Summary.
In his book Clinton & Me, humorist-for-hire Mark Katz describes the former president’s aversion to using an egg timer as a prop during a speech. This was in January 1995, and Clinton was taking flak for his windy orations, particularly a recent State of the Union address that clocked in at 81 minutes. Katz, who was charged with writing the president’s annual humorous speeches for the press corps, wanted Clinton to walk to the podium, take out the egg timer, and set it for five minutes before speaking. The president was then supposed to reset it periodically throughout his presentation.