Rhetorical Analysis Of Barack Obama's Speech

Barack Obama, in his 2004 DNC Keynote speech, argues for John Kerry’s presidency, but fails to accomplish anything more than an emotionally manipulative plea. This is highlighted in his attempt to build credibility; he tries to garner sympathy from his audience through his tragic story, but hype aside nobody cares. His entire argument is based on “I believe, that this thing that won’t happen but sounds nice will happen.” It’s false, Obama knows these are hollow promises, yet he does care. The only thing that matters to Obama here is the cheer’s which he receives after every populist statement. One of the prominent ways Obama manipulates the emotions of his audience is blatantly shown when he quotes one of the most emotional documents for all Americans, the pride of all Americans the United States Declaration of Indepence. When quoting the line “[...] that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” he is manipulating the audience’s emotions with nefarious intentions. It fails to be anything more than a sad plea; preaching the line that all men are created equal does not, in any meaningful way, make all men equal.
The existence of these so-called people he has met in small towns, large towns, and diners, is undoubtedly questionable, and what they say seem to fit in line with pixel perfect caricatures of themselves. He claims to have met a father who “[...] was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on,” and even if he did, this story is nothing more than a manipulative story of the plight of America which democrats hold