In-class Assignment I

In the video below, a politician expresses his personal anxieties to his advisors before he changes his attitude while addressing reporters in a news conference. This furthers my understanding of rhetoric because during his time on screen, the politician shows awareness of his audience and he tries to appeal to them with persuasion and carefully chosen language. Although he is disapointed that none of the reporters were present at an urban development project's debut that morning, he spins it in his direction by mentioning it again during this conference, which is otherwise called to address serial anonymous murders. Since this violent issue attracted more press, he brings the press's attention to what good his administration is doing. He addresses the audience, a group of reporters, directly, and by persuading them with the dangers a violent criminal poses to a community, the lack of morality a society must have to allow such a criminal to continue, and the helplessness of the murderder's victims, he is demonstrating pathos and ethos.

It's a super good rhetoric video, and you can watch it too. If you click, that is.