Media Coverage
Presidents don't always subscribe to free speechEspecially when they hit the lecture circuit and can charge thousands for a glimpse of celebrityOlivia Ward, The Toronto Star March 16, 2009 Talk may be cheap, but not if you're an ex-president of the United States. When George W. Bush arrives in Calgary Tuesday, for his maiden speech as former leader, he'll be scoring at least $100,000 in fees. That's not bad for a man who won the Plain English Campaign's Foot in Mouth lifetime achievement award – and left the country with a spiralling recession, two simmering wars and worldwide resentment for his eight years in office. But when it comes to hiring presidential pensioners, it seems, the public isn't picky. Richard Nixon, the most disgraced U.S. president in recent history, garnered $600,000 from broadcaster David Frost for 24 hours of taped interviews in 1977. A decade later, Nixon charged a single interview fee of $6,000 – or so his handlers told the Star when a request was made for an hour of his time. An offer we could refuse. In the troubled 21st century, ordinary Americans may not want to hear from Bush, whose approval rating bottomed out at 22 per cent. But like other presidents before him, he is one of the highest cards in the deck for event planners. In addition to the Calgary engagement, titled A Conversation With George W. Bush, he's booked for 10 more, in the U.S. and other countries. "President during a momentous period in American history," enthuses the Washington Speakers bureau that represents him, "George W. Bush offers his thoughts on eight years in the Oval Office, the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century, the power of freedom, the role of faith, and other pressing issues." For those out to rent a leader, issues aren't the issue, says George Edwards of Texas A&M University, an expert in the presidency. "We live in an age of celebrity, and presidents are huge," explains Edwards. "It could be an Amway convention, and they'll want a president there to give them a high profile." For some, selling the presidency on the speaking circuit smacks of sleaze. But it has become a modus operandi for those who play in the World Cup of politics. "I'm not comfortable with presidents making money on the (platform)," says Shirley Anne Warshaw, who has written nine books on the presidency including The Co-Presidency of Bush and Cheney, to be published next month. "They're only being asked to speak because they were president. They travel with an entourage paid for by the government, along with their staff. It's as though they were taking advantage of their office." When it comes to publicly funded allowances for staff and office space, former presidents don't pinch pennies. Bill Clinton's was $1.1 million in 2008, and George H.W. Bush was paid $786,000. Jimmy Carter drew a modest $518,000, according to U.S. News and World Report. Still, Bush said he needs the speaking gigs to "refill the old coffers" after his exit from the White House. Unlike millions of laid-off U.S. workers, however, he wasn't facing the dole. In addition to family wealth, Bush rates a pension of $196,700 (U.S.) and rising to $210,700 in 2011. It wasn't ever thus, says Mark Updegrove, author of Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House. Before former president Gerald Ford began the tradition of going for gold, the impecunious Harry Truman came close to the breadline when he retired in 1953. "His only source of income was a $115 monthly pension. He sold properties to keep himself solvent, and made some money from memoirs. But a more draconian tax system meant that he didn't have much financial gain," said Updegrove. Truman's plight sparked the 1958 Former Presidents Act, meant to "maintain the dignity of that great office" with adequate pensions. But even before Ford, who left office in 1977, found other ways to supplement his income, his predecessor Nixon turned notoriety to advantage with the Frost interviews. At the rock bottom of his exile as a political pariah, writes biographer Jonathan Aitken in the Daily Mail, "Nixon was driven solely by this urgent need for cash. So he accepted the highest bid, even though it was from an improbable British source." Ronald Reagan, a more revered leader, capitalized on his reputation as the Great Communicator from the podium, raking in $2 million for two speeches in Japan in 1989. Over the years, says Updegrove, presidents have expanded their repertoire of ready earners. "It's standard practice not only to write memoirs for a healthy paycheque, but to capitalize on the former position in a number of ways. Sitting on corporate boards was lucrative for both Ford and (G.W.) Bush." Not all the money goes to line the presidential pockets. "They raise money for foundations and presidential libraries," says Warshaw. "Bush needs to raise quite a lot for a library at Southern Methodist University. Carter and Clinton have their foundations. They want to create important legacies." Bush's fee for his Calgary speech – an affair so private that the press is barred and ticket prices are unknown – hasn't been publicly released. But, says Edwards, "a lot of those celebrity speeches don't have much to say, and they're usually shallow and superficial. I wouldn't pay $10." WHY CANADIANS CAN'T COMPETE FOR THE BIGGEST BUCKS: The Lawyer’s Weekly - June 17, 2009 The Toronto Star - March 16, 2009 Vancouver Sun - March 2, 2009 Financial Post - February 21, 2009 MeetingsCanada.com - December 11, 2008 Press Release - November 27 2008 MeetingsCanada.com - November 27, 2008 Press Release - November 2008 MSN Small Business - October 2008 Millionairemom.com - October 2008 Canadian Event Perspective - August 2, 2008 Women's Post - July 11, 2008 Bizbash.com - June 12, 2008 Workopolis.com - April 28, 2008 CareerJoy.com - April 28, 2008 Montreal Gazette - April 07, 2008 Alberta Venture - March, 2008 AOL Canada - February 13, 2008 National Post - December, 2007 Woman's Post - December, 2007 Midtown Town Crier - November, 2007 National Post - September 29, 2007 Emprendedores Contemporary Business Communication Speaking Of Impact - Summer, 2007 Progressive Choices - Winter/Spring, 2007 National Post - January 15, 2007 globeandmail.com - May 30, 2006 Esteem Magazine - Spring 2006 The Globe and Mail - Sept. 29, 2004 WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING (July 2004) INNOVATIVE PROGRESS (May 2004) SPEAKING OF IMPACT (Spring 2004) In Conference PROFITguide.com (October/November 2003) THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS (Nov 13, 2002) MPI Newsbytes (Volume 9, Issue 27 02 July 2002) Profit Magazine (June, 2002) Profit Magazine (June, 2002) The Globe and Mail: In Conference Magazine (Spring, 2002) The National Post (Monday March 19, 2001) Canadian Jewish News (August 3rd, 2000) The Calgary Herald (April 22, 2000) The Generator (November, 1999) Royal Bank - Today's Entrepreneur (First Aired: March 29,
1999)
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