Something extraordinary (and largely unnoticed by the media) happened to President Barack Obama in January 2011. Although known for his soaring campaign speeches, Obama's presidential speeches have often been meandering and unconvincing. Simply put, they lacked structure. That changed in January 2011 when a special "skill" was used to craft his Tucson, Arizona, speech after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting. Since that time, nearly every Obama speech has been patterned the same way. Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason shows precisely how President Obama's 2011 speeches have adopted the same structure sometimes used by Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence) and frequently used by Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address). The authors summarise and critically analyse Obama's speeches to demonstrate how structure conveys meaning. David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften first identified and explained this unique structure in their groundbreaking book Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason. Now, they show everyone how to use Jefferson's, Lincoln's, and President Obama's technique in Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and the Structure of Reason.
- ISBN10 1611211352
- ISBN13 9781611211351
- Publish Date 19 October 2012 (first published 2 January 2012)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 16 June 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Savas Beatie
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 227
- Language English