David and Bush

David,
I enjoyed your very colorful presentation on the rhetoric of Bush and his speeches. It was obvious that you did alot of research in the area, first point out the Bush-isms and then moving into the various speeches that you analysed.

I thought showing those pictures were a great touch. The poictures themselves had a ton opf rhtoris associated with them along with turly exemplifying the attitude that many Americans have concerning Bush and his presidency.

You outlined the aspects that Bush most adheres to in his speeches, and pointed out that he creates ethos for himself by refering to other past presidents. Once you began analyzing the speeches, I definatley saw that aspect of his rhetoric. He, in many cases, refered to other presidents in his speeches. I particularly enjoyed, and found humurous whne faced with an example, how he really does briong himself "down to his audience." The example you gave when he went to talk to the children at their school and said something along the lines of "thanks for letting an old guy come and talk to you," I was really shocked. I've heard in other speeches where he has obviously lowered himself down to "the common man's level" but I had not heard such a blatant comment like that before your presentation.

You also showed many examples of Bush using pathos and logos in his speeches. He appeals emotionally to his audience constantly in all of his speeches. I feel like the two biggest crutches are his use of pathos and depending on the ethos of others who "share his beleifs" on certain issues.

Overall, I thought you did an effective job getting across the rhetoric of Bush and I REALLY enjoyed the pictures you presented. They were definately a nonverbal message that come through loud and clear on people's feelings about our president.