Malaise Speech Analysis

Nixon began his speech by building his credibility for himself. He stated his running position. This used of ethos is not the only example of an attempt to build credibility. Further in his speech,

There were countless leaders during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, far too many to mention in just one project. Therefore, I have narrowed my topic to the Leadership of President Jimmy Carter. President Carter was a small-town Democrat from Georgia. Before he ran for president, he was virtually an unknown. Therefore he ran a “grassroots campaign,” which can be incredibly

In the most widely quoted and discussed model of presidential power, Richard Neustadt states that the power of the president lies in the power to persuade. According to Neustadt, the key to presidential success and influence is persuasion. Although some may view the president as a powerful authority figure, the checks and balances established by the founders makes the president’s skills of persuasion crucial.

On a cold January day America’s newly appointed president John F. Kennedy delivered his inauguration address that was incredibly important to America’s success during the Cold War. Kennedy uses his speech as a call to arms, but not only to America but the World and our allies as a whole. He uses his strong powerful voice to appeal to the ethics of the country in the beginning of his speech telling America about the promise we made when we were founded and that we must uphold it still today, telling America we must make a difference. Kennedy also uses ethics to explain that we the people are united no matter what your background or where you are from, he refers to the Americas as one place, because he wants for us to feel unified not divided. Furthermore Kennedy’s use of powerful imagery, logic and pathos allows for him to effectively call the people of the World together during this terrible time.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was a very simple and relatable man from Plains, Georgia. His ideals appealed to the Southern democrats. Washington was in chaos after the resignation of Nixon and the citizens of America were tiered of the government’s drama. This is what made Carter so popular in the 1976 election. Carter appealed to America because he was an outsider to Washington. He also wanted to comply with what the people wanted for America; “Carter sought to portray himself as a man of the people” (“Jimmy Carter”, 2009). He used the Watergate scandal to his advantage. He promised America he would always be honest with them: “I’ll never tell a lie”. (“Jimmy Carter”, 2009). This seemed to win over America for the moment because he won

President Ronald Reagan’s speech “A Time for Choosing” was my selection for this assignment. Prior to his presidential election, Ronald Reagan was catapulted forward in his career by his motivational speech later titled by some simply as “The Speech”. At the time, Regan had recently changed from a long-standing Democrat to a Republican. Although his speech was unable to prevent President Lyndon Johnson’s ultimate win, it was very memorable due to the emotionally powerful and deeply moving presentation. Creating an unknown, yet powerful pull for his inevitable position as President. By conveying his points with such an emotional drive, “A Time for Choosing” became one of the most important speeches of his career. The soon to be President delivered this speech with strong words many Americans were not prepared to hear but came to accept. A speech that created many questions and provided many answers managed to express a level of emotion that seemed urgently calm. As one of President Reagans greatest speeches “A Time for Change” provided the world with a preview of a President in the making.

One of the most influential presidents in United States history, John F. Kennedy was a brilliant politician and public speaker. In his inaugural address, he sparked hope around the world by discussing the hardships faced by all of society in the present time and then leaving them with a message of freedom, power, and hope. This measure of impact is not achieved easily; Kennedy masterfully utilized the art of rhetoric to emphasize his message and win the hearts of his people. In the middle of the speech, he discusses the dangers of the modern world and his drive toward international peace and cooperation. These messages are stressed through his use of charismatic language to signify his vision of a new and better world.

While the speech’s respectful eloquence is appropriate for the occasion of an inauguration, its youthful energy and look to the future make it distinctly John F. Kennedy’s. , The people of the United States desperately needed a boost in morale with ongoing tension of races, inequalities, the fight against communism and the cold war. The people were convinced that this war would be never ending, and believed in another inevitable war. From the beginning to the end of JFK’s speech, he uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to comfort the people and fill them with confidence.

To illustrate Reagan’s tone, he states that “we weren’t just marking time, we made a difference. We made the city stronger – we made the city freer – and we left her in good hands”. Here, Reagan repeatedly uses the word “we” as a way to reach out to his audience and connect with them. By doing this, it creates a feeling of happiness within the audience in order to be inspired to keep the American spirit alive since this was the end of his second term as president in 1989. In contrast, Kennedy’s serious tone is depicted when he explains that this occasion is “a time of shame and sorrow. It is not a day for politics” and that he wants to speak about the “mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives”. By addressing the sad occasion due to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, and that this shouldn’t revolve around politics, Kennedy is able to evoke sadness in the audience and to listen to his message. Plus, by talking about how violence is negatively affecting the U.S. and everyone, he creates a serious tone to make sure everybody takes his speech seriously. And with Webb’s piece, he states that “soccer is clearly an important means by which American energy, drive, and competitiveness is being undermined to the point of no return”. Although this is obviously exaggerated

In conclusion, President Reagan was operative in convincing his audience that he was the right choice for who should lead the U.S. I firmly believe that Ronald Reagan was the last good President we had in office. He not only kept to his word, but also was able to inspire the American people and remind them what hope was and what it looked and felt like. Shown through this piece, it is evident that he was an eloquent communicator and an overall persuasive orator. By using pathos, rhetorical questioning,

In 1961, The United States of America was gridlocked with social injustice, inequalities, and intense racial tension, while combating the “red scare” of communism and protecting the population abroad from weapons of mass destruction and otherwise harbored by enemies both foreign and domestic. Terror and incertitude had seized the minds of the American people as the Cold War drew to its zenith. Desperate for a strong, reassuring leader, they turned to the young, former naval lieutenant and Presidential candidate, John Fitzgerald Kennedy who provided the reassurance the American populous yearned for as he charismatically and confidently addressed the nation. With critical rumination to the current national and international turmoil, Kennedy sought to ignite unity and esprit de corps in the American people in an endeavor to attain a lasting resolve. Kennedy’s inaugural address is imbued with rhetorical strategies to flatter and influence the emotions of the people through the use his strategic use of the rhetorical triangle without detracting from the truth and evidence expected from a national leader.

As President Carter begins to speak about some of the comments that stood out to him, in this meeting at Camp David, it is evident just how out of touch President Carter had become with American citizens. The statement, “If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow” (President Jimmy Carter "Crisis of Confidence", 1979), is a point that stuck out to me. I believe that deep down, whomever is our President, the majority of the people, merely want a leader. Along with someone that will listen to their plight, as reflected in this statement, “Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation” (President Jimmy Carter "Crisis of Confidence", 1979).

Throughout the history of the United States, there has been many presidents, all of whom treated their individual presidencies differently. Each of them faced different altercations, lived in different times and were different people. However, a similarity amongst presidents is that each of them has one of four personality types as defined by James David Barber: passive-positive, passive-negative, active-positive and active-negative. This personality type defines who they are and how they choose to go about both their lives and their presidency. President Jimmy Carter falls into the category of active-positive, which means that he is someone that works actively towards their goals and enjoys doing so. From the beginning of his life to this

President Reagan uses his position as President to inform people about his trust in the NASA space program, and the true bravery of the astronauts on their journey to lead us into the future. This is an example of the rhetorical device ethos, and the audience trusted that the President knew what he was talking about! The overall tone of the speech was very solemn and melancholy, but the added use of pathos really made the listeners feel the true sorrow of the nation’s despair. Using words like mourning and loss produced a dismal feeling, however, words like daring, brave, freedom and dedication, made the audience sense a feeling of recovery and

America must wean itself off of dependence on foreign oil, and one valid solution to this problem is offshore oil drilling and production. America’s economy is heavily based on petroleum, as though it is the nation’s blood; a necessity for survival. About 25% of oil produced in the U.S. comes from offshore rigs. Most of the U.S. coastline has been off limits for oil drilling since the early 1980s. Due to environmental concerns after an oil spill off the coast of California in 1969, an offshore drilling moratorium was imposed. Since then, the U.S. has amplified its energy consumption to where it uses nearly 25% of the world's oil. Meanwhile, the U.S. produces about 10% of the world's oil. That has made the U.S. heavily reliant on imported