Analysis of Obama’s Speech

            When making an un-bias decision on whether or not Obama’s speech was a well given argument or a poor one there are a few things we need to consider.  Obama knew going into the conference that he was going to be speaking to an audience that disagreed with his views on government and religion and that believed strongly in their religion and faith.  Therefore, as someone analyzing one must be careful that he discussed his topic in an ethical way and gave an argument that talked about the topic and not the people on the opposing side of the argument.           

            At the beginning of his speech Obama thanks them for speaking about justice and poverty and putting pressure on the government to find solutions to these problems.  He then makes a reference to the bible that speaks about poverty and how it relates.  This relates to the pathos of the audience showing that he understands the bible just like them, and therefore making them less guarded and more open to listening to him.  He explains how Mr. Keyes had called him out and said that he was not a true Christian.  Then he goes on to talk about how he is a true Christian and how religion is important in America because 90 percent of Americans believe in God.  This relates to the audiences ethos, because he is showing him his back round, character, and why he is a good person to listen to when discussing religion in politics.  This makes him seem like he is on the side of the audience, which further more helps his argument.

            Further down in his speech he starts to discuss how some of the greatest leaders were religious and gives examples of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, but then goes on to explain how faith is important and helps a person make their decision, but it should not be a part of the government.  This relates to the audiences logos, because the statements that he has made makes logical sense and gives a good argument that you do not need religion in government to lead people.

            Overall, Obama makes a good argument. Whether or not a person agrees or disagrees with the position he shown his audience how they can trust his judgment and character, along with relate to him and think like him.  He showed all the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos.