President Barack H. Obama has always used rhetorical strategies in his political speeches. He used these strategies to present his important points and views before the audience. Expressing points and views correctly and logically led him to become president in the first place. President Obama used mostly ethos and pathos, but also some logos, to deliver his inaugural and state of the union speeches. Being so, he was able to reach the audience emotionally and make the speech flow efficiently while maintaining his credibility. Each speech has its own audience that differs from the other. In the inaugural speech the audience was the audience and therefore the speech was short and used short, easy to understand sentences. On the other hand, the audience for the State of the Union address was primarily composed of members of the congers and therefore the language was more specific and full of political terminology. Both speeches will be discussed based on context and using ethos, pathos and logos consecutively. First of all, the inaugural address was President Obama's speech that was delivered to the crowd after the swearing-in ceremony that took place on the Western Front of the United States. States. It was a short speech that captivated many issues uniquely affecting American citizens and the world at large. He divided his speech into different sectors which are sacrifice of citizens, idea of service, adoption of changes, promise of wealth, harmony and dignity of government. The language used in the speech was mostly flawless and applicable to the audience, which was the public, as it used everyday vocabulary. Therefore, the speech has a strong structure that can be easily understood by most people. The typical audience... center of paper... in both speeches. In the inaugural speech, the speech was full of ethics and pathos because the audience was the general public. However, in the state of the union speech, he mostly used ethos and logos to address members of congress in particular. However, President Obama managed to deliver both speeches using the precise style and language for each occasion. Furthermore, he supported his claims with logic and evidence. In doing so, he was able to implement his political agenda and at the same time won the hearts and trust of American citizens. Works Cited Obama, Barack. "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address." The White House. Office of the Newsroom, January 21, 2009. Web. April 5, 2014. Obama, Barack. "Speech to the Joint Session of Congress." The White House. Press Office, 24 February 2009. Web. 5 April. 2014.
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