At a Welliver dinner, the remarks of ex-speechwriters tend toward carefully
calibrated irreverence; current speechwriters aren’t expected to gripe or to
disclose confidences. But at the 2002 event, Gerson spoke with immoderate
earnestness.

According to several people who attended, Safire asked Gerson to tell the
group something it didn’t know about Bush. Gerson, in a quavering voice,
responded with a story that left some of his audience nonplussed. He
described a call that he got moments after Bush finished addressing a joint
session of Congress on September 20, 2001. Bush thanked Gerson for his work
on the speech, to which Gerson replied, “Mr. President, this is why God
wants you here.” Gerson then related Bush’s response, as evidence of his
thoughtfulness. “The President said, ‘No, this is why God wants us here.’ ”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and then one of Bill Clinton’s
speechwriters said, in a stage whisper, “God must really hate Al Gore.”

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060213fa_fact1