Ethos and Inaugurals

                I have always been a fan of President Obama. I feel that, even if he hasn’t been the best president, he is a good man, with morals and ethics that I can stand behind. He loves his family, he’s not afraid to goof around and crack jokes about himself. I am not ashamed to say that I voted for him last November, and am happy that he is our president for another term. Reading through his impressive Inaugural Address, I believe that while he takes advantage of (and properly handles) many ethos, his greatest strength is his ability to connect with the American citizen.

President Obama takes advantage of imagery through words in his address. One piece in particular really stuck with me. “We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.”  He is painting a picture in your head of a common occurrence, something that happens all the time, and using it to prove his point, and show that he is only going to do good for his country. He gives everyone something they can recognize, something every American has experienced in some way, and it helps your confidence in him to grow.

“Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens.” That is how President Obama opens his address. I love the way that he says ‘fellow citizens’ rather than the many other ways he could have addressed them. He is showing that he considers himself an equal to everyone else living in this country. He doesn’t think that he is superior. Later on in his address, he starts each new thought ‘we, the people’, giving everyone the feeling of companionship. It’s not ‘what I can do for you’, it’s ‘what we can do for each other’. I think that is an amazing way to grab the audiences’ hearts and really connect with them.

There are many ways to misuse ethos in speeches. Some people are too happy, too sad, and too angry. They insult people, rather that appearing to sympathize with them. The president doesn’t do that though. He is consistent, and trustworthy, and his words reflect his actions every time.