Political Commentator/Speechwriter Talks with Students

On Jan. 23, NCS parent Mary Kate Cary (Annie ’13 and Gracie ’15) visited David Sahr’s “Politics in America” class to share the story of her career. Cary is a professional speechwriter and contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report, where she is a political blogger and columnist.

 

Cary has had a long and varied career in journalism and politics. She began by telling the NCS and STA Upper School students about her first foray into politics as a 7th-grade volunteer for Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign. Cary was a columnist for The Cavalier Daily at the University of Virginia; after graduating she went on to work for Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr. (R-NY), ABC News, The Hotline, and then George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign. Cary followed Bush to the White House, where she discovered that she had a gift for speechwriting.

 

After leaving the White House, she continued to freelance as a speechwriter for Bush and other political figures. She also served as spokesman for U.S. Attorney General William Barr, was deputy director of communications at the Republican National Committee, and taught speechwriting at Georgetown University and Texas A&M. Now, in addition to writing, she often appears on NPR as a political commentator.

 

Cary engaged the students with anecdotes from her career, including her first invitation to be interviewed on NPR. The students also asked questions about current political events and the candidates, their policies, and campaign strategies. After their discussion, Cary left the class with a promise to mention them in a future article.