Obama's Rhetoric

Many have commented on Barack Obama’s talent as a public speaker. He lives up to this claim in his speech after his win in the Iowa caucus. Right off the bat, he uses rhetoric to woo the audience, and hopefully wins votes in upcoming primaries, which is vital in order to win the Democratic Party’s nomination. Rhetoric is the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and Barack Obama makes good use of it in this particular speech.
There are many different strategies to make rhetoric useful, and Obama uses quite a few of them. Persuasive words are used to make the listener automatically agree with the speaker. Right off the bat, he employs rapport to create an ‘us versus them’ situation. He claims that by winning Iowa, he showed the ‘cynics’ said could not be done. He draws the listener in, making one think that the two of them together were responsible for the victory. Obama also uses emotional words. He juxtaposes words like hope and fear as well as unity and division. This almost forces a listener to want to vote for him; it implies that if he is not elected president, then there will be widespread terror instead of safety, we will fall divided instead of standing united.
Obama states that it is time for Americans to show their government that they do not like the way the contry is being run. Obama uses his authority in speaking to try to get voters to take back their government, and re-assert the importance of their opinions.
At some points in his speech, Obama even takes a few subtle jabs at other presidential hopefuls: “I'll be a President…who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes, but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the twenty-first century; common threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease”.
Obama caters to the working middle class when hes says that he knows what it takes to get something you want. He mentions sacrifice, hard work, small pay and no appreciation. He says that he will never forget where he came from, which happens to be the ‘streets of Chicago’, another attempt to win votes.
Obama makes many immense claims in this speech after his win in Iowa. One may wonder if these aspirations are attainable, or if he even intends to persue them in ernest if he is elected. Voters are apparently un-impressed, however, as Obama was defeated in New Hampshire: people voted more for Hilary. Maybe this speech backfired: instead of rallying potential voters to his cause, it may have turned them off. Some may see him a as a typical politician, telling whatever lies it takes to get in office, then denying that he ever spoke them once there. Hopefully, enough people will see that Obama is sincere and will vote him into office, even if just to see if he can, or will, follow up on his big promises.