The Rhetoric of an Apology: The Clinton Sex Scandal
"I ask that all Americans demonstrate in their personal and public lives... the high ethical standards that are essential to good character and to the continued success of our Nation."
On August 17, 1998, exactly one year after making the statement above, President Bill Clinton prepared to deliver a speech concerning a scandal that had gripped the nation for months. It is needless to say that this was an important moment during the Clinton administration. After accusations of sexual harassment, Clinton addressed the nation and admitted to having a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In this critical speech Clinton set out to admit to wrong-doings, provide a few reasons for his action, and ultimately persuade the audience into moving on and forgetting the scandal. This essay will break down his speech into sections and examine the most and least effective strategies that Clinton employed and how well he executed those strategies. This is an interesting speech given under rare circumstances. Not since Watergate had an American president been under such harsh moral criticism from the public. By looking critically at this speech we are able to gain valuable insight into Clinton's motives.
The best way to examine this speech is through a speech-act methodology. Speaker-setting and speaker-audience relationships are key in the analysis of this situation. Before answering the proposed research question we can ask another important question. Why did former President Bill Clinton choose to give this address? According to the Hart text several things must be true. 1. The speaker feels something is wrong. After several rounds of questioning the American public was growing ti...
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...is desire for forgiveness. He was dealing with an unprecedented situation, and handled it well, although the speech did feel cold in a few places. Careful word selection and organization of ideas helped Clinton successfully achieve his objective. Although this was a dark period in the history of the United States presidency, the majority of the people of America were able to accept his apology and move on.
Works Cited
Clinton, William. Washington DC. 17 Aug. 1998 transcript
http : //www. cnn. com/ALLPOLITIC S/ 19 9 8/0 8/ 17/spee ch/trans cript. html>
Hart, Roderick P. Modem Rhetorical Criticism. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. 1997.
The "Unofficial" Bill Clinton. 25 Oct. 2004. The "Unofficial" Bill Clinton. 10th Quote from top.
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