Bush the Conservative p. 6
Experimental Findings
The quotes taken from the formal speeches of the President are listed in the Appendix under Roman numeral I. In the first example, President Bush was speaking to the Economic Club of Chicago – an elite group of economists. The first statement is a defense of his prior actions. As such, it mixes some factual information, such as “the signs of recession were real”, with some theoretical statements, such as “it gave the American economy a boost just at the right time”. These are not emotional statements, nor are they aimed at a specific group (technically, they are addressed to a specific audience, but the comments easily fit with any audience). The use of “tax relief” does have some note of latent emotional content, but in this context it is the repetition that stands out, not any emotional attachment. The same thing is true for “recession”.
The second statement from this speech is even less prone to emotionality. It is an attempt to gain support for further action, based on the success of previous ones. Specific phrases are not repeated, but there is a repetition of a theme. “Reduce income taxes” and “tax relief” from the first statement are turned into “tax rate reductions” and “tax cuts” in the second. In the first instance, lower taxes were used to escape from “recession”. In the second, they are used to speed up the “economic recovery” and “the pace of job creation”.
This first speech, then, seems fairly solidly a case of persuasive speech. The repetition is a rhetorical device that is used to tie the two phases – looking back and looking ahead – together. It provides a powerful logical argument – tax cuts saved us from a recession, and further tax cuts will make the economy stronger. It provides a good base observation against which to judge other speeches.
Go on to Page 7
The quotes taken from the formal speeches of the President are listed in the Appendix under Roman numeral I. In the first example, President Bush was speaking to the Economic Club of Chicago – an elite group of economists. The first statement is a defense of his prior actions. As such, it mixes some factual information, such as “the signs of recession were real”, with some theoretical statements, such as “it gave the American economy a boost just at the right time”. These are not emotional statements, nor are they aimed at a specific group (technically, they are addressed to a specific audience, but the comments easily fit with any audience). The use of “tax relief” does have some note of latent emotional content, but in this context it is the repetition that stands out, not any emotional attachment. The same thing is true for “recession”.
The second statement from this speech is even less prone to emotionality. It is an attempt to gain support for further action, based on the success of previous ones. Specific phrases are not repeated, but there is a repetition of a theme. “Reduce income taxes” and “tax relief” from the first statement are turned into “tax rate reductions” and “tax cuts” in the second. In the first instance, lower taxes were used to escape from “recession”. In the second, they are used to speed up the “economic recovery” and “the pace of job creation”.
This first speech, then, seems fairly solidly a case of persuasive speech. The repetition is a rhetorical device that is used to tie the two phases – looking back and looking ahead – together. It provides a powerful logical argument – tax cuts saved us from a recession, and further tax cuts will make the economy stronger. It provides a good base observation against which to judge other speeches.
Go on to Page 7
© 2004 by Xpatriated Texan
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