Barack Obama and the Structure of Reason

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 authors David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften show 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 summarize and critically analyze Obama’s speeches to demonstrate how structure conveys meaning. Hirsch and Van Haften first identified and explained this unique structure in their groundbreaking book Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason (November, 2010). 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. Anyone can replicate Lincoln’s iron logic, compelling reason, and convincing oratory, and the authors demonstrate step-by-step how to do so.