And Obama Won the Nobel Prize. And There Was Much Rejoicing And Use of And.

I’m sure there’s been enough said about the different pluses and minuses to Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. What I’d like to talk about, briefly, is the speech he gave in accepting it — which was either extremely brilliantly written or well interpreted.

Put on your English Major hats, kiddies, and let’s look at this thing.

And I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

That’s just a sample from the 31-sentence speech, but you’ve probably already noticed something those sentences have in common. Sweeping, inspiring rhetoric? OK, two things. They both start with the conjunction and. In fact, 12 of the 31 sentences in this speech start with “And,” while another starts with “But,” bringing us very close to having half of the president’s sentences starting with words that would’ve earned his speechwriter a lecture and a poor grade in high school English.

Now, this transcript was taken from the president’s speech — so technically, it could be read as a piece that has, instead, 18 very, very long, complex sentences. The hypothetical speechwriter who put that together, though, was both a). a moron and b). not writing for Barack Obama, who pauses quite emphatically when he sees a period.

First, let’s do away with the idea that using “And” to start a sentence is a crime against English. Yes, it demonstrates a certain laziness on the part of many writers: really, a conjunction at the head of the train signals a conductor who should have just hooked his trains together, rather than pulling them awkwardly apart. Still, conjunctions can be used to start sentences for the precise reason they’re used here: they, and the period that breaks them from the preceding sentence, add emphasis.

Obama often leans on conjunctions in his speeches. In this speech, in particular, that’s an extremely valid habit. The cascading And And And helps build the same kind of momentum that the content of the speech tries to address. Every new problem he discusses could be the second half of this collection of statements in his first real paragraph:

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

It’s nicely done. I credit the speechwriters, when it might just be a quirk of the president’s, but — well, I like to think professional writers are purposeful with their word choice. And that’s some nice work, guys.