Political Rhetorical Analysis: Bernie Sanders And Hillary Clinton

With the 2016 presidential election coming up in November, candidates must use a variety of strategies and tactics to earn votes. The use of media gives these politicians a great advantage in obtaining support from their voters. However, in order to obtain these votes, these politicians must use political rhetoric. Political rhetoric is the rhetorical approaches, ethos, pathos, and logos, applied in a political discussion or situation. I believe that politicians use political approaches to persuade their voters because they use ethos to gain trust and pathos to appeal to emotions. The two politicians, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, are able to effectively apply the rhetorical approach pathos within their speeches to persuade their audience.

This campaign is not about Bernie Sanders. This campaign is about the needs of the American people, and the ideas and proposals that effectively address those needs,” (4). This statement is an example of the rhetorical approach pathos since it successfully explains how his campaign is for the American people, which would appeal to his audience because they would know that Sanders would be able to accomplish his goals; and by using specific language such as “effectively” and “be clear”, Americans would know that he is being serious. The statement is able to persuade voters because it shows that Sanders knows what he wants to achieve if elected and that he knows how to address those needs for the people through his specific language. Another clear example of the rhetorical approach pathos can be found in Hillary Clinton’s political speech, “Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Rally Speech”, transcribed by Cable News Network (CNN) Staff, she announces, “You worked extra shifts, took second jobs, postponed home repairs… You figured out how to make it work. And now people are beginning to think about their future

Clinton and Sanders connected pathos to their speech by appealing to their audience’s emotions and through their diction; and used ethos by providing credentials and experience so the people know they can be trusted. It was necessary for these politicians to use pathos in order to fully and effectively connect with their audience and increase the chance of a vote. As well as using ethos to establish a sense of trust between the candidate and audience that they are capable as president to make them want to vote. The rhetorical approaches these politicians use can be applied to everyday life in order to convince people, so it is important to remember when and how people use these rhetorical