In times of turbulence and upheaval, often the best thing society can do is focus on the rare and precious moments of hope. While Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016 was not successful, a speech given in her support by at the time First Lady Michelle Obama stands out for its powerful rhetoric and call to action. On July 25, 2016, at the 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Michelle Obama was tasked with explaining to Democrats and to America why they should support Hillary Clinton-someone who has campaigned against her husband in the past. In a divisive time for America, Mrs. Obama effortlessly rose to the occasion in an inspiring speech that urged Americans to look beyond politics and focus on what truly mattered: the future …show more content…
There are no facts or statistics and she doesn’t levy her position at the time as First Lady, instead relying on emotion to connect with and inspire her audience. Children and the need to create a good future for them, not politics, are the central unifying theme and impetus for her support for Hillary Clinton. To support her emotional appeal, she evoked powerful imagery throughout her speech. By staying conversational and authentic, she used her stories as a mother to connect emotionally with an audience. She gains the audience's sympathy by setting up a very clear and painful mental image of watching her daughters go to a new school escorted by armed men, capturing their attention for the rest of the speech. She isn’t afraid to be emotional about her experiences, and her vulnerability only makes her more sympathetic. She describes the “the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation” as a reminder of America’s painful past, before describing “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn,” as the promise of the future, one of hope and equality that Hillary Clinton has committed herself to as well. She strengthens her speech even further by never mentioning Clinton’s opponent name, instead using the rhetorical technique of allusion. Clinton’s opponent is someone who does not understand “that the issues a president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters.”; moreover, he is someone with “a thin skin or a tendency to lash out.” This allusion helps her contrast Hillary Clinton with her opponent and showcase all the ways she believes Clinton is superior without centering her speech on Clinton’s opponent. Obama additionally uses the technique of anaphora, constantly repeating “our kids” and “our children” to emphasize the future of America and why Hillary Clinton will give