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Erika Arrojado
Professor Lori Bedell
12 October 2012
Why is the art of persuasion so important? Why do companies spend millions of dollars
on advertisements? The answer is this: the art of persuasion, namely rhetoric, has the power to
move people, to affect change. A two by three inch clip in a magazine could convince someone
to purchase a can of Coca-Cola. A 30 second sound bite on the radio could influence a person to
switch insurance companies. With a strong rhetorical strategy, a persons behavior or opinion
could very well change. This becomes especially important when it comes to presidential
campaigns. Every presidential poster, every advertisement in print, every campaign commercial
each has an impact on voters. These commercials are not simply trying to gain more revenue
for a company. They are trying to persuade an entire nation to choose the right future.
Consequently, presidential campaigns demand strong and effective rhetoric. In the 2008
presidential elections in which democrat Barack Obama and republican John McCain were
running, the DemocraticNational Committee produced a commercial entitled Better Off.
In this short commercial, the Democratic Party successfully wins votes by effectively employing
logical structure, condescending presentation of character, and complex emotional appeal.
With the intention of presenting a case of needed change, this commercial illustrates the
current dilemma that the state of American welfare is declining. At the time of this 2008
campaign, the nation had just entered a period of economic recession in December of the
previous year (Gross). Americans also struggled with other matters, such as high health care
costs, rising gas prices, and increasing unemployment rates (The Living Room Candidate). In
addition, based on a CNN article, more and more people were becoming increasingly unhappy
with President George W. Bush because of his unwavering involvement in the war in Iraq
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(Steinhauser). These issues certainly played a role in the voters opinions and subsequently in the
rhetoric of the campaign as well.
The premise that the narrator of the commercial presents is that America is in need of
change. Subsequently, the proposition that this advertisement is making is that McCain will not
bring the change that the country needs, which is why voters should vote for Barack Obama
instead. In order for the commercial to illustrate that, it presents McCains response to how
Americans were fairing presently compared to the past. The structure of this presentation is such
that after each of McCains claims, a statistic would appear that invalidated that specific claim;
each assertion was proceeded with a counter argument. Through this juxtaposition, McCain is
proven to be false on every account. It practically and logically follows that McCain cannot be
trusted as leader because of either his inability to recognize the struggle of American citizens or
his disposition to present dishonest information.
Furthermore, these false claims tap into some commonplaces of the American public,
which allows the logos of this structure to be more evident. For example, there is the idea that all
Americans should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; Americans should
be able to make a living and support themselves. McCain believes that the American public is
achieving this, but the commercial logically proves that instead, people are losing jobs and the
cost of living is increasing. When viewers realize that the commonplaces they once held are in
jeopardy, they will more readily accept the premise that things will not be better off with
McCain as president.
Not only does the logical proof present McCain as a flawed leader, but so does the ethical
proof. This commercial only uses one character for rhetorical persuasion and that character is
John McCain. Here, as was mentioned before, he is portrayed as a deceitful candidate. Outside of
this commercial, McCain held a respectable reputation. An online political article agreed that he
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was known as an independent Maverick and a war hero, after being a war prisoner in the
Vietnam War (Saad). By shedding a more negative light on this proclaimed hero, this
commercial succeeds in diminishing his credibility. In addition to his lies, his evident
unawareness of Americans current struggle also takes away from his credibility as a leader. A
voter is not going to choose a candidate that does not care for the people. After the evidence has
revealed McCains untruthful and insensible side, he no longer has the ethos to support his
character. This in turnboosts Barack Obamas credibility as the better candidate.
Aside from the use of character, this commercial also employs the use of time as a means
of rhetorical strategy. The opening of the commercial has a journalist asking McCain if
Americans are better off than they were 8 years ago?(Better Off). This specific timeline was
chosen for a reason. The eight years preceding the 2008 election belonged to the administration
of President Bush. Towards the end of his presidency, Bush was becoming more unpopular and
statistics showed that McCain voted with Bush about 90 percent of the time, as stated in the
Washington Post (Baker & Abramowitz). By connecting McCain to Bush and his 8 years of
presidency, the commercial further dismantles McCains credibility. Because of this association,
the American citizens that were tired and frustrated with the Bush administration would also feel
antipathy toward McCain. With McCains weakened ethos, Obama becomes the more credible
choice.
Finally, pathos also plays a part in the rhetorical strategies of this commercial. The
average American would be emotionally affected by the facts given to invalidate McCain. Those
who know what it is like to be unemployed would feel sympathy upon discovering that
employment has gone up. Those who own personal vehicles would be angered to find that they
are paying much more for gasoline. Already, the audience is stirred, but the emotional appeal is
then further enhanced through the delivery of information. A point to make about the delivery is
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Works Cited
Baker, Peter, and Michael Abramowitz. History and Necessity Unite Bush, McCain. The
Washington Post. The Washington Post Company, 9 Feb. 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Better Off. Commercial. The Living Room Candidate. 26 April 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Gross, Daniel. The Recession is Over? The Daily Beast. The Newsweek, 13 July 2009.
Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Saad, Lydia. McCain Widely Recognized as a War Hero. Gallup Politics. Gallup Inc., 28
April 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Steinhauser, Paul. Poll: Bushs Popularity Hits New Low. CNN Politics. Cable News Network,
19 March 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
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