the Washington Post as op-ed columnist, the paper announced today. Gerson will start in January with a twice-weekly column that will also be syndicated.

Later, in an online chat at the paper’s Web site, Howard Kurtz noted concerns about Gerson’s independence, but pointed out that the Post has a number of liberal columnists.

“Mike is well-known as an eloquent writer and provocative thinker, and I’m thrilled he’s decided to do this,” said editorial page editor Fred Hiatt in a statement. “I’m sure that, with other recent additions such as Eugene Robinson and Ruth Marcus, Mike will contribute to the liveliness, thoughtfulness and unpredictability of our op-ed page.”

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