Rhetorical Artifact: Obama’s State of the Union Speech Analysis

Rhetorical Artifact: Obama’s State of the Union Speech
President Obama’s speech about the state of the union speech was supposed to address different issues, which affected the national development agenda. “We should not fear the future, but shape it,” was one of the president’s statements. Indeed, Americans were undergoing an economic depression that left everyone afraid of what would come. The importance of the state of the Union Address in 2016 lied in the fact that the president was going to address some of the issues that could affect the future of the United States. The white house provided that the address was accessible as possible to all the Citizens.
Therefore, the particular speech under discussion bore particular value as it offered an opportunity to reassure people about the brighter future of America and make them believe that the worst of economic as well as political crisis all around the world has already been passed. The artifact that President Obama delivered was state of union address. The speech came at a time when America needed answers to questions such as why was the economy rising. Indeed, the speech was important for a considerable number of people within and without the country.  It’s important for us to look at the state of the union speech because it was a final address of Obama as a president to the nation before the US Congress that can be considered as an attempt to leave behind a positive legacy for the politician. This speech in particular because it was the last opportunity for Obama to convey his views to the Americans and to the rest of the world with the rhetorical measures of the public speaking. It is significant to analyze the speech by Barack Obama in order to determine how the president managed to utilize the rhetorical appeals to restore the confidence of American citizens in his style of governance and illustrate how the government managed with the existing political problems. The essay entails the description and justification of the President Obama speech about the state of the union. The latter focuses on the four rhetorical approaches, which includes ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos.
Description of the artifact
President Obama expected to address certain events, such as violence with firearms that recently has increased in the US, and the acceptance of refugees. The pressing issues in the country that needed to be talked about were the war in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism. The artifact is a speech given by President Barack Obama while addressing the state of the union on January 12, 2016. It was imperative to look at the address since it was meant to let the nation comprehend the current development of the entire country. Moreover, Obama wanted to inform the nation about his plans to steer the country to the next level. The speech was delivered in the Congress house where people of different professional background thronged. Considering the political and economic situation, the president’s statement was expected to focus on how to cope up with a political challenge. Nearly, all the congressional representatives attended the occasion that kept the entire nation at a standstill. During the presentation, CNN, CBS, and ABC are some of the major Television Networks that aired the event. According to the White House website, “an approximate of 30 million people followed the proceeding” (The White House). The speech was important since it provided an opportunity for the president to address the nation on the key projects that he had initiated and responds to different sectors such as the economic and political sectors.
Justification of the Study
The function of the state of the union is to show what goals were reached by the Presidents and his Administration, and which are still in the process of achievement. It should be noted that the president responsible not only to the Congress but to the whole American nation. Therefore, the audience of the artifact includes not only the citizens of the US but the whole world, because the President stated the issues of the international relations in his speech. According to Bernard Yack, the author of Rhetoric and Public Reasoning, he states that “Artifacts are objects and items of cultural and historical interest” (417). Yack also mentions that “speech can be considered a rhetorical artifact if it manifests the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos can be viewed as the function of a particular audience if it is to be effective.” (Yack 417). Barak Obama’s speech clearly supports this concept. His arguments about the state of union appeal to the emotions and values of the audience. Another reason to choose this particular artifact was that Obama was careful not to appear manipulative and not to endanger his credibility. It is true that this speech will be fresh on American’s mind since it was spoken with a high level of formality that targeted issues that affected the state Union.
The address was selected because of the presence of Ethos, which referred to the character of the speaker. During his presentation at the national congress, he appeared trustworthy in his words. In A Critical Analysis of Obama’s Rhetorical Strategies: Rethinking the Rhetorical Strategy, Kato Takuya points out that Obama “remained optimistic and urged people to embrace diversity innovation and follow the rule of the law” (Takuya). He remained credible and trustworthy by using the right tone. Moreover, the speech was remarkable since it was calm, and the tonal variation was apparent which reinforced his points.
Yack explains that “Logos involves a logic argument; therefore, an eloquent speech should be organized in a clear, logical, and coherent manner. Indeed, if an argument is illogical the audience may not comprehend” (417). As such, President Obama’s speech on the state of the union was cohesively delivered. His points were coherent that allowed the audience to understood his words. He began with an introduction where he saluted everybody in a chronological order. His points are well articulated and flowed smoothly; hence, creating easy understanding. Indeed, through Logos, the message created a view that the president was unflinchingly committed to ensuring appropriate solutions to America’s economic and political issues.
Obama’s speech was time bound hence exhibiting the concept of Kairo. He gave the speech in the right tone that kept everyone glued to him. As such, his statement grabbed the attention of the nation. The timing came out of his speech hence correlating to Kairos. For example, the president alludes “spirit that made the progress for last seven years is possible.” According to the White House website, President Obama “reassured the audience that he would focus in the future to recover the economic crisis that America experienced” (The White House). Besides, this statement had a positive impact on the nationals since they felt that they too had contributed to the development of the nation. Citizens were able to understand the current situation and the strategies to solve them. Obama’s speech included all the styles involved in catching the attention of the audience.
What is more, the speech may help one to gain an understanding of a particular condition since it involved the use of rhetorical concepts such logos and kairos. Based on these arguments, one is able to understand the political and economic status of the country. It is a fact that the election period is coming and President Obama wants to leave the office with a good record. Moreover, other candidates such Trump are campaigning to get the presidential ticket. Therefore, the speech responds to these issues by enabling the nationals to understand the role of a leader in steering the nation.
Conclusion
The artifact that President Obama delivered was the state of the union address. The speech came at a time when Americans needed answers to questions such as why was the economy rising. The speech was delivered in the national congress assembly where audiences from different backgrounds attended. The speech qualified to be an artifact because it followed the rules and procedures of literary presentation. Four rhetorical appeals emerged in the presidential statement that guaranteed it a rhetorical artifact. They include ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. In fact, the rhetorical appeals have been utilized in the justification of the use of speech as a rhetorical artifact.

Works Cited
The White House. President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address. Web. 7 July 2016. <https://medium.com/the-white-house/president-obama-s-2016-state-of-the-union- address-7c06300f9726#.kkt65ulfj>
Takuya, Kato. "A Critical Analysis of Barack Obama’s Rhetorical Strategies: Rethinking the Rhetorical Presidency". A Critical Analysis of Barack Obama’s Rhetorical Strategies (2016): Print.
Yack, Bernard. “Rhetoric and Public Reasoning: An Aristotelian Understanding of Political Deliberation.” Political Theory, 34.4 (2006): 417-438. Print.