Rhetoric in the Obama's SOTU Address

      In Obama’s State of the Union Address, he talks of both the hardships and successes that America has recently experienced, as well as its strong unity and potential for success in the future. Through Obama’s rhetorical personalization and assertion of community, as well as his pathetic appeal and support to the wants and popular beliefs of his nation, Obama stresses his want for government reformation, persuading America to put his plan to action for a more prosperous future nation.

Syntax:
--Obama has many pauses throughout his speech.
     --The pauses are climatic and create emphasis, making Obama appear powerful.
--Obama constructs his sentences by starting with “we can’t.”
     --This structure puts the negatives out in the open first.
     --When Obama then states what “we must” do, it seems like the perfect
        solution compared to the preceding “we can’t” statement,
        persuading his wants/plan.

Diction:
--Obama uses words such as “we” and “us.”
     --This personalizes himself with America and creates an appealing sense of community,
        gaining support for his plan.

--Obama inserts superfluous yet powerful words such as “any” and “every.”
     --Creates emphasis and shows Obama is not exclusive.

Logos:
--Obama states many facts and statistics.
     --Many of the statistics are of positive successes that the United States has had.
     --This makes the audience associate these positive successes with Obama,
        persuading the audience to believe that Obama is responsible for them,
        creating appeal.

Ethos:
--Through Obama’s stating of positive statistics, he is creating a trustworthy and
     knowledgable image to the audience.

--Obama uses informal diction and has numerous humorous insertions.
     --This makes Obama appear to be like and almost equal to the “normal American.”
--Obama wears a suit and dresses formally.
     --This, obviously, creates a professional image and a high reputation for America.

Pathos:
--At one point, Obama intently attacks the government.
     --This is appealing to the public because it is what the public constantly does,
        making Obama appear like he supports the public’s beliefs.

--Obama states the many challenges that Americans must face.
     --This shows that Obama truly cares for the public and understands what they
        are going through, pathetically appealing to the audience.

--Obama also stresses the need for safety against terrorists.
     --This appeals to the audience's sense of security and makes Obama appear to be
        a protector and a hero on behalf of Americans.