Rhetorical Analysis Of Barack Obama

In 2004, Obama walked up to the podium at the Democratic National Convention as a political novelty. The speech he delivered established Obama as a natural leader and transformed him into a future presidential candidate. Rich in demonstrative rhetoric, its purpose was to unite the American people through nationalism. The exploration of his rhetoric and style throughout this paper will cement why the speech was beneficially identity transforming for Obama's political career.

In response to the controversial sermon given by his pastor and the racial remarks that followed him during his 2008 campaign, then Senator Barack Obama, was inherently forced into delivering a speech that would address the comments and prove to the American people that he did in fact shared their “American Dream” and was not an Anti-America charity case. Obama gave his famous “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia, where he seized the opportunity to address the controversy as an indication of a much larger issue, race relations in America and introduce his mission of moving the country toward “a more perfect union.” His speech often coined, “the Race Speech”, had several factors play into its success, one factor being the way the speech was delivered, his speech incorporated the jeremiad form and constitutive form of rhetoric, the use of those two forms helped Obama address the issue while at the same time creating an identity that would encompass all Americans who would then come together in this identity and work toward the solution of the race issue and providing the “American Dream” for everyone.

In his speech, “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren,” Obama effectively argues his claim, that kids should go to school and try very hard to succeed to schoolchildren around the U.S. He effectively argues his claim because he uses supporting details and stories of students that have undergone tough situations, but still overcame those obstacles to succeed and school. Also, he is trying to tell kids that they should do well in school to get a good job and make a difference. He also uses rhetorical appeals to help with the supporting details. One of supporting evidence that he brought up was that if someone wants to become something such as a doctor, or lawyer you will need a good education to do

President Barack Obama spoke his remarks at Howard University commencement ceremony for the class of 2016. This special moment in the speech is honoring people of color, especially African Americans and made history at this University, having the president to present his speech (Donnella). Obama explained how America was different when he graduated college and society is now accepting new cultures and backgrounds within today’s workforce and education. Obama wants the audience to take opportunities and learning new skills to expand their education.

Obama uses syntax and repetition devices, and organization to convince on the line of opposing voters of this goal.

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 this essay I will demonstrate how Barack Obama used these five emotional fallacies; bandwagon, Confidence, repetition, the command and the manufactured problem, to persuade his audience in the speech about “Jobs” also known as the “American Job Act”. I will summarize his main idea, pin point the audience that he will be targeting, then I will layout the foundations of this speech along with the arguments he used to benefit this bill.

In his State of the Union Address for 2016, Barack Obama uses logical and ethical arguments to emphasize shared ground rather than partisan disputes. He also taps into the audience’s desire to feel better about themselves and their country. By using humor and irony, Obama paints his opponents into corners, out of which it would require outrageous extremism to effectively squirm away. At its best, this approach demonstrates how much Americans actually have in common in a culture dominated by ideologically polarized cable-news channels, Facebook, and cultural tribes that increasingly live and socialize apart from one another. The president's technique throughout the speech is to frame issues through a rhetorical jujitsu to persuade his opponents,

. “Tonight”, he focuses on this precious moment during which he was talking. Plus, the use of “This year, in this election…” showing the urgency of the situation. “More work to do”, he seemed to be less confrontational, as he used the word “more work” rather than insulting the “Democrats, Republicans, and Independents”’s abilities. Obama made the general theme of his keynote address the American Dream. He also criticized poor black youths in America who believe that reading a book is “acting white”. He exclaims as a proud American “In no other country on Earth is my story possible” and this lets all listeners feel that their country is one of a kind irreplaceable. Obama said, “A skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too” trying to point to himself by this statement. Moreover he showed a rallying cry of togetherness and unity in simple but powerful way when he mentioned, “there’s a United States of America”. By stating this he does not simply mean that there is a USA. He means a united country, united as one as the United States of

He goes on to discuss the notion of democracy and the fact that when people come together they can insist that democratic ideals are essential for everyone even if we do not always agree on the same ideas. He stresses the notion that democracy is not about always getting along or agreeing but in working towards solutions that will make the world a better place for all. He suggests that democracy is not only “his belief” but that it is the “beating heart of our American idea” which is a phrase that combines both logos and pathos. By using the phrase beating heart, Obama draws on the audience’s passion for their country while at the same time establishing the notion that democracy is a reasonable idea that should be adhered to.

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.

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

On July 27th 2004, Obama spoke at the democratic national convention in Boston, during John Kerry’s presidential campaign. Obama laid out his vision for the United States and launched himself onto the stage. His keynote address, entitled “The Audacity of Hope” was the best speech given at the convention. After his amazing speech, the then-senator was suddenly famous. This speech led him to a very important role as a serious presidential candidate. He portrays the fact that he is a strong speaker because of his brilliant use of rhetoric. This speech engages the audience through the use of rhetorical appeals to pull in the listener and make logical arguments by using his own personal life examples.

Obama tells us in his speech that crisis needs to be fixed by change. He even admits that some people don’t believe his proposed actions are the answer to our problems. Obama tries to solve this by telling them his action’s, which not stated, are the answer. This is a very poor attempt at persuasion on his part.

On top of that big fat slab of equality and togetherness, President Obama also begins to usher in a sense of endless possibilities and hope through the audience. He juxtaposes the “ending of war” to the beginning of economic recovery (Isn’t that a lie in the state we’re in?). This solidifies hope and the use parallelism, “ we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together". He begins again, this time using a parallelism that is used throughout the rest of the speech, “we, the people,” to even further establish togetherness and also builds Obama’s presidential