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Inaugural Speech Preparations

Democratic officials described to CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic the evolution of Barack Obama's Inaugural speech, which he will deliver Tuesday, January 20, at noon.

(Pete Souza/Obama Transition Team)
The week before Thanksgiving, chief speech writer Jon Favreau, senior adviser David Axelrod and Mr. Obama "met to discuss the themes of speech and what he hoped to convey," the source said.

By the first week in December, Favreau had completed a first draft with a team speechwriters.

The day before the Obamas left for their Hawaiian vacation, the president-elect met with Axelrod and Favreau to discuss the speech and make some edits. Favreau used the Christmas holiday to complete a second draft of the remarks.

The democratic official told Gavrilovic that Mr. Obama edited the speech extensively last weekend and did a good amount of his own writing.

Finally, last Monday the team went through the historic address and made a final round of edits.

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