Bush

Will Lang

Bush Paper

2/22/2013

In American history, there have only been a few attacks on United States soil from a different country. In September of 2001, the nation was turned upside down in grief and tragic loss of life of its own citizens. In response to these tragedies, President George W. Bush would craft together a speech to be delivered to a national audience nine days after the incident. Within this speech, Bush heavily relied on logos, pathos, and ethos. Similar to former United States Presidents, this speech would define and craft the general public’s view and opinion of their elected leader. In this speech, we are going to look into two important and different rhetorical crisis strategies. By understanding the epideictic and deliberative crisis strategies, rhetorical thinkers can start piecing together deeper meanings and ideas found in Presidential speeches. Both epideictic and deliberative crisis strategies have similar elements and common themes yet remain different in how they are defined. In his speech, George W. Bush used words, emotions, and discourse that directly relate to various functions described by Bonnie Dow in her article.

The first rhetorical strategy is titled the epideictic. This type of response is characterized by the speaker allowing the audience to reach communal understanding around the horrific events that just occurred. In the address to the nation, Bush is clearly trying to direct his audience to a mutual understanding and realization around the tragic events. Bush, “…we have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers, working past exhaustion. We have seen the unfurling of flags…we have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made

the grief of strangers their own.” In this short section in the beginning of the address to the nation, Bush uses “we” repeatedly in his writing. This directly relates to not only the core of the epideictic strategy, but a universal rhetorical...