Ronald Regan’s speech, “A Time for Choosing”, was delivered October 27, 1964. This speech was an endorsement for Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign. This speech shows the dramatic political party shift that Reagan had, due to the presented circumstances. Before this speech, Regan was categorized as a democrat since infancy, but presented in his speech how he is now Republican. (The communicator, para 1) Purpose and Audience Ronald Regan’s speech targeted a conservative audience, but since this speech was televised, it was open to the public. His speech took place in Los Angeles, California and the total duration of the speech was twenty-nine minutes and thirty-three seconds. A relatively short speech, such as this one, can be considered informal. The purpose of this speech was to …show more content…
His language and diction were appropriately used throughout his entire speech. He was a people person, he knew how to please. Ragan uses a handful of allusions throughout his speech, but the one that stood out the most to me was the one where he mentions that the Founding Fathers did not support a big government and would instead have a smaller government that works more efficiently. The allusion states, “This is the issue of this election: whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves”. This statement is by far the best allusion representing the 13 colonies under the British rule and having no representation in parliament and in need of a drastic change of government rule. (William Thompson Rhetoric) His ethos is supported by being a former actor that was loved by the public. This allowed him to be a credible source and allowed him to keep an attentive