Landon Parvin (born 1948) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

speech writer who has written for several

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

politicians, including

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, and

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1982, while working for Ronald Reagan, Parvin also wrote for

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's wife Nancy. Nancy was being criticized in the press for her opulence. Parvin wrote a comedic song for her to the tune of "Second Hand Rose". Parvin left the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

temporarily in 1985 to become executive assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Parvin is responsible for writing a notorious joke for President George W. Bush's appearance at a press dinner that had Bush looking for the missing

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

in various places, including underneath a desk table, while saying "''Those weapons of mass destruction gotta be somewhere.''" . Despite being reasonably well received at the time, it was judged by some to be insensitive to the families of the American soldiers whose family members in the service were in great danger overseas, and resulted in Bush receiving yet more criticism from a hostile press. Interviewed in September 2004 about the Bush presidential campaign, he described his role in the campaign, "''The purpose is for him to be better liked when he sits down than when he first stood up. That is what humor can do.''".

External links

CBS story on Parvin
American speechwriters 1948 births Living people Speechwriters for presidents of the United States {{US-poli-bio-stub