Barack Obama
“A More Perfect Union” is appealing because it has all of the essential rhetorical components. Rhetoric is the study of opposing ideas, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations. It is also the capacity to talk and write well and the ability to deliberately utilize one’s words and oratory abilities based on the ideas of ethos, pathos, and logos. President Barack Obama demonstrates and carefully tackles the ever-growing issue of racism in America by using these three ideas and their circumstances in the speech. To fully express his authority and authenticity, he used historical allusions and current events. Barack Obama is ready to talk honestly about issues that many people avoid speaking about for fear of upsetting others. He also shows that he is aware of previous events and current issues on a global scale.
Contexts of Ethos
Obama acknowledges that the media “scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial division, not just between white and black but also between black and brown” (Wills 75). People seldom broach the sensitive subject of race since it is taboo. However, as the first Black President in a long line of white leaders, President Obama is uniquely qualified to handle this issue. First, Obama says, “We the people, in order to form a perfect union,” as his opening line to his address (Wills 76). This alludes to the Constitution of the United States of America. This serves as a historical reference and a powerful tool for instilling a feeling of belonging and independence in his listeners. This makes President Obama’s speech seem more significant and weightier to the audience.
Pathos is prevalent in his speech, but it is rarely used. To take his speech to the next level, he employs emotional appeal and manipulates his audience’s emotions and opinions. This speech can carry the listener to the very center and heart of humanity, to the aspect that makes people so unique in a somewhat sentient manner (Wills 71). It is simple to get away from a foreign subject, but it is not easy to get away from another person’s pure essence. Pathos may not be as apparent as ethos, but it is unquestionably the most appealing.
Context of Pathos
The first instance of pathos is when President Obama refers to his family. “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas” (Wills 73). This is a clear indication that the quote demonstrates two pathos elements. One is that he comes from a mixed background, which several people can identify with. Second, both of his ancestors were engaged in a war that brought most Americans together and instilled in them a feeling of patriotism (Wills 74). The second instance of pathos immediately follows that quote: “I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations” (Wills 72). He indicates that he fought and worked hard for what he accomplished in a country (the United States) with a failing and challenging economy.
Contexts of Logos
Many of the problems facing the African-American community now may be traced back to injustices imposed on a previous generation due to slavery and Jim Crow. Obama’s utilization of this statement illustrates how many of the issues African Americans experience now stem from the laws and practices of the past, such as enslavement and Jim Crow. “For the men and women from Reverend Wright’s generation,” he continues, “memories have not gone away, nor has the anger and bitterness of those years” (Wills 78). Here he is making a dig at the generation that came before him at a time when segregation was finally abolished. “Embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past” is the way for the Black-American community (Wills 76). Obama says that Black People today should celebrate their past but not their rage, hate, and shame from that heritage.
They must not take their anger out on others because of their racial history, especially if they do not live through the periods when their race has endured the most.
Bill Clinton
The “Democratic National Convention in Charlotte,” North Carolina, was the scene of an incredible address by former President Bill Clinton on September 5th, 2012. Even though much of his speech is made up of logos, his goal is to convince his audience to re-elect Barak Obama formally while also outlining the grounds for his reappointment. It was clear that Bill Clinton’s argument resonated with the audience on the levels of ethos, pathos, and logos, resulting in a persuasive and credible case for his candidacy for the presidency.
Bill Clinton has an enviable ethos and makes many references in his address to his tenure as President in the early 1990s. Additionally, while discussing the connection between Democrats and Republicans, he cites his collaboration with President Reagan on healthcare reform and President Bush on federal education objectives as examples (White 110). By incorporating these instances of ethos into his discourse, he establishes his credibility, allowing the audience to accept and believe his views more readily.
Clinton not only establishes trust with the audience, but he also elicits an emotional response via pathos. First, he characterizes President Obama as a person who is “cool on the outside but passionate about America on the inside.” Additionally, he asserts that Obama’s life “has seen its share of adversity and uncertainty” (White 105). While this may not offer moral comfort for Clinton, it demonstrates how Barack is not just a president but also an equal among Citizens (Søndergaard 33). Although Bill Clinton makes effective use of ethos and pathos, his best argument is based on logos. He offers a wealth of reasoning, facts, and examples to bolster Obama’s case.
Although Bill Clinton makes effective use of ethos and pathos, his greatest backing for his case comes from the use of logos. He supports Obama’s position with tremendous reasoning, facts, and instances. The economy in the United States is likely to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve. Bill Clinton is attempting to deflect the responsibility for the breakdown of the economy away from President Obama.
Much of Bill Clinton’s presentation is devoted to presenting evidence in support of this assertion. Obama’s Recovery Act preserved and generated employment while also lowering taxes for 95 percent of the population of the United States. In the past 1 year, 5 million new employment have been created in the private industry (White 122). Then, the year before, the Republicans halted this plan, resulting in the loss of 1 million more jobs. Approximately 500,000 industrial opportunities were added over the same period.
Bill Clinton makes a compelling case for President Barack Obama’s re-election as the U.S. president. He uses ethos to establish credibility and garner admiration from the audience, pathos to create emotional attachments, and excellent logos to back his point. This audience appeals and his consistent and positive organization and passionate delivery create a robust case. Writing with a sense of humor may be difficult, particularly when dealing with serious topics. Clinton, on the other hand, managed to garner a few chuckles. The humor served to highlight his arguments while also providing a counterpoint to the solemnity of his address.
Works Cited
Søndergaard, Rasmus Sinding. “A Positive Track of Human Rights Policy”: Elliott Abrams, the Human Rights Bureau, and the Conceptualization of Democracy Promotion, 1981–1984.” The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and the Transition to Democracy Promotion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019. pp. 31-50.
White, Mark. “Son of the Sixties: The Controversial Image of Bill Clinton.” History 103.354 (2018): pp. 100-123.
Wills, Garry. “A More Perfect Union.” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 107.4 (2017): pp. 73-83.