Deconstructing the Speech

A close reading of the President’s speech to schoolchildren today reveals some notable things.  As a trial lawyer, it’s professionally interesting to see how he makes his case – and to see what case he is actually making.  And as the father of a new kindergartner and a toddler, I’m interested in seeing how he goes about trying to influence our children – not because I’m paranoid about him influencing my kids but because I’d like to learn how to do it myself.

Let’s start with some statistics.   My computer counted 36 uses of the word “I” and 15 uses of the contraction “I’m” in 2,367 words.  The subject is supposed to be “school,” but that word only appears 25 times.  So, the subject is the President.

The first two paragraphs seem innocuous, but they set the tone.  There are a lot of contractions – 110 by my Dell’s count.  You use those to seem comfortable and informal, sort of like Matlock would.  It assures the jury – I mean the kids – that you are not so different from them, that you’re one of them.  It’s a good move – I do it.  I’m just not sure the President should. (more…)