bonjour, researcherkids!

granny knows this quote is attributed to Ronald Reagan but did he
actually pen this line in his SALT II speech himself or did Peggy
Noonan write it?  and could you find me a document that addresses why
Presidential speechwriters aren't credited with these pithy sayings?

****websearcher, if you're not busy, could you field this question if
it interests you -- knowing it's horribly underpriced for the work
involved?  if not, just write "pass, you cheapskate, you!" in a
clarification/comment line.  thanks a heap!

pondering,
GB

Since they don't pay me yet, I'll do this one for fun.

I don't know whether Reagan or Noonan put it in the speech. What I do
know is that neither one of them thought it up. It is an old Russki
axiom. Doveryay, no proveryay.

Whomever wrote it Reagan was quoting Gorbachev who was quoting Lenin
who was quoting something he probably learned at his grandmother's
knee. It is older than Lenin and as well known  in the former USSR as
our "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is in the USA.
It is also as misattributed in the USA as the aforementioned "Golden
Rule". That was first recorded by the Hindus in 3200 BC.

As to why speechwriters don't get credit...they operate essentially as
ghost writers. There probably isn't a document out there specifically
about Presidential speechwriters not getting credit. This would be
because their name on the title page isn't the most important thing.
They get something much more valuable than that. Don't believe me?
Well, consider that Washington utilised Jefferson as a speechwriter
and think about where Jefferson ended up. He was the first but by no
means the last speechwriter to end up with a speechwriter of his own.
It is a case of the money isn't bad, they get a foot in the door for
whatever political/literary aspirations they have so who cares about
fame.