Obama's Rhetoric
...the candidate’s platform which you chose. Discuss the most salient rhetorical strategies employed, including any fallacies you find, and the effect of the candidate’s rhetoric on you.
Obama’s Rhetoric
Barack Obama once said “Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!” (2004 Democratic National Convention). To the common person, these sentences may be just words, but with the help of rhetoric, it has been transformed to have a deeper meaning that the audience will perceive. Obama’s appeals to pathos and use of body language makes his standpoint on homeland security exceptionally convincing.
Obama uses rhetorical strategies, such as body language and appeals to pathos, to enhance his overall appearance and speech delivery. In the second presidential debate, Obama has a relaxed posture and uses circular hand motions when speaking. His posture suggests that he is comfortable around an audience, resulting in a more impressive public appearance. Obama’s usage of hand motions makes him seem as if he is more willing to adapt and come to a compromise if there is a conflict. In contrast, if one uses a chopping hand motion when speaking, it makes that person seem controlling and seems to suggest “it’s his way or the highway.” An appeal to pathos occurs when Obama exclaims:
America! Tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do -- if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November… and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come. (2004 Democratic National Convention Address)
Obama uses anaphora and epistrophe, with the...
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