Robinson, Peter M.: Files, 1983-1988

Speechwriting, White House Office of

Speechwriter

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Scope and Content Note

Scope Note

This collection documents Robinson's years as a White House speechwriter. It does include some Vice President speeches, but they do not appear to from Robinson's position as Vice President Bush's chief speechwriter, 1982-1983.

The Peter Robinson collection consists of five series: SERIES I: Speech Drafts; SERIES II: Subject File; SERIES III: Reference File; SERIES IV: Chronological File; and SERIES V: Personal File.

Series List

SERIES I: Speech Drafts. 1983-1988

This series consists of material authored by Peter Robinson for remarks, speeches and tapings given by President Reagan and the occasional speech by White House staff members. The majority of folders simply contain the finished product – either the press release version of the remarks or the President’s teleprompter copy only. The larger “topic” speeches they may contain some edits and various drafts. The material is arranged in chronologically from the date of the remarks, speeches and tapings. It begins with an Republican National Committee (RNC) Luncheon in September 1983 and concludes with an address in June 1988. More detailed drafting of Robinson speeches can be found in the Office of Speechwriting: Speech Drafts collection.

SERIES II: Subject Files

This series consists of material related to general subject matter. It is mostly dated from 1983-1988, but does include a few pre-1983 items including Reagan’s two most used speeches from the 1960s and book excerpts. The material consists of newspaper clippings, magazine articles and publications from the Department of State. It also contains a number of subject review papers and memos from the Office of Public Affairs, the Office of Management and Budget, the Republican Party and other White House offices and outside agencies. Included are handwritten notes of Robinson meetings with various staff members including Lyn Nofziger, political consultant and former White House Office of Political Affairs Director, and Don Regan, Chief of Staff. It also includes quotes and joke files. In only a few instances are drafts or speech ideas for a particular subject included. The material is arranged in alphabetical order by subject.

SERIES III: Reference Files

This series consists of material specific to certain speeches. The folders may contain Peter Robinson handwritten notes regarding a topic or specific speech, copies of some drafts, the final version of the speech and newspaper clippings on the reaction to the speech. It also contains input from outside sources like those found in Series II regarding a specific speech. The material is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

SERIES IV: Chronological Files, 1984-1987

This series consists of outgoing memos and correspondence to White House offices, public citizens and personal contacts. The material was removed from two 3-ring binders and foldered. Binder #1 (03/27/1985-10/28/1985) also contained a few news clippings, and speech drafts. The material is arranged in chronological order.

SERIES V: Computer Diskettes

This series consists of 10 5 1/4" floppy diskettes probably dated from the second Reagan Administration. The Library currently does not have the capacity to view any of these disks. We are working within the National Archives system to try to restore or recapture information contained on these diskettes.

SERIES VI: Personal Material

This series consists of personal material related to Peter Robinson. It included personal correspondence, notes on personal meetings, and notes on personal Catholic retreats. It also includes folders on possible outside employment in the private sector. The material is arranged alphabetically by folder

Biography

Biography

Peter Mark Robinson is an American author, research fellow, television host and former speechwriter for then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan.

Peter M. Robinson was born on April 18, 1957 and grew up in Vestal, New York.

In 1979, Robinson graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College. He majored in English. He went on to study politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University. Robinson graduated from Oxford in 1982.

Robinson began his service in the White House as the chief speechwriter for Vice President George Bush from 1982-1983. In 1983, he was hired as a Special Assistant to the President and a member of the speechwriting staff. He served as a presidential speechwriter from 1983-1988. Robinson wrote more than 300 speeches during his White House tenure.

Robinson is most known for being involved with the Berlin Brandenberg Gate speech on East-West relations President Reagan gave on June 12, 1987. In this speech, Reagan utters one of the most famous lines from his speeches, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Robinson has written extensively on the controversy of using this line in the speech and the various positions of the State Department, the National Security Advisor, other advisors and the speechwriters. Robinson has reiterated that it was Reagan who stood firm on using this line in the speech.

After leaving the White House, Robinson attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He graduated with an MBA in 1990. The journal he kept as a student formed the basis for his best-selling business book, Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA, 1994.

At the conclusion of graduate school Robinson spent a year in New York City with Fox Television, reporting to the owner of the company, Rupert Murdoch. He spent a second year in Washington, D.C., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as the director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research.

Peter M. Robinson joined the Hoover Institute as a research fellow in 1993. At the Hoover Institution, he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest and hosted Hoover's original vidcast program, Uncommon Knowledge.

Robinson has also authored two additional books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, Reagan Books, 2003) and It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, Warner, 2000.

As an author of numerous essays and interviews, Robinson has published in the New York Times, Red Herring, and Forbes ASAP, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review Online. He is the editor of Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover Institution Press, 1995).

In 2005, Robinson was elected to serve as a Trustee of Dartmouth College. He continued as a trustee until 2013.

Robinson is still the host of Uncommon Knowledge, which is now a podcast sponsored by the National Review magazine. He also co-founded the Richocet website which is a conservative social media site.

Robinson lives in northern California with his wife and family.

Record Type

Textual

Last Modified Date

2024-11-08

WHORM Alpha File

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Robinson, Peter M.: Files, 1983-1988

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