The President of the United States Richard Milhous Nixon was the first and currently until this day the only American president in history to ever resign from office. He served as the 37th president from 1969 to 1974. On June 6, 1972 a security guard at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex found a piece of tape over the lock not knowing it would uncover one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history. The intrusion at the Democratic National Committee was connected to a fund of money used to re-elect President Nixon in the upcoming election. Initially the news received little to no national attention until the Washington Post reporters revealed information the Justice Department, FBI, CIA and White House …show more content…
When first viewing the speech as a casual audience member rather than a rhetorical analyzer one would immediately noticed President Nixon’s discomfort and a nervous energy throughout the speech. He appears rigid and stiff as he addresses the American people from a hard copy paper rather than being engaged with the audience in a conversational manner. This is uncommon for a president of the United States to look so vulnerable. Being the leader of the free world he should without hesitation be able to appeal to the American people’s ethos. While his title alone would normally constitute more than enough of an ethical foundation. Nixon was at inevitable disadvantage do to a perfect example of situational ethos. Before he even began the president already lacked credibility due to his severely damaged reputation to the public. Most often speakers are given a clean sheet without preconceived notions and given time to build the audience’s trust in their credibility. Unfortunately, for Nixon the public was now fully aware of his selfish acts. Therefore, anything Nixon said after the news was out about the scandal would be in question for its validity and truth from the president of the United States. So when exactly did Nixon lose all of his credibility or ethos with the American …show more content…
Nixon and his staff used deductive reasoning to try and avoid the truth about how empty his logic is in this resignation speech. Nixon’s major premise in his speech is quoted “As president, I must put the interest of America