Bush's Claim to the Presidency

Bush's Claim to the Presidency

Today’s leading news stories range from sports to overseas affairs, and from these Americans must decide what is important to our nation. Governor George W. Bush tries to make this decision a little easier in his announcement of candidacy on June 12, 1999 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Like most candidates in an election, Bush’s main purpose is to present his ideas to a large audience and convince them that he is the man that can change the presidency. Governor Bush offers his opinion on free trade, our current military power, and drawing a moral line in politics. Bush speaks elegantly to his intended audience, which consists of his loyal supporters and those interested in changing America’s political scene with a “compassionate president.” At the same time he tends to exclude people who haven’t kept up with his agenda or that are not in the market for significant political transformation. Overall, Bush gives sufficient information to back up his claims. Only reading the speech would not indicate this, but exploring his website provides background information and family history, and is all done with a friendly, inviting tone. The effort made by Bush to run and manage this campaign exemplifies a caring and committed candidate and produces an effective rhetorical argument.

Assuming that Mr. Bush wrote this speech, we can explore his persuasive ability by analyzing his speech and the website. Bush appeals strongly to his listener’s sense of value with the claim that freedom is “America’s greatest export.” In the lines that follow he emphasizes that he is interested in the prosperity of America. His appeal is extended when he describes schoolyards as becoming battlefields and alludes to the Ame...

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...olitics. The idea of the election is to sound the most charismatic and he takes one last opportunity to mention the “tarnished ideals” of America and give his vote of confidence in the last line, “We have a long way to go, but we start today. And I hope you’ll join me.”

George W. Bush creates a compassionate and operative way of presenting the issues that he feels strongly about. He chooses to use emotions and values to allure the audience. The emphasis on prosperity and hard-working Americans take his campaign to a different level than his opponents, who are discussing policies and laws. Bush, who is pushing for conservative reform, heads off his campaign with a strong rhetorical argument and a well-developed ethos. If he is able to maintain this advantage and fix a few minor flaws in his approach, he will be well on his way to a seat in the Oval Office.