LINDA TRIPP: "I’m you. . . I’m just like you." Really Linda? I don’t think so!
Linda Tripp, due to her key role in the Impeachment Scandal has become one of the most controversial figures in current politics. Is she a villain or is she a hero? Looking at Tripp’s actions before, during, and after the Impeachment Scandal the question arises; were these actions legitimate or were they improper? An important factor in answering this question is the audience’s reaction to Tripp’s behavior along with an analyzation and critique of her actions.
"Psychological criticism" is the method that will be used to evaluate Linda Tripp. This "attempts to analyze the effects of the rhetorician’s character, intelligence, and sincerity as perceived by the audience." (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 29) One must look at how Tripp portrays her image to the audience, how Tripp attempts to put herself in a favorable light, how Tripp blames her opponents, how Tripp creates an impression of sincerity, how Tripp identifies herself with the "experiences, values and attitudes of his [her] audience" (Campbell, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric. 1972, pg. 30) and the way in which Tripp discounts personal biases and interests. Based on these questions and the opinions of the audience one can judge Tripp’s role in the Impeachment Scandal.
Tripp portrays her image to the public by identifying herself as the normal, average, American citizen. When speaking with the press on July 29, 1998 Tripp repeats the statement, "I am you" in four slightly different forms. Tripp speaks about how she ended up in her current predicament and her response is, "I’m you." This is immediately followed by, "I’m just like you. . . I never asked to be placed in this position. Because I am just like you." At the end of her statement she says, "I am no different than you" (Text of Linda Tripp’s Remarks, July 29, 1998, Washington Post, pg. 1&3)
This technique removes Tripp for the spotlight for a moment. It asks the audience to relate her to the "girl next door" or in her case just your, "everyday single mom trying to do the right thing." The taping of the phone conversations amongst her Lewinsky can easily be explained by Tripp. "I [even] thought of it as my patriotic duty." (NBC, Today Show, "Linda Tripp Speaks About her Motives in Recording Monica Lewinsky’s Phone Conversations" February 12, 1999)
Sometimes there’s nothing more powerful than a personal story of tragedy and perseverance. With poise, humor and emotional pleas, Monica Lewinsky is able to captivate her audience through her narrative – one known to many in a public sense but far more vulnerable and moving when told through her private moments. Lewinsky’s speech, titled “The Price of Shame,” shares a broad call to action against cyberbullying and online harassment, highlighted by her own battles and a devastating tale of a young man who inspired her to finally speak out. Decades of silence create a sense of expectation among the audience. It also automatically captivate Lewinsky’s listeners as they hang on every word from someone they’ve heard so much about – but never from. Over the course of this paper, I will analyze Lewinsky’s TED Talk as a persuasive speech meant to galvanize listeners to recognize and actively combat cyberbullying in an age where many try to capitalize and profit on public humiliation. I will show how her persuasive style is effective with respect to her personal expertise and gut-wrenching stories, while also recognizing areas – like her call to action – where her argument could be strengthened and better delineated to
On the turntable of American politics Dick Morris has established himself as a masterful disk jockey. However, his ability to artistically mix campaign messages has earned him a scratched personal reputation. The rhetoric of Dick Morris transcends partisan boundaries to such a degree that it lacks foundation. His career has earned him praise but at the expense of intense scorn. His political strategy and poll based campaigning have earned him a reputation as both a genius and amoral. In many ways the controversial aspects of his messages reflect contemporary discussion of American politics. The flaws of his character reveal some of the flaws in our representative system. The recent Impeachment Trial of President Clinton has also brought attention to flaws in our representative system. Dick Morris's political commentary on the Impeachment and the work of his career offers insight with which to examine a growing discontent among the American public towards our nation's politics.
To apply this rhetorical strategy, she incorporates several crucial phrases and words to which one can appertain. One example of Thatcher’s use of diction occurs in line twenty-three of her eulogy when she refers to Reagan as “Ronnie.” While to the reader, this name is but a sobriquet Thatcher uses for Reagan, one must identify her use of diction to understand her intention for using this name. After analyzing the word’s connotation instead of its denotation, the reader can discover that she incorporates this word into her eulogy to give the reader a thorough comprehension of the friendship they shared. For the reader, this diction permits him or her to identify Thatcher’s credibility, and for Thatcher, she strengthens her claim by validating her relation with Reagan. Thatcher, however, goes beyond reinforcing her claim through credibility; upon analysis of her eulogy, one can recognize her use of diction to depict historical occurrences surrounding Reagan’s presidency. The reader can identify an example of this tactic when Thatcher states in lines five and six, “[Reagan] sought to mend America’s wounded spirit” (Thatcher). On a superficial level, this
In the current post-impeachment proceedings the question becomes whom it has affected most and what it will mean to them and their agenda. Obvious groups that will suffer most from the impeachment that are subject to the after effects are the Republican Party and American politics in general. As far as individuals are concerned, Monica Lewinsky has a good deal of post-scandal baggage. But what about those who will experience the effects of Monica and what she represents as a woman in American society? The movement which has suffered the most in the standpoint of social and political agenda are the Feminists.
Before stepping into the critical analysis of the speech, it is important to understand the historical setting from which the speech arose. The context can be briefly summarized as the following. In 1995 Clinton had a sexual relationship with one of his White House interns by the name of Monica Lewinsky. On January 17, 1998, a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him was filed. Clinton then quickly delivered a forceful public statement that he did not have a sexual relationship with the woman. However, unknown to President Clinton, Linda Tripp, one of Lewinsky’s associates, had recorded several conversations of Lewinsky describing her affair with the President. In the seven months afterwards, Kenneth W. Starr, the StarWhitewater independent counsel, had began collecting evidence of the affair and carrying out investigation about Clinton’s obstruction of justice. Evidence of Clinton lying under oath would be grounds for impeachment. On August 17, 1998, Clinton decided to a...
Clinton uses pathos the moment she starts giving the speech because as a woman she can relate to every
While soldiers are often perceived as glorious heroes in romantic literature, this is not always true as the trauma of fighting in war has many detrimental side effects. In Erich Maria Remarque 's All Quiet On The Western Front, the story of a young German soldier is told as he adapts to the harsh life of a World War I soldier. Fighting along the Western Front, nineteen year old Paul Baumer and his comrades begin to experience some of the hardest things that war has to offer. Paul’s old self gradually begins to deteriorate as he is awakened to the harsh reality of World War 1, depriving him from his childhood, numbing all normal human emotions and distancing future, reducing the quality of his life.
Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office. Despite his loss to JFK in the 1960 presidential election, in 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He was praised by many for his comeback after previously losing an election and seemed to be an admirable man. While in office, Nixon made many achievements and followed through with all of his promises made during his campaign. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the American people had finally elected a leader who seemed unquestionably trustworthy – or so they thought. Unfortunately, shortly after Nixon was elected to his second term of presidency in 1972, the Watergate Scandal changed America forever by creating a sense of mistrust toward the government for the American people because of The Nixon Administration’s actions.
King Henry was once young and seemingly uninterested in his role as a future King of England. Many of Henry’s legendary and heroic traits did not originate in Henry V; instead, they appeared in previous Shakespearean plays including Henry IV. As the British heir apparent, young Henry was known as “Prince Hal, Henry, Harry, Prince Harry, Harry Monmouth, and the Prince of Wales” (Britannica). In Henry V, King Henry is this play’s main protagonist. Shakespeare’s audience briefly witnesses the gradual transformation of Henry from a youthful hell-raiser and playboy to a dignified King. Henry’s immature reputation is described by the Bishop of Canterbury when he says that “a heady currance scour[s] his faults” (I.i.36). In Henry IV, the audience is first introduced to Prince Hal, at his apartment in London and a cheap tavern called the Boar’s Head in Eastcheap, where the future King mingled and formed networks with drinking buddies. There he pla...
War can be as damaging to the human body as it is to the mind. In Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, this idea that war causes psychological disorders is represented throughout the book through the main character, Paul Baumer. This book follows the lives of young soldiers in World War I. Together, these men create powerful bonds. They go through terrifying experiences that continue to strengthen their bonds, but also destroy their mental state. Through Paul’s eyes, Remarque shows the devastation that war has on the mind.
In the “Declaration of Conscience,” Margaret Chase Smith addresses the American public and the United States Senate during a time of political unrest. Communist accusations and a “national feeling of fear” has brought upon this speech. Even with an upcoming election, the Republican Party decides a freshman woman senator would speak to the public, an uncommon practice at the time . In this paper, I will argue that Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” proves her credibility as a woman politician. Smith uses a masculine tone, simple diction, and repetition to prove to Americans and the Senate that she is a strong political figure.
The incidence of mastitis is associated with impaired PMN function (Cai et al., 1994) since the resolution of the disease is dependent on the ability of PMN for recognition of the pathogen, migration to the site of infection, phagocytic ability and its elimination (Vangroenweghe et al., 2005), and dependable of the generation of ROS by PMN (Heyneman et al., 1990).
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/30/women-power-speech-biz-07women- cz_em_0830speak.html. Owens, Selena. (2014, April 1). Hillary Clinton’s Worst Quality? WND Commentary.
Clearly, Shakespeare intends to portray Hal as a sort of antithesis to traditional monarchial stodgyness; the evidence of a misspent youth contrasts clearly against the politica...
...veryone, innocent or not. Hemingway once mentioned the moral emptiness of the universe (Baker (1), p.129). Man is greedy and naturally he wants what he can’t have. That’s why one is drawn to go to war; to fight even harder for what he can’t have. Hemingway does a wonderful job of presenting death and the horrors of war in his novel, A Farewell to Arms. The overall theme in the novel is more obviously antiwar because of the troublesome events that take place, such as the abandonment of one’s commitments and the death of loved ones. Even war hero Robert E. Lee once said, “It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we should grow too fond of it.” For it is the death in war that keeps one humble. It is the death in war that keeps one from acting upon his greediness. It is the death in war that destroys a man’s soul and reminds him that not everything is his to take.