Diamond Sims
February 28, 2014
2nd Period
Rhetorical Analysis President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. Obama presented his speech in Washington’s Capital Hill to congress as well as the millions and millions of viewers and listeners across the country. Many tuned in that night to see Obama discuss past points of interest that occurred over the year 2013. Not only did he talk about issues from the past but he conveyed his hopes and plans for the new year. A lot of his speech was directed towards common issues that were going on in America such as raising the minimum wage and education. Obama’s speech was meant to encourage that everyday American and put hope back into his nation. He recognized that his country isn’t perfect but he is going to do everything possible to fix it. His speech was basically centered on certainty, determination, and confidence to get America back striving for success. Taking the future into account, government’s main goal is to educate those of the issue and corresponding solutions set out to help build up what was and still is a strong nation. Obama used many ways of ethical appeal to convey his point and message. He uses this appeal in a way that it relates to each American moral view. Obama starts off his speech with various descriptions of everyday Americans who benefited from the changes congress and the President has successfully made such as “…a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it,” or a rural doctor who gave a child affordable asthma medicine. As Obama goes on in his speech he recognized his wife as being a advocate for lowering the obesity rate of children, this shows him giving credibility not only because she’s his wife, but because she has done a lot in the community. President Obama expresses that as a president he’s committed to making Washington work better, within this statement he declares that the government has made mistakes in the past but is ready to fix those that were in the past so America can be more productive and efficient. President Obama recognized the changes that needed to be made and he voiced those changes that are to be made in his speech, this in turn lets everyday people know that there is hope for change in the economy. The President in his speech also repeats the word democracy multiple times. He does this to emphasize how the government should operate where the demands of the people are met with guidance of the government. Democracy is a system of government