Speech Purpose and Common Ground with the Audience
After a long and challenging campaign, Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech in November 2008. It was even more essential that Obama succeed, as he was the first African American president to understand the importance of working hard to achieve one’s goals. Obama’s purpose was to persuade Democratic voters that he was the best choice to represent the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election. The president thanked numerous members of his campaign team and the volunteers, and reminded supporters of the enormity of the United States’ responsibilities. Obama used ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to his audience and establish common ground.
Examples of Logical Appeals
A logical appeal (logos) communicates to the mind by using assertions, facts, and justification to persuade an audience. Obama rationally appeals to audiences by using real-world examples of terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, and climate change and illness to demonstrate that the challenges America faces are global concerns. As a result, audiences are confident that if America is to tackle these difficulties, it must take a positive role in world politics.
Obama argues that resuming direct diplomacy is the only approach to address America’s worldwide concerns. This approach logically appeals to audiences by providing a realistic and fair response to America’s global challenges. Because America’s issues are global in scope, the country can only overcome them via diplomacy and justice with the assistance of other countries. The solution’s practicality motivates people to agree with the president.
Examples of Emotional Appeals
Pathos is an emotional appeal that utilizes emotional connection, influence, and expressive language to persuade the listener. For example, Obama asserts that when confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds and told that people could not succeed, generations of Americans have responded by demonstrating that they actually can.
Obama develops a positive ethos by emphasizing that America needs help establishing its legitimacy as a leader. He demonstrates to audiences that he is well aware of the country’s daily issues by using vocabulary terms. The audience eventually trusts him because he seems knowledgeable, and as a result, he destroys the ethos of his doubter.
Moreover, Obama used the life of the 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper to address America’s past and draw the audience’s attention to the country’s accomplishments and mistakes over the last century, in an attempt to connect them with it. The history of skin color is intended to suggest that he benefited from past struggles.
Rebuttals Offered
Barack Obama gave an address upon being elected President of the United States and offered a rebuttal. For instance, he frequently repeats the slogan ‘yes we can’ throughout his speech to address fears and concerns. This phrase serves as a reminder that everything is achievable and that the people of America can overcome any obstacles they may face on their road to total economic and social emancipation. He mentioned that polarization and pettiness corrupted politics to demonstrate the enormity of the harm done to American society.
Obama contends that the right moment to provide people with jobs, create opportunities for children, restore prosperity, and contribute to the cause of peace has come. As a result, to reclaim the American Dream, which anyone in the country can achieve with a positive attitude, he provided this rebuttal to previous politicians. Barack Obama has emphasized that further change will be implemented during his presidency.