“Frenemies” constructive language n. phrasing a potentially negative message in a positive way.
Unification is a concept central to the foundation of America. In order to gain independence from Great Britain, the American colonies needed to join together, and fight side by side. However, during the election of 2004, most Americans did not have a collaborative mindset. Republican candidate President George W. Bush ran against the Democratic candidate John Kerry for the position of President of the United States. Although the attack on America on September 11, 2001 brought about a period of increased nationalism, it also resulted in many political and economic problems that created tension between political parties. Economically, much of their…show more content… Clinton had given his speech at the Democratic Convention of 2004 on July 26th-- one day before Obama’s keynote address. Clinton was president four years earlier, and was viewed as a man with high regard. His speech greatly reflected the political tensions of the time. The former president chose to further polarize the two political parties by vilifying and ridiculing the decisions and policies of the Republicans while praising that of the Democrats. His address put Obama in a very difficult position. The young senator could have either followed the former President’s mentality and continue to denounce the Republicans, or address all Americans and convince them to let go of their hostilities. Choosing the latter, Obama faced the challenge of enforcing democratic values and policies, while simultaneously arguing for the unity between the two…show more content… He states, “now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us-- the spin master, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of ‘anything goes’”(3). Because of the tensions during this period, both parties knew that they were responsible for causing at least a portion of the divisions. Obama omits directly blaming either party. Instead, he highlights the harmful qualities of one that wants to divide America through amplification and scesis onomaton. Consequently, he invokes pathos in the minds of the listeners-- they do not want to be categorized as one of the people previously described. Furthermore, Obama poses rhetorical questions using antithesis such as “Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?” (3) to explain that instead of having the two parties fight against each other, both could work together to reach America’s founding ideals and allow Americans to attain the American
