Obama's Inaugural Address

During President Obama's Inaugural address, he spoke to his people, followers and opponents and attempted to get all of us to see that this country has a chance at a new beginning, and that it starts with his presidency. His speech was full of many different kinds of arguments, which I thought to be pretty effective in making an appeal to his audience. The first argument I took note of was when Obama said, "We are in the midst of a crisis..." He told us of the war and the economy being in shambles. This is an example of an argument to inform as well as an argument about the present and use of logical appeal. The purpose of this statement was to inform us that the U.S. is in a time of crisis during this day in age. I think this statement was effective because most everyone agrees that we are in a bit of a crisis and that our economy is going down the drain. Another argument made was about the quality of past presidents, using the statement that it is time to "claim an end to the petty grievences, false promises, recriminations and worn out dogmas that have strangled our politics." Along with this being an argument of the past, it is also an argument of evaluation where he used ethical appeal to effectively reach out to his audience, especially his supporters. Another argument of evaluation where he used ethical as well as emotional appeal was when he said, "Our time of standing patent, protecting narrow interests, putting off unpleasant decisions has passed and we must begin the work of remaking America." Here he is obviously critcising past presidents and evaluating their work. This was effective because in criticising his "opponent" his status and image has now gone up. Obama made an argument using facts to inform us about the past. He said, "Greatness must be earned- it has been the makers, do-ers and risk-takers. For us they packed up in search of a new life... plowed the hard earth, fought and died for us... so that we might live a better life." I think he used strong logical and emotional appeals here in order to get his audience to raise up and take pride in their ancestors and pasts and to also get excited about their futures. The last argument here was a proposal and one to explore as well. He said we need to raise healthcare quality and lower its cost, use alternative resources as well as improve schools, colleges, and universities. I think he used emotional and ethical appeals here by presenting ideas and values that both him and his audience share.