Presidential Rhetoric and Campaign Essay

In this paper I am going to discuss the rhetorical appeals, as well as the argumentative structure, audience and purpose set forth by George W. Bush in his September 27 speech in Flagstaff, Arizona. More specifically I will refer to the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, and explain how they are used to gain the support and attention of the audience and further the further the purpose of the speech. As I explain these appeals I will also give an insight into the argumentative structure and why it is apparent in this particular speech.

In Mark Twain’s, “A Presidential Candidate,” Twain makes a modest proposal for his own desire to run for the presidency. He comes forward with all of his wrongdoings unlike most candidates who choose not to reveal personal shortcomings while running for office. His use of rhetorical devices and various strategies throughout his proposal help achieve the purpose and humor of the selection. Several devices which accomplish the humor of this piece include details, irony, and tone.

The presidential inauguration is uniquely sacramental: the peaceful transition of power is representative of the strength that has made the United States the oldest democracy on Earth. Every 4 years, a new or incumbent president delivers this address to the nation, setting forth the principles that will guide the new administration, and uniting the nation under shared commonplaces. Each president is given the opportunity to establish themselves as distinct from the presidents before them. In the past decade, we have seen two unique presidents with two drastically different visions of America deliver their message to the United States of America. While both call upon shared national values and the unity of the nation under difficult circumstances, they differ in terms of inclusion and diversity within America. Both presidents deliver compelling arguments that encourage the American people to serve their country in diverse ways.

In his article “If Technology Is Making Us Stupid, It’s Not Technology’s Fault,” David Theo Goldberg effectively informs the reader about the effects that computers in the home and school environment could have on the future education of the coming generations. Goldberg achieves this by executing defined organization and adding unique comparisons about the potentially crippling effects technology can have on a society when put into the wrong hands.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) addressed the nation in a “fireside” chat on December 29, 1940 called “The Arsenal of Democracy” ("Franklin Delano"). It was one of twenty-eight fireside chats that Roosevelt would eventually give, but it would become known as one of his best speeches (Roosevelt xi). In this chat he again used the radio to talk to Americans in their homes, where it felt relaxed and informal, despite addressing a serious issue that our nation faced (Roosevelt xi). Roosevelt wanted to tell the people of the United States about the threat caused by the Axis powers’ assault on Great Britain. He felt that America had a responsibility to help Britain and in doing so maintain our national security. President Roosevelt took a strong stance on the need to support Britain and in his speech laid out a plan to build an “arsenal of democracy” in the United States that would protect our country as well as our allies ("Franklin Delano").

Qutb was one of the most significant figures in the development of jihadi Salafi ideology. Qutb in true Salafi style, reanalysed the Qur’an to find new ideology. Qutb acknowledge that the contemporary jama’at (movement) would also encounter periods of weakness. Therefore he insisted that here was an immediate need for a new movement. Qutb also constantly stated that there was a need for new leadership. He claimed that the new leaders should engage in jihad (struggle) against jahiliyya, so that a true Islamic state can be established. His teachings of jihad and the need to use force if the survival of the Islam was under threat, is being used today out of his context of time by extreme “terrorist” groups. Members of these radical groups say are not afraid to die for their cause because Qutb gave them reason: “For a pious life is a life of struggle or jihad for Islam, and struggle means martyrdom”.

Former President Barack Obama performed a speech in response to a mass shooting that happened in a community college in Oregon. This speech included other gun related incidents which occurred during his time in office in 2015 regarding Umpqua Community College and Roseburg. After giving his condolences and love to those who felt loss in their hearts, Obama gave a powerful argument regarding gun control and how we, as Americans, should fight and strive for better gun laws. While Obama gave a moving speech, I could not help but feel it fell short in its argument while conducting a thorough critique. Obama appealed to his audience utilizing pathos and ethos with ease but fell short for those in the audience looking for logos or specific facts within his performance. I will be taking this opportunity to delve further into an analysis of this speech and both its heights and pitfalls.

On September 11, 2001, the Islamist terrorist group known as al-Qaeda launched a series of terrorist attacks on the United States of America, specifically in the New York City and Washington D.C areas. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes with the intention of using them as suicide attacks that would crash those planes into designated buildings, or targets. Two of the four passenger jets were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, both of which collapsed entirely within two hours of being hit. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon, and the west side of the building, which is the

Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be under safe hands. The speech is similar from ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barrack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve ethos. He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and him at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his

Senator Obama is altering the language. Christians did not exist in the Old Testament story of Ezekiel, but Senator Obama is effectively connecting with every major religion. Simultaneously, he is reaching out to the secular world as well. Being cognizant that everyone does not actively practice a religious faith, Obama chooses stories that

The inaugural address, spoken by President Barack Obama, was largely written by the 27 year old Jon Favreau. “What is Required: The Price & Promise of Citizenship” captured the audience of the American people, with Obama’s natural ability to achieve praise without really saying anything. The country was told once again that we are in a crisis and that change is the answer. The speech teaches about Obama’s thoughts on common defense, and Americans are then assured that our country’s problems will be fixed, but that’s up to us, the people. The words spoken by Obama bring hope; “Obama’s aides have repeatedly referred to him as his own best speechwriter” through symbolism and

There are several terrorist groups throughout the world today. All the terrorist groups have one common goal and that is to rid the world of Americans and western influence from the Muslim world. There is one organization that has ties to most of all the terrorist groups in the world and is the most infamous group in the world today and that is the group called Al-Qaeda The word Al-Qaeda means “the base” in Muslim. As an international terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. The group seeks to rid Muslim countries of western influence and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Al-Qaeda grew out of the of the ashes of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1988, after it helped expel the Soviet

The readings from Week Two help give a better understanding of reasons why terrorist such as Omar Hammami may have been motivated to join the terrorist group known as Al-Shabaab. Hammami's upbringing started off in a home with two separate religious beliefs to include Christian and Muslim. As a result of this, Hammami would later struggle with confusion and experience an identity conflict within himself which would result in a radical approach to the dilemma (White, 2012, p. 57). According to our readings in "Terrorism and Homeland Security" written by Jonathan R. White, being radicalized is when a normal behavior turns into an extremist behavior (White, 2012, p. 53). I believe Hammami may have felt curious which caused him to study more

One of the world’s deadliest terrorists, Osama bin Laden, has cause havoc throughout the world by committing terror acts carried out by his Islamic extremist group, Al- Qaeda. Bin Laden has caused many problems throughout the world by his terrorism and this all came to an end on May 2, 2011. Seal Team Six was sent into his bunker and put an end to his life and his 10-year hide out after the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center. Osama has been the leader of Al-Qaeda since 1988 and since then has committed numerous amounts of terror attacks on all parts of the world. Osama bin Laden has developed over time as a leader of Al-Qaeda, and through his beliefs of Muslim brotherhood, he developed into an extreme Islamic terrorist.

President Barack H. Obama has been always using rhetorical strategies in his political speeches. He used these strategies to present important pointes and views of his in front of public. Delivering points and views properly and logically got him to be the president in the first place. President Obama used mostly ethos and pathos yet some logos to deliver his inaugural and the state of union speeches. Being that, he was able to reach audience emotionally and make the speech flow efficiently while he preserved his credibility. Each speech has own audience that differ from the other. In the inaugural speech the audience was the public and therefor the speech was short and used sort sentences that are easy to understand. On the other hand, the state of union speech audience was mostly the congers members and therefore the language was more specific and filled with political terminology. Both speeches will be discussed upon context and using ethos, pathos and logos consecutively.