Kristen Barnes
English 505
December 11, 2009

Rhetoric of the 21st Century: Obama from an Aristolean Perspective

Approximately two years ago, the gentleman whom we now recognize as President Barack Hussein Obama, initiated his pursuit to become the 44th president of the United States. Similar to the other 43 presidents who presided before him, he launched a presidential campaign; for February 10, 2007 marked the launch of his candidacy. However, drastically different from his predecessors, he launched a campaign which was unknown to mankind–one which was unique in every sense of the word. He relied on technology–text messaging, video podcast, emails, and even social networks such as Facebook and Twitter–as his primary method to relay his message to the citizens of this country. But, let’s not forget that Howard Dean –a well-known politician –first initiated strategies to run a technologically savvy campaign through his pioneership of political fundraising via the internet. Although Howard Dean made technological advances towards running a technologically savvy campaign, Barack Obama is credited as the first Presidential nominee to launch a 2.0 campaign of this magnitude. Furthermore, Presidential-elect Barack Obama used the combination of rhetoric and technology to acquire and unite voters nationwide through the slogan “Yes We Can”. Through his technological campaign efforts, Obama established credibility, exhibited compassion, and excelled as a critical thinker with stellar logic skills. Obama used a combination of Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion (ethos, logos, and pathos) and technology of the 21st century to persuade Americans to elect him as the 44th President of the United States.

What are ethos, logos, and pathos?

Although Aristotle’s ideologies dominated the 3rd century BC, his techniques of persuasion–ethos, logos, and pathos– are still prevalent in the 21st century. In fact, Aristotle’s persuasive techniques nearly dominate the political arena. In addition, we must not forget the origin of the terms ethos, logos, and pathos and their close affiliation with politics; each persuasive technique is frequently exhibited amongst politicians and often considered a subconscious expectation amongst voting citizens. In On Rhetoric, Aristotle originally defines ethos as “moral character” but Kennedy further establishes that ethos is the projection of the character of the speaker as trustworthy” (15). Thereafter, Kennedy proceeds to define pathos as the “consideration of the emotions of people in the audience” and he identifies logos as “inductive and deductive logical argument” (15). Hence, as a politician, it is essential to establish credibility (ethos), appeal to the emotions of prospective voters (pathos), and exhibit exceptional logic skills (logos). In “The Means of Persuasion in Public Address”, Aristotle enlightens his followers by saying,

But since rhetoric is concerned with making a judgment, it is necessary not only to look to the argument, that it may be demonstrative and persuasive but also to construct a view of himself as a certain kind of person and to prepare the judge; for it makes much difference in regard to persuasion that the speaker seem to be a certain kind of person and that his hearers suppose him to be disposed towards them in a certain way. For the speaker to seem to have certain qualities is more useful in deliberation. (Kennedy 112)

Prior to his nomination as a presidential candidate, Obama established himself as a reputable and well-respected Senator (ethos), showcased himself in a favorable light through mass multi-media as a nominee(pathos), and often simplified overtly complex issues for prospective voters to understand (logos). Hence, Obama truly embodies Aristotle’s persuasive techniques: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Obama Exhibits Ethos

Obama’s pursuit to establish trustworthiness (ethos) began long before he claimed the Presidential nomination. During his tenure as Senator, Barack Obama gained nationwide recognition as a keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Further, as a newly established Senator, he exhibited his enthusiasm towards America becoming a more technologically inclined nation by introducing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending. Further, on June 3, 2008, Barack Obama officially assumed the role as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party; thereafter, he spearheaded a campaign in which technology assumed the forefront. In an effort to gain a credible reputation, Obama established a connection between himself and ordinary people; he thoroughly exhibited his extensive history of working for the people, yet he often reminded American citizens of his middle-class upbringing. In an effort to reach millions of dispersed citizens worldwide, the Barack Obama Campaign launched his presidential announcement via Youtube in addition to the media’s televised coverage. In his presidential announcement speech on Youtube, Obama says, “A group of churches had offered me a job as a Community Organizer with a grand sum of $13,000 per year…and I accepted it motivated that I might play a small part in building a better America”. In this instant, Obama used technology as a vehicle to establish himself as a humble individual who is willing to work endlessly for the betterment of the United States of America.

Obama has definitely revolutionized political campaign strategy. He and his campaign staff not only ran a state-of-the-art campaign but they created a movement which welcomed transformational change. In fact, in Kenneth Walsh’s “For Obama, Governing in the Age of Youtube”, political scientist Ross Baker of Rutgers University forecast that Obama would cause “the greatest revolution in presidential communication” since Ronald Raegan. The prediction which Baker held rapidly advanced to a reality. Still as a competitor in the primaries, Obama had grossed 1.1 million donors who elevated a grass roots movement to a massive yet dynamic campaign. After Obama reached his target of one million donors, he remarked,

No other campaign has ever reached one million donors while still in a competitive primary. When we first started this campaign more than a year ago, the Washington establishment dismissed the idea of a grass roots movement for change. Today no one can say that this movement is not real (barackobama.com).

But thanks to technological advances such as social media websites, mass text messaging, and of course barackobama.com, which all united as an enormous force to exemplify Obama’s credibility. According to Kenneth Walsh in “For Obama, Governing in the Age of Youtube”, Obama’s campaign “amassed an E-mail database of more than 10 million supporters, which gives him an audience that surpasses that of most cable-television shows”. Obama’s integrity enabled him to accrue a support base which escalated far beyond his competitors; furthermore, he established that through his technologically savvy campaign he’s able to connect his campaign efforts to the lifestyle of the everyday working American citizens. Thus, out of the 10 million individuals whom Obama accumulated as a support base, “more than 3 million donated money to him” (Walsh, “For Obama, Governing in the Age of Youtube”). Obama and his campaign strategists tailored his campaign to the busy lifestyle of American citizens, which enabled them to gain trust and support from a multitude of individuals. Through his dynamic support base, the Obama campaign had now confirmed that people believe in individuals that they trust.

Tainting Obama’s Image: Ethos Continues…

In an effort to maintain a trustworthy image, the Obama campaign embarked on yet another technological journey and launched fightthesmears.com. This website was constructed to counter what Obama recognized as “smears” by his opponent. According to wikipedia.org, a smear campaign is “related to the concepts of propaganda, media bias, yellow journalism, and other falsehood related terms such as liberal and perjoration”. One of the smears that Obama addressed is the claim that he is not a natural-born citizen of the United States, considering that his political opponents filed lawsuits to disqualify him because of his “supposed” citizenship. Thus, cases that he was born in Kenya or possessed a forged birth certificate, were dismissed in 2009 after a certified copy of his birth certificate was submitted to the Supreme Court. In a pursuit to uphold his credible image, Obama resorts to technology to address these false allegations with integrity and once again reassures his followers that he is trustworthy.

Obama Exhibits Pathos

Obama’s sense of compassion, personable persona, and optimistic outlook gave him a significant advantage over his competitors during the campaign. Obama sought technological sources such as Youtube, podcast, and social networks to emotionally reach people of all races, creeds, and social orientations. His rhetorical approach was crafted in such a way that he warmed the hearts of many with Youtube videos which offered words of encouragement, town hall meetings via podcast which addressed health care reform, and frequent updates on both Facebook and Twitter which marked his progress in the Presidential race. Obama proved to be the epitome of hope when faced with adversity; he made all Americans believe “Yes We Can”. Further, Obama constructed a movement in which technology served as a key tool in uniting people world-wide to embark on his journey to the Presidency, which was sure to entail transformational change. In fact, when asked about Obama’s views on technology in regards to his campaign, his close confidant Jerry Kellman, from Chicago, said that “Obama believes that the media sometimes gets lost in trivia and sensationalism and ignore serious discussion, so he wants to appeal directly to everyday people as much as he can” (Walsh, “For Obama, Governing in the age of Youtube”). Hence, Obama’s idea of reaching people through Youtube and mass text messaging, via podcast, and through social networks served him well. In fact, on Barackobamadotcoms Channel on Youtube, Obama’s campaign videos received more than 100 million views. Obama thrived on virtually reaching dispersed Americans world-wide but he also wanted neighboring countries to know that global unity and transformation were also priorities on his agenda.

Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech became one of the most popular and inspirational speeches in history. Obama uses his incredible rhetorical skills and heart-felt appeal to address millions of supporters through a host of internet servers and the electromagnetic waves of the radio and television. During the course of his legendary speech, he says, “ We’ve been told that we’re not ready or we shouldn’t try or we can’t and generations of Americans have showed up and responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people–yes we can”! As a prolific orator and compassionate being, Obama truly grasped the concept of appealing emotionally to his audience with kind and hopeful words. In an effort to instill a sense of optimism in the American people, he further states, “In the unlikely story that is American, there has never been anything false about hope”. In this instant, he is encouraging the American people to maintain a sense of hopefulness as we progress onward. As a prolific orator and master of rhetorical approach, Obama truly understood the concept of reaching the hearts of prospective voters through not only television and daily newspapers but by way of mass multi-media as well.

Drastically different from his predecessors, Obama and his campaign staff teamed with Hidden Beach Recordings (HBR) to release an official campaign album titled, Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement. In an attempt to continue raising funds, the Obama campaign instituted this album as a campaign fundraiser, which was scheduled to be sold until Election Day on November 4, 2008. In fact, when asked about the collaboration, HBR records Steve McKeever says,

We had conversations quite some time ago about how to harness what was happening really organically and naturally with many artists. The whole concept [was] how do we translate that to inspire and invigorate and also give people a keepsake that they can own, while at the same time providing some important capital needed for this campaign (www.guardian.co.uk/music).

This album featured Grammy award winning artists such as Yolanda Adams and Jill Scott–just to name a few. Each of these artists wrote and produced songs, which embodied optimistic viewpoints. In fact, the chorus of Yolanda Adams “Hold On” reads as follows, “Don’t matter how hard it seems/don’t give up always believe/hold on to your dreams”. The chorus of this song truly models the “Yes We Can” approach and aims at inviting a sense of optimism into the hearts and minds of the American people. Similar to the ideology behind Yolanda Adams “Hold On”, R &B artist Jill Scott records “One Is The Magic Number”. The chorus reads as follows, “There’s just me, one is the magic number”; the lyrics of this song encourages one to believe that Obama’s competitors are irrelevant. The brilliant minds behind Obama’s campaign strategies and tactics truly reached the hearts of many with this recording and aimed at manipulating the thoughts of those who had not yet conformed to his efforts.

Although many artists were not selected to record on Barack Obama’s official campaign album, they voluntarily decided to embark on the journey to change. In fact, many of these songstress and rappers specifically crafted and tailored songs, on Youtube, to bring awareness to pertinent issues, which the Obama campaign addressed. World renowned pop artist and Grammy recipient Will.I.Am wrote and produced “We Are The Ones”, which was one of the most popular recordings by far and consequently, received more than 3 million views. Although Will was not directly contacted by Barack Obama to configure a musical selection, he felt that by writing this song it was his way of donating to the Obama campaign. In fact, in a recent interview with Will.I.Am, Yasmine Richards, MTV journalist, remarks that by writing this song it’s “his chance to sway potential voters and get them interested in the candidate that Will thinks can change everything, the candidate that has personally inspired him” (Montgomery, “Will.I.Am Readying Second Barack Obama Video—Possibly With Beyonce’s Help). Songs such as Will’s “We Are The Ones” is a true representation of appealing emotionally to an audience; for Will utilizes clips from an Obama victory speech, along with the political philosophies of various celebrities, in an effort to encourage American citizens to vote Obama as the 44th President.

Obama Exhibits Logos

Barack Obama utilized logical approaches throughout his campaign but one of his significant and most memorable uses of logos revolved around his Healthcare Reform perspective. Obama used a very logical approach to display the facts associated with the pertinent healthcare issues in America. In fact, during his Healthcare Organizing Kickoff Video, Obama says, “Our healthcare system is broken, it’s unsustainable for a family, business and it’s unsustainable for state and federal government”. Further, Obama petitioned American citizens to voice their personal healthcare situations via video recordings on Youtube and through personalized letters to himself and the federal government. In expressing the need for Universal Healthcare, Obama displayed the staggering numbers of uninsured American citizens and the rising costs of healthcare in America, then he proceeded by offering a comprehensive solution to this problem. Obama utilized sound judgment and sources such as Youtube to accomplish his goal of addressing pertinent issues yet he excelled at collaborating with the American people to seize injustice related to our healthcare system. Through his efforts, he proved that his logical approach ranked nothing less than stellar.

This Sums It Up

Obama definitely used technology of the 21st century as a rhetorical tactic to persuade American voters to elect him as the 44th President of the United States of America. He was selective and precise in his rhetorical approach as he demanded the attention of many through his use of social media networks, mass multi-media, and Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos; In his pursuit to become the first 2.0 president, he sought tools to incorporate all Americans into his campaign efforts yet he promoted a movement which encouraged world-wide unity. Obama definitely utilized technological advances to amalgamate all of his campaign efforts, which ranged from rectifying Americas current healthcare system to resolving the war in Iraq. Obama’s integrity (ethos) compassionate demeanor (pathos), exceptional logic skills (logos), along with his technologically savvy campaign, enabled him to claim the spot as Americas 44th President and the FIRST 2.0 President.

Works Cited

1.  Barack Obama Campaign. Fightthesmears.com. Barack Obama Campaign.

          Web. 8 December 2009.

2.  Barack Obama Campaign. Barackobama.com. Barack Obama Campaign.

         2007. 8 December 2009.

3.  Kennedy, George A.  Aristotle:On Rhetoric A Theory of Civil Discourse.  Trans. New York, Oxford. 2007. Print.     

4.  “Second Barack Obama Video—Possibly With Beyonce’s Help”. mtv.com.

         MTV. 21 Feb 2008. 

5.    Walsh, Kenn.  Walsh, Kenneth T.  “For Obama Governing the Age of    Youtube.”  US News and World Report 145.12 (2008): 32.     WilsonSelect  Plus. Web. December 2008.

6.  “Yes We Can”. Youtube.com. Barackobamadotcom Channel. Web.

           8 December 2009.

Research Project…well I have a waysss to go but check it out;)

Kristen Barnes
English 505
December 11, 2009
Rhetoric of the 21st Century: Obama from an Aristolean Perspective

Approximately two years ago, the gentleman who we now recognize as President Barack Hussein Obama, initiated his pursuit to become the 44th president of the United States. Similar to the other 43 presidents who presided before him, he launched a presidential campaign; for February 10, 2007 marked the launch of his candidacy. However, drastically different from his predecessors, he launched a campaign which was unknown to mankind–one which was unique in every sense of the word. He relied on technology–text messaging, video podcast, emails, and even social networks such as Facebook and Twitter–as his primary method to relay his message to the citizens of this country. But, lest not forget that Howard Dean –a well-known politician –first intiated strategies to run a technologically savvy campaign through his pioneership of political fundraising via the internet. Although Howard Dean made technological advances towards running a technologically savvy campaign, Barack Obama is credited as the first Presidential nominee to launch a 2.0 campaign of this magnitude. Furthermore, Presidential-elect, Barack Obama, used the combination of rhetoric and technology to acquire and unite voters nationwide through the slogan “Yes We Can”. Through his campaign efforts, Obama established credibility, exhibited compassion, and exceled as a critical thinker with stellar logic skills. For Obama used Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion (ethos, logos, and pathos) and technology of the 21st century to persuade Americans to elect him as the 44th President of the United States.

What are ethos, logos, and pathos?
Although Aristotle’s ideologies dominated the 3rd century BC, his techniques of persuassion–ethos, logos, and pathos– are still prevalent in the 21st century. In fact, Aristotle’s persuasive techniques nearly dominate the political arena. However, we must not forget the origin of the terms ethos, logos, and pathos and their close affiliation with politics; each persuasive technique is frequently exhibited amongst politicians and often considered a subconscious expectation amongst voting citizens. In On Rhetoric, Aristotle originally defines ethos as “moral character” but Kennedy further establishes that ethos is the projection of the character of the speaker as trustworthy” (15). Thereafter, Kennedy proceeds to define pathos as the “consideration of the emotions of people in the audience” and he identifies logos as “inductive and deductive logical argument” (15). Hence, as a politician, it is essential to establish credibility (ethos), appeal to the emotions of prospective voters (pathos), and exhibit exceptional logic skills (logos). In “The Means of Persuasion in Public Address”, Aristotle enlightens his followers by saying,
But since rhetoric is concerned with making a judgment, it is necessary not only to look to the argument, that it may be demonstrative and persuasive but also to construct a view of himself as a certain kind of person and to prepare the judge; for it makes much difference in regard to persuasion that the speaker seem to be a certain kind of person and that his hearers suppose him to be disposed towards them in a certain way. For the speaker to seem to have certain qualities is more useful in deliberation. (Kennedy 112)
Prior to his nomination as a presidential candidate, Obama established himself as a reputable and well-respected Senator (ethos), showcased himself in a favorable light through mass multi-media as a nominee(pathos), and often simplified overtly complex issues for prospective voters to understand (logos). Hence, Obama truly embodies Aristotle’s persuasive techniques: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Obama Exhibits Ethos
Obama’s pursuit to establish trustworthiness (ethos) began long before he claimed the Presidential nomination. During his tenure as Senator, Barack Obama gained nationwide recognition as a keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Further, as a newly established Senator, he exhibited his enthusiasm towards America becoming a more technologically inclined nation by introducing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending. However, on June 3, 2008, Barack Obama officially assumed the role as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party; thereafter, he spearheaded a campaign in which technology assumed the forefront. In an effort to gain a credible reputation, Obama established a connection between himself and ordinary people; he thoroughly exhibited his extensive history of working for the people yet he often reminded American citizens of his middle-class upbringing. In an effort to reach millions of dispersed citizens worldwide, the Barack Obama Campaign launched his presidential announcement via Youtube in addition to the medias’ televised coverage. In his presidential announcement speech on Youtube, Obama says, “A group of churches had offered me a job as a Community Organizer with a grand sum of $13,000 per year…and I accepted it motivated that I might play a small part in building a better America”. In this instant, Obama used technology as a vehicle to establish himself as a humble individual who is willing to work endlessly for the betterment of the United States of America.

Working Thesis Proposal Essay

Approximately two years ago, the gentleman who we now recognize as President Barack Hussein Obama, initiated his pursuit to become the 44^th president of the United States.  Similar to the other 43 presidents who presided before him, he launched a presidential campaign; for February 10, 2007 marked the launch of his candidacy. However, drastically different from his predecessors, he launched a campaign which was unknown to mankind-one which was unique in every sense of the word. He relied on technology-text messaging, video podcast, and emails- as his primary source to relay his message to the citizens of this country.  Furthermore, Barack Obama was the first candidate to introduce the combination of rhetoric and technology of the 21^st century into his campaign strategy.  He currently serves as the first 2.0 president of United States America.

Now, I’m sure that you are wondering how I am going to integrate rhetorical ideologies into the scientific topic of technology and Obama’s presidential campaign. Thus, I’ve developed the following working thesis:” Obama used Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion and technology of the 21^st century to persuade Americans to vote him as the 44^th President of the United States”. Furthermore, I am going to discuss Aristotle’s techniques of persuasion-ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional), and logos (logical) in regards to how President Obama used each of these techniques through video podcast, text messaging, and emails.

I decided to choose this topic because I am an Obama supporter but I also realize that rhetoric and politics coincide with one another. After exploring rhetoric in great detail in this course thus far, I realized that rhetoric is always incorporated into politics. Thus, I decided that there would be an abundance of information on rhetoric and the role that it plays in politics and technology. Actually, I was correct. I found tons of articles in both the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication and Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Also, our course text, On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civil Discourse will provide a lot of valuable information as well. Needless to say, I also thought that this topic would be quite interesting considering that Obama is the first 2.0 President; I must add that John helped me with his feedback as far as exploring this topic.

Although I chose to explore and research this particular idea, many ideas crossed my mind in regards to possible project topics. Initially, I wanted to explore the similarities between the rhetoric of Dr. King and President Obama because in my opinion they share so many similarities. However, I figured that I wanted to explore a topic that was a bit more precise. So, then I decided to research the rhetoric that President Obama used during the presidential campaign but this topic just seemed too broad; I felt that I needed to focus on one specific area. Thus, I decided that it would be interesting to “dig into” the strategies behind the first successful 2.0 campaign trail and then determine ways to incorporate some of the great rhetorical studies of Aristotle into my research.

In deciding on such a topic, I too had to ask myself “How am I going to “attack” this topic?” In reflecting on the Obama campaign trail, I discovered that I was persuaded to vote for him based off of his credibility (ethos), he appealed to my emotions (pathos), and his logic skills (logos).  I felt that Obama understood the pain that I was enduring yet I felt that his campaign also catered to my lifestyle. For instance, I wasn’t always able to catch his speeches or town halls on television because of my schedule but I knew that I could always have the option to tune into podcast. The idea of a presidential candidate using such technology made me feel that he understood the lifestyle of young professional Americans; thus he appealed to my emotions (pathos). Additionally, I received weekly emails and/or text messages updating Obama’s progress in regards to his plan; this helped me to realize that he was a credible person and one who could gain my trust (ethos).  Furthermore, I was enthused by the strategies that Obama planned to execute; even American troops were able to tune into podcast for town hall meetings from anywhere around the world to witnesses his logical approach and ask questions (logos).

As previously stated, Obama definitely used technology of the 21^st century as a rhetorical tactic to persuade American voters to vote for him. Further, he utilizes Aristotle’s persuasion techniques: ethos, pathos, and logos in his pursuit to become the first 2.0 president. Through my research, I hope to enlighten individuals on the true correlation between rhetoric and technology of the 21^st century by way of the savvy Obama campaign strategies.

Project update!

Last week, I decided that I was strongly considering doing my project on the rhetoric of President Obama’s campaign trail. I thought that this topic would be interesting because rhetoric is used in a great abundance in politics; its a part of the nature of that field.  HOWEVER, as of today, I’m really {drastically}considering changing my topic. I’m trying to determine how I would be able to apply rhetoric to the multitude of issues in the writing curriculum in Detroit Public School System. I really don’t know how I can go about doing this as of yet but I’ll keep you updated on my final decision.

Final Project!

So,  I’m thinking about doing my project on the rhetoric of President Obama’s  messages/speeches during the campaign trail as opposed to the rhetoric of Dr. Kings speeches or I might just stick to Obama.

Hello world!

Hi everyone,

I’m finally getting on the ball with this whole blogging thing; it’s all new to me!