In Response

Like Jacquinna I, too, analyzed President Bill Clinton’s rhetorical strategies in his speech given on September 11, 1998, to the clergy at the annual White House prayer breakfast. Jacquinna makes a valid point—one that I did not notice or include in my own response. Jacquinna says, "Early in the speech Clinton connects with his listeners through ethos by establishing himself as an honest, average man…This is simple but shows that he is a regular man who does regular things and ultimately makes mistakes." In reading back over President Clinton’s speech, Jacquinna’s point is crucial to the entire effectiveness of President Clinton’s address to the clergy. Though he continues the theme of forgiveness and repentance throughout, underlying his confessions seems to be an attitude of ‘Hey, I’m human, too.’ The problem with this is, however, that though he would have liked for us to have simply excused him as an average man who makes mistakes the position he held required that he exceed the "average man" to uphold a higher moral standard as a model leader and representative of the country. However, as I said in my own response and as Jacquinna seems to say too, President Clinton’s speech is, rhetorically, very effective. At that point, only time would tell the sincerity of his heart (or the determination of his will) to make amends.