Sarah Palin's speech written by a vegetarian

I'm not naïve enough to think that Sarah Palin crafted every word of her speech last week at the Republican National Convention. But I assumed that whoever did write it had at least a passing familiarity with animal carcasses. After all, a Google News search reveals at least 1,393 news stories published in the past week with the keywords "Sarah Palin," "speech," and "red meat."

But I was wrong. According to Time magazine, former Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully, the man behind Palin's speech, is a vegetarian "known for his vigorous defense of animal rights." He is often at odds with the NRA and opposes "more brutal versions" of hunting, such as gunning down wolves from airplanes, a practice Palin supports.

Mr. Scully's dietary practices are in line with statements by Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who encouraged people to curb global warming by eating less meat. Mr. Pachauri, who is also a vegetarian, cited the greenhouse-gas emissions and habitat destruction caused by raising cattle and other animals for food.