What Sentence Diagrams Reveal About President Obama

Something that most people - even his political opponents - agree on is that President Barack Obama is a fairly gifted orator. On those occasions when he speaks extemporaneously, he still struggles with vocalized pauses - those lengthy "Uhhmmms" and "Errrrrs" - but in general, he can compose articulate sentences and typically does fine work with a prepared speech.

But is GRAMMAR, itself, in the tank for Obama? Apparently so, and all it takes to reveal this truth is a trip back to the most hated part of your middle school education: sentence diagramming. Below, blogger Garth Risk Hallberg diagrammed a sentence from Obama's recent press conference - coincidentally, his response to the question put to him by our own Sam Stein:

My view is also that nobody's above the law, and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen, but that, generally speaking, I'm more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards.

Hallberg says that the visual alone "offers several insights":

First, the elegant balance of the central construction (My view is that x, and that y, but also that z) shows that Obama has a good memory for where he's been, grammatically, and a strong sense of where he's going. His tripartite analysis of the problem is clearly reflected in the structure of the sentence, and thus in the three main branches of the diagram. (Turn it on its side and it could be a mobile.) The third "that" - thrown in 29 words into a 43-word sentence - creates three parallel predicate nouns. And then there's a little parallel flourish at the end: "I am more interested in looking forward than I am in looking back."

By contrast, the diagrams of typical George W. Bush sentences are indistinguishable from Google Earth closeups of small rodents, drowned in mud puddles. But watch out, Obamaphiles! Obama's grammatical structure reveals terrible, dark secrets as well! For starters, he uses "copulative predicates" - literally some sort of terrible word-sodomy! But even worse is this:

Notice the canny way that the sentence above turns on the fulcrum of what may be Obama's favorite word: "but." What appears to be a hard line - "My view is... that nobody is above the law" - turns out to have been a qualifier for a vaguer but more inspiring motto: "I am more interested in looking forward than I am in looking back." The most controversial part of the sentence - "people should be prosecuted" - gets tucked away, almost parenthetically, in the middle.

So there you have it! Watch for Obama to continue to hide "controversy" in the middle of parenthetical clauses, where only William Ayers, with his Chicago Machine education, can find them!

Comments

[jackson1015]

05:55 PM on 02/20/2009

Diagram this, buddy.

[ericmiami]

08:12 AM on 02/20/2009

I meant to write: A diagram of one of Sarah's sentences would probably run to a whole roll of toilet tissue. Sorry. And also, too.

[ericmiami]

08:11 AM on 02/20/2009

A diagram of one of Sarah's sentences would probably run to a whole roll or toilet tissue.

[HillaryGoAway]

05:36 AM on 02/20/2009

English majors, for which I am one, eat this stuff up.

Please don't diagram this.

[TheAntiNixon]

03:58 AM on 02/20/2009

Obaman vs. Bush'n

I am a profession­al linguist, one who loves languages (particula­rly the ones I work on) and the ability to produce elated speech.

Now that we have had time to listen to Obama and hear his style of expression­, we can clearly understand and define what had been lacking all along from W's speech. If I had to choose a single word to describe it, I think I would have to go with:

"...Strate­gery..."

[PlaceboStudman]

06:08 PM on 02/19/2009

President Obama's oratorical style beckons back to the classic orators of the day. Listening to a speech by our president is much like listening to some of the great pieces of literature by the ancient greeks. At it's core it is simple beautiful, and often complex poetry. But, look deeper and there is more meaning and purpose (those terrible dark secrets) behind the words than anyone realizes

[Nova16]

05:33 PM on 02/19/2009

I think that that that that that man used is wrong. try it.

[SharonB]

06:32 PM on 02/19/2009

You are right... that that was wrong...

Too funny! ;o)

[jneuman771]

05:29 PM on 02/19/2009

It has been so refreshing to have a president who does not mangle sentences, mispronoun­ce words, know vocabulary and even more so speak in compound sentences!

[vazzy13]

09:19 PM on 02/19/2009

too bad you can't!

[janinei]

04:20 PM on 02/19/2009

This is why I h a t e d English classes!!!

[devanate]

06:57 PM on 02/19/2009

Don't be a redneck.

[tploomis]

05:19 PM on 02/20/2009

This is why I loved English classes!!!

[1murillo]

03:24 PM on 02/19/2009

Sentences are extremely important. Diagrammin­g sentences allows us to parse, and then analyze, precisely what is said. It's not necessary that our President be a grammarian­, but clear thinking and expression are two important tools for a leader to possess.

It is also important for a leader to express him/hersel­f straightfo­rwardly. Qualifiers ("but") and space fillers ("er") are not contradict­ions, they merely give the listeners something more to examine.

It's a great pleasure to hear, and listen, to President Obama. He thinks, and speaks, well.

[kiran1207]

01:00 PM on 02/19/2009

this is boring.

[SaltySaltillo]

03:40 PM on 02/19/2009

I agree.

[d00derman]

12:52 PM on 02/19/2009

I saw Bush's word diagram once. It was like a dog took a huge sh ! t on a piece of paper and it got folded somehow.

[javagirl322]

04:27 PM on 02/19/2009

LMAO...

[CardboardBox]

12:42 PM on 02/19/2009

Quote: "closeups of small rodents, drowned in mud puddles"

I've got some in my backyard. How can I upload pics to Google Earth? Will I get royalties? Fame?

I think HuffPo hates small animals... o.0 Maybe not.

[Puzes]

12:36 PM on 02/19/2009

I love this stuff ! ... wish my own grammar (especiall­y when speaking "off the cuff") could be better ...

But, following is just too great ... best laugh I've had in days!

"the diagrams of typical George W. Bush sentences are indistingu­ishable from Google Earth closeups of small rodents, drowned in mud puddles"

[Yalegirl03]

12:43 PM on 02/19/2009

I loved that line as well.

[bubbuh]

12:33 PM on 02/19/2009

It's still a run on sentence. But, it's periodicit­y allows the listener to pursue the main thread of Obama's thought, ignoring any extra words and supplying the missing ones automatica­ly.

For example, one's mind will automatica­lly add "in government­" after "that people"
and put a period after "citizen" and drop "but that"

[breathestolive]

02:12 PM on 02/19/2009

No, it isn't. There's a subtle difference between a run-on sentence and an elegantly phrased one that has multiple complex clauses. Your ear may no longer be tuned to such a treat after all those years of the misspeaken­ator.

[FanofPaine]

04:27 PM on 02/19/2009

The modeled sentence isn't a run-on sentence; it's just composed of several clauses, which is acceptable in English.