Thread by @bespokespeeches

Phenomenal speech by Barack Obama at the DNC. Amusingly, whilst he begins the speech promising to speak ‘as plainly as [he] can’, his speech is actually packed to the brim with the classical rhetorical techniques which are his hallmark.
pbs.org/newshour/polit…

So, firstly, the speech follows an off the shelf structure which comes straight from classical rhetoric. It’s one I recommended in my book for political speeches. There are six steps to the structure...

1. Exposition of theme - what’s at stake
2. Narrative history - constitution signed in Philly
3. Division - the choice(s) we face - Joe or Trump
4. Argument in support - Biden good/Trump bad
5. Refutation - to those who are disillusioned...
6. Climax - Vote like never before!

Also, the speech is full of rhetorical devices like the rule of 3. Take this sentence alone. ‘We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect and defend [our] freedoms...’ More! More! More!

Also extensive repetition, where he repeats the opening clause of successive phrases. [Trump] has shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends’.

And check out the use of breathless sentences to create urgency. ‘Black Americans chained and whipped and hanged. Spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters. Beaten for trying to vote.’ This technique makes it sound like Obama is actually hyperventilating!

I also love that whilst he opens the speech promising to speak as plainly as he can, the style actually veers towards the sublime, addressing issues of the present but being deeply rooted in powerful and timeless values from the past: decency, fairness and justice.

The speech is peppered with religious imagery. He mentions Trump’s attacks on ‘who we worship’ against how Biden’s ‘faith has endured’. He speaks about how important the ‘sacred right to vote’ is in these ‘dark times’. The final two words of the speech are ‘God bless.’

Conclusion - Obama smashed it out of the park, as he always does, and as Bernie Sanders’ DNC speech earlier this week. BUT it should provide no comfort at all to Team Biden that much of the energy in this campaign is coming from people other than Biden.