Meredith GuerinotProfileJuly 2, 2015

Dr. Lindsay Hayes is the Woman Behind the WordsShe shares her thoughts on speechwriting and women in politics

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — It is not easy owning

your own business while simultaneously raising

kids and cleaning house. It is even more stressful

when you add on flying across the country with

presidential candidates and writing their speeches.

That is the life of Lindsay Hayes.

Hayes is a successful, leading woman in a

field dominated by men. Among writers, oftentimes

she is the only woman in the room, but she does not

let old stereotypes stop her. She admits that it is

challenging at times, especially in the competitive world of politics, but she loves what she does.

Back to the Beginning

Hayes’ career path began during her time at Boston College. She double majored in

political science and communication. She completed several PR internships, but soon found out

PR was not for her. It was during graduate school at the University

of Maryland that she read a book by Peggy Noonan, writer of

President Reagan’s Challenger speech. When she realized that

speechwriting was a job, she got an internship at the White

House as a writer and pursued this career.

She described her writing process as messy. She will eat, do laundry, vacuum, go to the

grocery store and spend time with her husband and 8-month-old son—anything to push writing

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Go find a job that you would do for free but don’t tell anyone that you would do it for free. Then make a

career out of it.

Photo from Hayes

off to the last minute. Although she tries to delay writing, while she is completing other tasks,

she will jot notes down in notebooks she has all over the house. Once she actually writes a draft,

she reads it aloud over and over because it has to sound like something someone could deliver,

and she is ruthless with editing herself.

Writing For Women in Politics

Her big break was writing for Sarah Palin in her vice-presidential

campaign in 2008. She was eager to begin working and excited to be a part of

history.

“I believe women have important things to say,” Hayes said. At one

convention, Hayes was able to see Palin speak and she thought her speech was

“electrifying and important for [her] to see as a woman.”

She described being a woman in the

political world as a difficult feat but emphasized

the need for women to overcome stereotypes in

order to be taken seriously. She finds the labels

women have to be “sickening” and she witnessed

the stereotypes when she was part of Palin’s team.

She said it was very challenging to see the media’s

brutal treatment of Palin.

In 2008 reporters targeted Palin, but not because of her speeches, causes or campaign—it

was because of her clothes. The Republican National Committee purchased more

than $150,000 worth of clothing and accessories for Palin. This story broke the

same week that Palin gave a significant speech on women’s rights. The speech

received virtually no coverage.

The Palin Clothing Scandal

In 2008, the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent $150,000 of campaign contributions on clothing, hair styling and make-up for Palin. This raised controversy in the media as Palin’s average “hockey mom” image no longer seemed relevant. Although the RNC emphasized that the clothing and accessories were not purchased by Palin herself and they would be donated after the campaign, the shopping spree was a factor that Republicans thought would compromise Palin’s standings with working-class voters. Palin ended up losing the campaign.

Photo from Hayes

“Personally, the Palin 2008 incident was a game changer,” Hayes said. “But I am

heartened by the coverage Hillary Clinton is receiving with her campaign.”

Writing About Women in Politics

“You should be able to be a woman and be in any political party,” Hayes said.

She is currently involved in two projects that involve the gender gap in politics. One

project is a book on the history of women in politics that specifically looks at women who have

familial ties in politics.

Hayes manages to have a structured home life, own her own business, and write speeches

and books. She says “it’s tiring; it’s a grind. But I love my job.”

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