27 Mar Editor-in-chief

A photo recently added to the White House photostream on Flickr reveals a startling presidential penchant for meticulous editing:

Ouch! The speechwriter who endured this grueling feedback, Jon Favreau, is the second-youngest in presidential history. The only man every to serve at a more tender age, Atlantic magazine writer and former Jimmy Carter speechwriter James Fallows, offered these comments on the photo:

The volume of Obama’s editing is unusual but not unheard of. The quality of his editing is exceptional for a public figure. Think of just one sentence in the shot above. The original says “This has always been our history.” Obama changes it to, “This has always been the history of our progress.” A different, more interesting, and more original-sounding thought.

Those wishing to track President Obama’s edits in detail can view an enormous version of the photo here.