April 26

Barack Obama uses all three means of persuasion in his "More Perfect Union Speech", but his appeal to ethos gives him the most broad appeal to the audience. Barack discusses his family history, having a Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas.Obama is identifying with both races of the topic and almost living a double life gives him credibility in appealing to both races. Barack also works in the unity as an undercurrent using both his grandparents and his pastor into his life. Conveying his grandparents as staples to his upbringing, as well as his pastor being a big influence in his life brings a racial convergence proving Barack's point. Barack also uses his experience with his pastor to show the audience that he isn't a horrible person. Barack says" The man I met more than twenty years ago who helped introduce me to my christian faith", this gives Obama credibility by showing the audience that Obama knows this man exceptionally well and knows that his pastor should not only be credited with his questionable remarks. The seamless transitions between his "white life" and "black life" are also a key factor in bringing unity into his speech. Barack says " I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than my white grandmother", working both racial identities into a seamless transition with diction. Both use of diction and his ability to identify with both races show unity and again pronouncing his credibility to talk on behalf of both races.