--- description: Litt is a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama. His latest book is It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground. title: TIME | Current & Breaking News | National & World Updates image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # David Litt ## David Litt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close _Litt is a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama. His latest book is_ [_It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground_](https://www.amazon.com/Its-Only-Drowning-Learning-Search/dp/1668035359/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=2SAIVVXLATMIX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0%5FbmmdcV9sJ7jGJf6CpPEydoGzGPG832Z%5F2fcgz0v4zGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.rAyoHJxTjbdTQdfjPxRw8d2yNao70kngRkFEGo18KHI&dib%5Ftag=se&keywords=it%27s+only+drowning&qid=1750388400&s=books&sprefix=it%27s+only+drowning%2Cstripbooks%2C72&sr=1-1)_._ ## David Litt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close *  Apr 11, 2026 ### [The Big Unanswered Question about the Tracking of ICE Observers](https://time.com/article/2026/04/11/unanswered-question-about-tracking-ICE-observers/) Hilton v. Noem et al. aims to reveal whether and how ICE observers are being tracked. But getting a ... [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jul 28, 2025 ### [I Used to Hate the Beach. Here’s What Changed My Mind](https://time.com/7305580/i-used-to-hate-the-beach/) David Litt shares his confessions of a beach convert who once loathed, and now loves, the beach. [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jun 24, 2025 ### [Is It Wrong to Have Fun in a World on Fire?](https://time.com/7296462/surfing-having-fun-world-on-fire/) David Litt argues that having fun during difficult times doesn’t make you complicit—it makes you com... [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Oct 31, 2024 ### [Fear and Hoping in Ohio](https://time.com/7113445/wayne-county-ohio-election-2024/) What one county’s rightward swing says about America. [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Sep 11, 2020 ### [History and the Rejection of Trump's Immigrant Census Order](https://time.com/5888038/census-noncitizen-history/) In rejecting President Trump’s Census count order, a court reasserted one of America’s most enduring... [HISTORY](/section/history/) *  Jul 7, 2020 ### [It's Up to Us to End the Electoral College](https://time.com/5863481/supreme-court-faithless-electors-electoral-college/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Jun 18, 2020 ### [The Racist History of Voter Registration](https://time.com/5855885/voter-registration-history-race/) Throughout American history, voter registration has never just been about keeping track of voters. I... [HISTORY](/section/history/) *  May 20, 2020 ### [The COVID-19 Crisis Is a Failure of Democracy](https://time.com/5839195/coronavirus-democracy-failure/) [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Sep 19, 2017 ### [What the White House Bathrooms Taught Me About Power](https://time.com/4946393/white-house-toilets-bathrooms/) By a former Obama Administration speechwriter [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) *  Sep 18, 2017 ### [Sean Spicer’s Emmys Appearance Rewarded His Lies With Fame](https://time.com/4946406/sean-spicer-emmys-comedy/) 'For elites anyway, the most powerful form of resistance is social shame' [IDEAS](/section/ideas/) Meta: {"meta\_title":"","meta\_description":"","og\_title":"","og\_description":"","og\_imageConnection":{"edges":\[\],"\_\_typename":"SysAssetConnection"},"twitter\_card":null,"\_\_typename":"Seo"} ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","@id":"https://time.com/","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/author/david-litt/","name":"David Litt"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Person","@id":"https://time.com/author/david-litt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/author/david-litt/"},"name":"David Litt","jobTitle":"","description":"Litt is a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama. His latest book is It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground.","url":"https://time.com/author/david-litt/","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/"}}] ```