"The website also tells how the apparently "spontaneous" speech Kerry delivered that day was actually written by a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy named Adam Walinsky."
This is another bit of information that may not be factual. I have to admit that I helped pass this on in some of my posts here.
But the original charge for this goes back to Spiro Agnew and maybe also Chuck Colson.
Yesterday I had a friend of mine call Adam Walinsky and ask him about his involvement with Kerry and specifically that speech. Walinsky said that his only involvement in the Dewey Canyon III event was that "Kerry was broke" and he gave him some money so that he could bus people there.
Walinsky said he had nothing to do with Kerry's speech and that he didn't think it was particularly well-written. (Walinsky used to be RFK's speech writer and advisor.) He said that Kerry went off into a room with George Butler (who was a cameraman for the documentary being made about the event--which is available) and wrote the speech.
Whether Butler himself had a hand in the speech is unknown at this time. We're trying to track him down.
On page 135 of "Stolen Valor," Burkett says, "And Kerry's emotional, from-the-heart speech had been carefully crafted by a speechwriter for Robert Kennedy named Adam Walinsky, who also tutored him on how to present it."
It isn't clear where Burkett got that, though... there isn't a footnote.