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Download file to see previous pages... Roosevelt become so famous for. The introduction is very telling of the way the President views the American populace and his overall reliance on their support to accomplish the goals he sets out. Obama’s speech begins, “Good evening. Tonight I want to talk to you about the debate we’ve been having in Washington over the national debt – a debate that directly affects the lives of all Americans” (Obama, 2011 p. 302). By reaching out to the people and speaking with them as equals as well as presenting to them the struggles and hardships that government faces, FDR was able to gain the buy-in of the populace and became one of the most beloved presidents in American history. President Obama follows the same approach in this speech. Additionally, in these first few lines, the President is both able to lay out the topic at hand and paint a very clear picture of the issue as it relates to each and every American on both sides of the political spectrum. Additionally, by making use of the first person plural pronoun we throughout the speech, the President is further able to quietly show the combined and shared burden that each and every citizen has with relation to the actions that the government partakes.
Another powerful technique that the speech employs is even though the topic at hand is deadly serious and has the potential to affect the future lives and welfare of Americans well into the next several decades, the President is slow to ascribe blame to either party. Says Obama, “Because neither party is blameless for the decisions that led to this problem, both parties have a responsibility to solve it” (Obama, 2011 p. 303). This powerful admission that he does not intend to ascribe blame gains the trust of the audience and commands their respect as the issue is further explained.
One drawback that the speech has is that it does not provide anything resembling equal time to the two ways forward the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More