When Barack Obama stood before a cheering crowd in his home state Illinois and announced his candidacy, no believed that this guy had any chance of winning the nomination. Majority of Americans did not believe that the country was actually ready for an African-American president with a promise of changing the course of politics in Washington. However, on November 4, 2008, for the first time, the citizens of the United States elected an African-American president with a name Barack Hussein Obama. It proved to be one of the most fascinating presidential elections in American history. The power of democracy once again proved to be the only thing necessary for the triumph of a person. And his inauguration on January 20, 2009, inspired not only the people of this great nation, but also the people all around the world. His election brought back the unity people were looking for in the middle of worst economic crisis since Great Depression. American people believed that at the time Barack Obama was the right person for this job. It would be fair to say that Barack Obama gave them every reason to elect him the president of the Unites States. It was his leadership style and his great ability to communicate with the voters during the campaign that made him the president of the United States. However, after the midterm elections a number of politicians including president Obama himself blamed the downfall on not being able to communicate effectively enough with American people. Of course, one could also argue that it was actually president Obama’s political agenda the voters rejected during the midterm elections. Some politicians even called the elections referendum on president Obama. Obama himself never thought that the people would bla...
... middle of paper ...
...idents to nominate the right person for the right job, but it should be done without the fear of politics in mind. In president Obama’s case, “vetting [process] became the most irritating headache of [his] first year” (Alter 121). What president Obama did not take seriously was the importance of selecting the right person in the middle of the worst economical crisis since Great depression. Even though he was able to nominate quite experienced people, the fear of “political humiliation” made “many of the president’s choices, once so eager to go to Washington felt more like public enemies than potential public servants” (Alter 121). He wasn’t able to put the politics aside and nominate the person he wanted to get in the first place. In some aspects of politics, where everyone thought President Obama would show his toughness, instead he ended up showing his weakness.
Back in 1980, Republican president nominee Ronald Reagan pledged throughout his campaign that it was his goal to “restore the great, confident roar of American progress, growth and optimism”. Restoration, reinvigoration, and reclamation of values believed to be lost by the presidential treachery he was succeeding. Fast forward to 2008, Democratic president nominee Barack Obama did not see a need for restoration, he saw a need for new waves with his slogan “change we can believe in” after the economic destruction by W. Bush. Being such dramatic foils, the two men represent different eras of American politics. The unprecedented election of Obama severed Reagan’s seemingly everlasting legacy, signaling real changes coming to the presidency. The “Reagan Revolution” is remembered as an era of conservatism and economic peace, while Obama’s terms are viewed with mixed emotions. Obama’s impact can definitely be argued, as political information was more readily accessible in his presidency than any other in history; thanks to new technology and social communications, but since time has passed, so can Reagan’s. The use of their presidential powers is what a president is remembered for. Assessing the ranges in their backgrounds, motivations, policy creation and execution, and overall achievements, one can determine
In October 2012 President Obama was reelected as President of the United States of America. Famous for his exceptional speeches in his first term as president there was some pressure on Obama to deliver a notable acceptance speech after such a nail biting election. By using rhetorical strategies in his speech Obama had to reach every audience member whether they were democratic or republican. President Barack Obama grasps every member of his audience by using ethos pathos and even some logos in his 2012 acceptance speech, his very first speech in his second term as president.
President Barack Obama has been a well-known political figure for just over 8 years; he has served two terms as the President of the United States. There has been controversy surrounding the first African American president, after his first term Obama failed to prove to America that he would fix all the things he promised to fix upon election. With his second term he has set in place his views and goals for the country. Obama’s views have been trying to benefit the overall population of American, from the poor all the way to the rich with a few subclasses in-between. During the Inauguration of his second term, won against Mitt Romney. His opponent stood for many things that were conflicting to Obamas platform, while Obama stood for rehabilitating the poor after the recession, Romney wanted to focus on tax breaks for the rich. Throughout the speech given by President Barack Obama, he outlines necessary changes in the system to benefit the people and the need for people to come together as one to have an effective country.
Obama is able to gain his listeners’ ears because of his clear and effective writing. In Obama’s writing various elements of rhetorical framework create a strong and persuasive argument that Obama is able to present in grabbing his audience’s attention and consideration. Seen through his writing, Obama’s use of rhetorical appeals, devices, and context create an in-depth look into the problem of the racial divide which still exist today. In writing an effective argument, Obama employ’s through rhetoric’s personal experience, historical events, religion, and the current state of things, which he asks his audience think more about. By noting that the problems of America as a whole is a problem that every citizen shares and not a problem that exist individually for different races. Obama is able to have his audience focus on the real issues Americans face moving forward. Ultimately, as it is seen prior before the speech was published and given, Obama’s intent on the direction and how his speech would be formed, along with writing techniques that were used to craft the speech, all reveal his personal knowledge of rhetoric’s and ability to write a persuasive argument. Through his speech Obama is easily able to dismisses his critics and do what he intended to do, being that he wants his audience to focus their attention on to the more serious problems that remain unsolved for American
In contempt of Obama’s humble giving spirit, vivid personality, and many accomplishments, a debate is always at hand upon hearing the infamous name Barack Hussein Obama. From his place of birth, religion, and ethnicity Obama’s face a fair share of controversy. At the heels of adversity along with sheer determination to help others Obama became a leader that delivers and one of the most influential people of America. Adversity was introduced to Obama at an early age. With a Kenyan father and Caucasian mother residing in Hawaii, Obama has always stood out in numerous ways. In 1959 Barack Obama Senior was selected from a number of candidates to go to school in the US where he attended The University of Hawaii in Honolulu to
Many people believed Senator Obama won the presidential nomination because he gives a speech that changed the political, religion issues about the race. President Barack Obama is the 44th president and the first African American to serve as U.S president. He was elected second terms over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. On March 18, 2008, president Obama gave a famous speech about the political, religion issues of race in the United States speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. This speech brings more hopes to the black people, and opposed to former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s view. The speech encourages the black people to fight for their freedom, to overcome the difficulties to create more strong union
A connection with the audience is imperative for politicians and presidents. Obama’s powerful arguments and speeches during his long journey eventually leads him to the White House. Many people anticipate President Obama's first Inauguration speech; in fact, from a historical context, many Americans never expect to hear such a speech. Being the first black president, Obama establishes popularity with the American people and attracts all types of audiences in his first inauguration speech by addressing the nation as “ a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non believers ” (Inaugural 2). Mentioning race is a strong way of forming a connection with the audience because instead of classifying the
For many years, American Presidents were viewed as being white and powerful leaders. Why were they only white? Is it because Americans felt Blacks were not smart enough to run a country on their own? African Americans were viewed as less dominate people and have been discriminated because of the color of their skin. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States making him the first black president ever. In this paper, I will discuss how Barack makes a change and if America can accept him as our first black president.
On July 27, 2004, Barack Obama made arguably his most important speech, “The Audacity of Hope”, at the Democratic National Convention Keynote Address. These conventions are for political parties to announce a winner for nomination. All the way through his piece, Obama focuses on connecting Americans and himself to the audience. In fact, at the time, Barack Obama was a US Senate candidate for the United States president, and in making this speech, was offered a window for raising his popularity. Throughout “The Audacity of Hope” speech, Barack Obama implements three main devices to raise his political popularity: repetition, abstract language, and structure.
The title of the book is “The Audacity of Hope;” and it is written by current president Barack Obama. In 2004, he was only a young U.S. Senator from Illinois, who was driven into the national eye at the 2004 Democratic Convention when he delivered a speech called “The Audacity of Hope.”After less than twenty minutes of speaking, Obama’s name was known all over the country, with many political examiners predicting that he was well qualified to enter the next presidential race. Before this, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He then got a job as a civil rights attorney, and from 1992 to 2004, he became a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. As a senator representing the thirteenth district of Illinois, he served three terms from 1997 to 2004. In 2000, he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives. This book expands on the ideas that Obama mentioned in his speech. The book was published by Three Rivers Press in 2006. It has 375 pages and is categorized as a sociology/biography genre. The book includes a Prologue, Epilogue, Acknowledgements, and Index.
After his former preacher, Jeremiah Wright, gave such exigence for this discussion by making claims that the U.S. government treated black people harshly, Obama was pretty much forced to act. And with great credence and rhetoric, he did. The soon to be president, and also the first African American man to be president, first sets grounds for his speech by inserting himself into the context of the racial history of America, creating the modern-day setting of a war that is centuries in age. He then appealed to pathos by bringing light to his audience with examples of racial corruption and inequality to highlight the huge need for unity and change. And finally, he capitalized on these sentiments by appealing to ethos to advocate methods of change. With the great success of this historic and rhetorical speech, Obama assumed a new podium in November of that same exact year, but this time, to accept his election as the President of the United
Across the world, ordinary people find heroes that they aspire to imitate. Comic books portray heroes as super strong men in spandex suits, and although a three-year-old child might aspire to be superman, more mature audiences hopefully find more realistic figures to idolize. Take Barack Obama, the President of the United States; he worked his entire life to attain the highest position in our government, President. Obama was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth but to a single mother in Hawaii. Through hard work and motivation, he went to college and received an education at Columbia University. He later obtained a law degree from Harvard University and began working with the Democratic Party. In 1996 he was elected to the Illinois Senate and acquired a seat in the United State’s Senate in 2004. After only 5 years of experience in the Senate, he was elected the 44th president. Obama’s exponential growth in importance and power could only have been achieved by an exemplary man. His determination, intelligence, hard work, and professionalism all made his success attainable, and he should be admired for these traits. Every country has a national hero and Barack Obama is the United State’s.
When president Barack Obama first walked on the biggest stage in America eight years ago a lot of Americans did not trust his words of wisdom to carry, we the people to a better United States. On January 10, 2017 President Barack Obama walked back on that same big stage now known and loved by so many to give his last and final speech, his Farewell speech. All of the non believers were certainly awoken to the actions that were taken by president Barack Obama to achieve most of what he truly dedicated his life and career to. Obama worked hard to gain the love, respect and dedication by so many loyal americans today. It definitely was not an easy task to achieve, many trials and many errors. In this analysis I will state weather or not Obama’s
To sum up, Obama has always been and will always be a great example of how to succeed in spite of difficulties or obstacles. Such a strong personality is worth to be admired. Obama has left me with positive feelings about the
"Our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."(EternalMedia, 2008) Those words are from Obama's aspiring, and emotional speech. Following the victory establishing trust and gathering all the factions of the citizens around the president was a necessity. In his home city Chicago Obama gave his victory speech that was a great sign to express his loyalty to his people and to the Americans as a metaphor. (240,000 pack Grant Park for election rally, 2008 ) Winning the election was the big event and the main reason