Sara Anderson

Professor Jackson- Joseph

ENG 1302

2.15.17

Rhetorical Analysis

In Barack Obamas 2015 State of the Union address, he begins by addressing Congress

on one of the most important issues dealt with during his presidency, the economy and job

market. The purpose of the State of the Union address is to let the country and members of the

government what has gone on the past year and what plans on happening in the next year.

Former President Obama was set on discussing the economy, and the war in Iraq and

Afghanistan. The first topic mentioned in the State of the Union address is the fixed economy

and job market. Obama starts off by mentioning that America has recently undergone a

breakthrough in economic growth. He says the unemployment rate is lower than it was before

the financial crisis and more of our kids are graduating than ever before. He also mentions that

we, as Americans, are finally free from the grip of foreign oil in the last 30 years, which was

obviously a big deal for us Americans. Throughout this formal address, former President of the

United States tells us how strong we are for having endured all of this pain and tragedy as a

nation. All of this that is being told to us, live and in person is very exciting for America because

Obama had just fixed the financial crisis and stopped wars in Middle Eastern countries.

In addressing the nation, I believe that Obama hoped to prove to the American people that

he was not done. Almost as a reminder that even though he was doubted very much, he fixed the

economy and job market along with killing one of the worlds most feared criminals (Osama Bin

Laden). The purpose of this State of the Union address was to let the nation know that Obama

has not given up and he will keep working to fix the economy and job market and keep our
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Professor Jackson- Joseph

ENG 1302

2.15.17

country afloat. Obama had to find a way to appeal to many types of people to get his point across

and keep the people interested in what he is discussing. I do believe that Obamas focus was

more on an appeal towards the American citizens because if the people did not approve then

there would be no way for congress to approve anything the President wants to be passed

through the levels of Congress. If any President did not have the support of the people, there is

no possible way that Congress would pass bills. The citizens are the ones that call the

congressmen and persuade them and share their opinion with the congressmen to get the vote

that they want to be passed.

President Obama was able to use many appeals throughout this address to hook the public

into listening and really taking into account how he speaks to them. He uses all three appeals in

this speech, ethos, logos and pathos. An example of President Obama using ethos would be when

he spends a majority of the beginning of the speech discussing how he has and is going to fix the

economy. Obama fixed the crashing housing market, unemployment rates, and continued to try

and fix the economy until his last few days in office. This appealed to the ethos of people by

appealing to their ethics, they should feel ethically obliged to feel for Obama for basically fixing

the country. The logos aspect of this speech is an appeal to logic. Obama uses logical fixes and

explanations to talk to us as citizens directly. Obama speaks about the payment of job fairness in

our job market right now. Right now, there is unfair advantages for men in the job market.

Women are treated unfairly; we already do not get paid as much as men even when we do the

same jobs. All working people are harassed for taking sick and maternity leave days, and they are
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Professor Jackson- Joseph

ENG 1302

2.15.17

not getting paid at all for taking a sick day to watch their children if that is what they need. The

last appeal is pathos. In his appeal into the Pathos of the people, he shares personal anecdote of a

family that had a rough time through the 2008 and the next couple years. Former President of the

United States says You are the reason that I ran for this office, almost like they are the people

that sit out here and have life-altering stories that compelled Obama to run for office and help

those people out. He ties all of this back into fixing the economy. That heart-warming story is all

tied back into how that inspired Obama to fix our economy and how he came back 7 years later

and can say to the Erlenmeyer family that they inspired him to fix this issue.

Works Cited
Sara Anderson

Professor Jackson- Joseph

ENG 1302

2.15.17

Elving, Ron. "Obama Closes His Run Of Speeches To Congress With Appeal For
Broad Reform." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
Katz, Emily Tess. "Maternity Leave, Equal Pay And Affordable Childcare
Spotlighted In President Obama's State Of The Union Speech." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
"State of the Union 2015: Full transcript." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 31
Jan. 2017.