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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Bill Clinton Essay

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Recommended: Analysis of President "Bill Clinton's" Inaugural Address

Almost any speeches that have came across as inspiring and enthralling have the tendency to rhetorically manipulate its audience-- Bill Clinton’s , former president of the United States of America, speech at the Democratic National Committee is a great example. Clinton’s main purpose was to get people to vote for Barack Obama. In this fifty minutes speech, he was able to not only consolidate his argument but also form a strong connection with his audiences by creating appeals to all ethos, pathos, and logos; in addition, his tones and choice of words had also made it possible to present his argument effectively. Overall, the most dominant tone that Clinton had made use of in this speech is definitely a didactic tone. His instructive language …show more content…

He used dictions like “we're here”, “American Dream”, and “‘we're all in this together’” to establish a common ground that would further create a sense of unity between him and his audience. This goes hand in hand with a propaganda technique called the Plain Folks. Though he did take some credit for the appeal he created to ethos for being a former president, he mostly presented himself as an average person who shares similar values . For instance, when he was pointing some of Obama’s achievement and works, he stated,“I understand the challenge we face. I know many Americans are still angry and frustrated with the economy. Though employment is growing, banks are beginning to lend and even housing prices are picking up a bit, too many people don't feel it”. The words “I” and “we” indicates that America, including his audience and himself, are all facing the same issue. This helps to achieve his purpose as people would believe that they are in the same boat and therefore Clinton’s choice, nominating Barack Obama, would definitely benefit everyone. Regardless of any logical fallacies that may be presented, Bill Clinton’s ingenious use rhetorical strategies made his speech that much more effective and persuasive. Throughout the speech, he constructed a commonplace with his audience and utilizes all ethos, pathos, and

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Without a good way of speaking to people, a speech-bearer will not get the message across in the desired fashion. America likes to be fed information and likes to hear and feel the passion in others rather than creating less public and unified little passions in themselves. Citizens like to hear their leaders interpretations and feel a sense of grouping from that, therefore most people will not have read the way Obama’s eulogy was written and analyzed it, but watched him read it and felt the rigor in his voice and therefore found a better sense of understanding. Things tend to make more sense to people when conveyed by someone they look to for guidance rather than when broken down themselves.

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