Sitting Down With President Obama’s Former Senior Speechwriter

This week we are honored to chat with David Litt, a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, a New York Times best selling author, and the former head writer/producer for Funny Or Die D.C. David told us all about his dog, Emily, and what it was like to meet President Obama’s dogs when he worked in the White House. He also shared what he thinks is going to happen in the presidential election this fall, and how you can get involved.

You’ve worked in politics for years. What do you think is going to happen in the presidential election?

Daivd’s dog, Emily (above), is “about half husky (the other half is a combo of chow-chow, german shepard, pitbull, and about a dozen other breeds).”

I’ve worked in politics long enough to know that no one knows. (And after the century we lived through in July, that’s truer than ever.) That said, I got my start in politics as a field organizer on Obama’s 08 campaign, and I haven’t seen that kind of energy until Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee. 

Tell us about your dog, Emily.

Our friends Sam and Lauren fostered Emily’s mom while she was pregnant - and literally delivered the puppies like Roger and Anita in 101 Dalmatians. So we first met Emily when we she was about four weeks old - basically a potato with fur. I was explaining to Sam that this was the wrong time to get a puppy, and then I looked over and Emily had crawled into Jacqui’s lap, and now we have a dog. That was about 18 months ago, so Emily still has tons of energy, zero chill, and no sense of personal space - and she’s also the best dog in the history of dogs.

We heard you have two cats. How does Emily do living with them? 

We were really worried about how she’d do with our cats, Harry and Maisie. Emily’s about half husky (the other half is a combo of chow-chow, german shepard, pitbull, and about a dozen other breeds), so before we adopted her we called husky breeders all over the country to see how she’d do. They all had cats, and they said that if you get the dog as a puppy everything will be fine. 

Which turned out be true. It was touch and go and first, and we didn’t leave them unsupervised, but now Emily knows the cats are part of the family. The main problem is that she wants to be their best friends, and she thinks the way to become someone’s best friend is by sniffing their butt, and the cats don’t agree with that. But when Jacqui and I aren’t home, we’re 99% sure Emily and Harry hang out together. They’re like the toys in Toy Story. 

Emily lives at home with two cats, Harry and Maisie.

When you worked in the White House, did you spend any time with President Obama’s dogs?

When I got to the White House, Bo was the only dog in the first family. He was a total celebrity, and sometimes we’d see him being walked through the residence. I think presidential pets are the closest thing America has to royalty, and I think Bo agreed. I always got the sense he knew he was the White House dog. A few years later the Obamas got Sunny, who was also a great dog but way more chaotic - kind of like Prince Harry before he settled down. 

Have you ever met any other presidential pets?

I haven’t! Our cats starred in a 2020 “Cats for Biden” video, though, and I was very happy that the Bidens kept their word and brought a cat into the White House. Promises made, promises kept.

David was described as "the comic muse for the president" for his work on the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

What’s one of your favorite memories from working in the White House?

The amazing thing about working in the White House is that you can have a dozen once-in-a-lifetime experiences a week. To pick a favorite at random, I always loved the Medal of Freedom Award ceremonies. Once, I chaperoned an awardee, so I’m standing in this room with, like, Gloria Steinem and Ernie Banks and former Republican Senator Dick Lugar and civil rights icon CT Vivian and Oprah. In the Obama White House those moments weren’t political - they really were celebrations of this country, and of the people who have shaped it. 

David (above) started surfing in 2022 following the pandemic.

We’ve seen that you like to surf. Tell us more. 

I picked up surfing in 2022 to try to get out of a post-pandemic rut. I got hooked, and set a goal of surfing Hawaii’s North Shore - home to some of the best and most dangerous waves in the world - in 18 months. With the help of my brother-in-law, Matt, I did it, but more than that I learned a ton about harnessing the power of fear and finding courage in a very scary world. And then because I’m an author, I thought, “This should be a book.” So It’s Only Drowning is coming out next June.

If someone in our community wants to get involved in the election, what’s the best way for them to make a difference?

Volunteer! If you live or near a swing state, knocking on doors and talking with voters is the best way to use your time on behalf of your favorite candidate. And if you don’t live in a swing state, making phone calls has gotten way better - and easier - since I started in politics. They usually have you call voters who are likely to already support the candidate, but just need information about when to register, what kinds of ID to bring to the polls, and stuff like that. So you don’t need to understand all the issues in order to make a difference.