My Writing 20
class focused on
the concept of
rhetoric. Loosely
defined, rhetoric
is the art of
persuasion. For
Aristotle, it was
meant to examine how efficiently speakers could convince their
audience of a particular point. In modern times, it can be applied to almost
anything—from marketing to movies
to elections.
I chose to write about Obama’s
famous speech on race, “A More Perfect
Union,” because I was amazed at the
emotion he inspired as a candidate in
2008. He shared an incredible energy
with the American people, an energy
that I believe was the main reason he
won the election. I found myself wondering what it was that made people
so moved by just one man.
I found that the answer was intrinsically linked to who Obama was—his
race, his background, and his story—
a conclusion I could not have reached
without the outstanding help of my
professor, Dr. Holly Ryan. For so many
people, especially blacks but also the
entire Baby Boom generation that
fought for Civil Rights and change over
forty years ago, Obama was the product
of the America they dreamed about
when they were young. His ability to
connect with young people, too,
demonstrated that maybe America had
finally moved beyond race after all.
This speech is by no means the only
time these themes were brought up in
the campaign. Starting from Obama’s
address to the Democratic Convention
in 2004, and through to the end of his
campaign and beginning of his
Presidency, the message has been relatively the same. I think that this
speech in particular, however, is the
most comprehensive treatment of the
topic, and was certainly, in 2008, the
most noticed.
10
A New Dream: Barack Obama and the
Rhetoric of “A More Perfect Union”
Paul Vanderslice
Writing 20 (Spring 2010): Aristotle’s Bringing Sexy Back
Professor Holly Ryan
I
n 2008, Barack Hussein Obama, a mixed-race former community organizer
from Chicago’s inner-city, who had served half of a term in the U.S. Senate,
ran an insurgent campaign and was elected President of the United States,
defeating two of the nation’s biggest political heavyweights, Hillary Clinton
and John McCain. The long shot contender emerged on the national political
scene at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Virtually unknown at the time, Obama
was asked by the Kerry campaign to give the keynote address, a speech that became a
smash hit with political insiders (Fornek 7; “July 27, 2008”) and catapulted his name
into conversations about his party’s future (Cornwell). Like many politicians before
him, Obama’s rhetoric played a decisive role in his rise to prominence.
But more than any of those predecessors, Obama’s rhetoric focused on his unique ethnic heritage. His campaign constantly
The son of a Kenyan immigrant and a woman from emphasized that he was
Kansas, Obama spoke movingly about how his
ancestry and upbringing shaped his view of Amer- the man who could revive
ica. His story reaffirmed the immigrant’s ideal, the spirit and promise
describing his father’s view of America as a “beaof America and create a
con of freedom and opportunity” (Obama, “Out of
Many”). He discussed how his parents believed deep- nation that held true to
ly in the opportunities America could offer to him its original values.
as a young child, and how his life’s story would have
been impossible in any other country. Obama reminded the audience of the potential
held within their nation and within themselves through the rhetoric “of renewal, of
hope, of reaffirmation” (Elahi and Cos 463). He also complemented the ideas and
personal identity set out in his autobiography, Dreams From My Father. The book took
readers through Obama’s childhood amongst a white, suburban community, his move
to Indonesia, and his young adulthood in a black Chicago neighborhood. Obama’s
story demonstrated the complexities of racial identity in America, particularly highlighting anxieties felt by black Americans. The uniqueness of the perspective outlined
in his books and speeches, in combination with its almost universal accessibility, made
him a subject of national attention and curiosity during his tenure in the Senate.
Obama continued to elucidate these themes over the next three years, culminating
in his announcement of his Presidential candidacy. In Springfield, Illinois, he reflected
on how, while serving in the State Senate, he saw the importance of cooperation and
understanding in political atmosphere involving “farmers and teachers, businessmen
PENN STATE PUBLIC INFORMATION
and laborers, all of them with a story to tell, all of
them seeking a seat at the table, all of them clamoring
to be heard” (Obama, “Announcement”). This mentality would have to be carried to the White House, he
argued, so that Americans could focus on “reclaiming
the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of
common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can
withstand the power of millions of voices calling for
change” (Obama, “Announcement”). This announcement outlined the basic messages of hope, change, and
renewal that Obama would focus on for the next year
and a half. His campaign constantly emphasized that
he was the man who could revive the spirit and
promise of America and create a nation that held true
to its original values.
Central to this message was the notion that
Obama could be a unifying force. This idea was
threatened when videos of his pastor, mentor, and
long time friend Jeremiah Wright delivering controversial and at times offensive sermons surfaced.
Wright suggested, among other things, that America
was to blame for the September 11th attacks and that
the government deliberately infected blacks with
AIDS. These comments called into question the idea
that Obama was not a prototypical “black candidate” and that he may not have possessed the unique
and appealing perspective that his carefully constructed public image had suggested. To rectify the
situation, he gave a speech entitled “A More Perfect
Union,” which not only rebuked Wright’s comments
and clarified the two men’s relationship, but also
delved into an unexpected, complex, and nuanced
discussion of their context and that of race relations
as a whole. In the speech Obama expressed a grand
vision of the ideal American society.
Since Obama’s election, many historians and
commentators have tried to explain how this previously unknown and relatively inexperienced dark
horse won one of the most complicated and unique
elections (Heilemann and Halperin 15) in American
history. David Chemerinsky and Kimberly Kisabeth
suggest that Obama’s victory was a result of his campaign’s novel treatment of his race, a prime example
of which is “A More Perfect Union.” Obama’s success in “walking a tightrope — in winning the support of African American voters without sacrificing
the votes of ‘mainstream Americans’” (Chemerinsky
and Kisabeth 616), they argue, was the key to his
11
dent, Johnny Bernard Hill remarks that Obama
“is an expression of the fulfillment of the American dream” (1). Hill argues that Obama’s
election may be the climax of the Civil Rights
Movement. By crossing the “color line” into
the highest possible office, Obama himself is a
symbol of the end of the historical arc that
began when W.E.B. DuBois predicted, “the
problem of the twentieth century would undoubtedly be the problem of the color line”
(Hill 5) and embodies all the racial strife and
progress of the last century.
While Hill correctly argues that Obama
brought new meaning to the American dream
and that Obama holds a place within the manifestation of that meaning, Hill neglects to
describe the characteristics of Obama’s interpretation of a rather broadly defined concept or
discuss the rhetorical methods by which he
defines this symbol. For politicians like Obama,
it is important to persuade audiences of a particular conclusion, especially in situations with
many possible interpretations, such as the definition of the American dream. In “The Myth of
the Rhetorical Situation,” scholar Richard Vatz
theorizes that when representing a situation
through any rhetorical medium, a rhetor can
give special emphasis to certain components,
while omitting others, and craft a manipulated
vision of the subject known as the “rhetorical
Obama’s rhetoric does not just create a “permission structure”; situation.” He quotes Chaim Perelman, who
it portrays Obama as the “natural outgrowth of American values” says, “By the very fact of selecting certain elements and presenting them to the audience,
and persuades the audience that his election would fit in with an their importance and pertinency to the discusAmerican history defined by progress and improvement. sion are implied. Indeed such a choice endows
these elements with a presence” (qtd. in Vatz
Obama discusses the American dream from the 157). In any scenario, there are innumerable
perspective derived from his unique back- ways to describe or approach the objective realground and upbringing. Obama establishes a ity, meaning “one never runs out of context”
unique perspective by drawing on the influence (Vatz 156). Rhetors have nearly limitless opof his African father, who was ambitious de- tions of how to present a scenario, and may
spite “growing up in a humble African exis- define the situation as whatever rhetorical situtence” (Elahi and Cos 461) and viewed Amer - ation best suits their goals. In political rhetoric,
ica as a “magical place” (Obama, “Out of it is common to see activists and politicians
Many”). He reminds people what America and tactfully select to emphasize various compothe American dream symbolize in a larger nents of the factual or conceptual space. They
sense, as it applies to, in Obama’s words, “the focus the attentions of their audience on a parhope of immigrants setting out for distant ticular set of factors related to the subject from
shores…or the hope of a skinny kid with a an almost infinite collection of possibilities.
funny name who believes that America has a This highlights one key conceptual region within an infinitely large space of options.
place for him too” (Obama, “Out of Many”).
In “A More Perfect Union,” Obama creates
Aside from simply discussing this concept,
many observers have noted that Obama him- a number of rhetorical situations. He reshapes
self has not just a fresh perspective on the the context in which Reverend Wright’s inAmerican dream, but may indeed be a compo- flammatory remarks were made and, more exnent of a modernized version of this concept. tensively, reshapes the larger situation of the
In the introduction to The First Black Presi - American experience to define the American
electoral victory. They suggest that Obama
appealed to white voters by establishing a
“permission structure,” defined by The New
Republic’s Jason Zengerle as the pursuit of
“endorsements from respected individuals
or institutions that whites put a lot of stock
in” (qtd. in Chemerinsky and Kisabeth 617).
In doing so, Obama neutralized white racism
and fears about his inexperience. While
Chem er insky and Kisabeth do successfully
show Obama’s well-designed racial strategy,
they present a race-centric argument that focuses on how the campaign offset the effects
of a potential negative without giving an explanation of the positives that carried Obama
to the White House.
Obama’s rhetoric does not just create a
“permission structure”; it portrays Obama as
the “natural outgrowth of American values”
(Hehner 29) and persuades the audience that
his election would fit in with an American history defined by progress and improvement.
Obama seeks to demonstrate that he was not
an outsider, but “a part of the righteous American tradition of change” (Hehner 23).
Perhaps the most prominent and important
recurring message in Obama’s rhetoric is found
within his discussion of the American dream.
In his 2004 convention speech, for instance,
12
PENN STATE PUBLIC INFORMATION
dream. To do so, he draws upon his ethos
(appeal based on character) as a mixed race
American. This analysis provides both a practical understanding of Obama’s American dream
symbol and a rhetorical understanding of the
role that a particular technique, in this case
ethos, can play in the construction of rhetorical situations by politicians. In “A More Perfect Union,” Obama employs ethos so as to
define two rhetorical situations, one that relates to Wright’s comments, and the other that
shapes the vision of America into which his
definition of the American dream fits.
Through the force of his personality, Obama
quells the immediate political implications of
the Wright controversy by defining a friendly
rhetorical situation in which it occurs. Obama
decries the “caricature” of Wright in the media
based only on “the snippets of those sermons
that [run] in an endless loop on the television sets
and YouTube” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”).
In his defense, Obama shares with his audience
a passage from Dreams From My Father de scribing his moving first experience in Wright’s
church. Using this quote risked damaging his
ethos by placing emphasis on a deeply personal link between the two. However, through the
use of a rhetorical technique known as “recontextualization,” Obama actually seeks to deconstruct and re-envision the Wright controversy by associating its events and actors with
more positive elements. Establishing this link
places Wright in a positive contextual space
surrounding Obama’s spiritual awakening and
the formation of a major part of his ethos. He
explains Wright’s background, saying he “came
of age in the late ’50s and ’60s, a time when
segregation was still the law of the land,” and
that “for the men and women of Reverend
Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away;
nor has the anger and the bitterness of [the
Jim Crow] years” (Obama, “More Perfect
Union”), assertions licensed by his ethos as
Wright’s friend. Categorizing Wright into a
generational group mitigates his responsibility
for the comments by suggesting that they are
merely part of a trend of generational reverse
racism, a pattern of distrust or resentment for
whites by blacks born in the Jim Crow era.
Obama also draws a parallel between
Wright’s opinions and white racism, saying, “I
can no more disown [Wright] than I can disown
my white grandmother…a woman who once
In “A More Perfect
Union,” Obama
reshapes the larger
situation of the
American experience
to define the
American dream.
13
14
confessed her fear of black men who passed her on the tution has twenty-seven amendments, Obama only
street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered refers to improvements with regards to civil rights. The
racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe” most significant element of the Constitution is “equal
(Obama, “More Perfect Union”). He argues that, like citizenship under law” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”).
Obama frames the Constitution as a mandate for a
Wright’s generation of blacks, working middle-class
whites born around the same time as Wright are society founded on equal rights, an assessment that,
frustrated by the sacrifices forced by programs like while not invalid, focuses on one aspect of the docuAffirmative Action they have to make “because of ment to the exclusion of many others. To explain this
an injustice that they never themselves committed” narrow focus, he says, “This belief comes…from
(Obama, “More Perfect Union”). In Obama’s rhe- my own story…I am the son of a black man from
torical situation, racism is exclusively a generational Kenya and a white woman from Kansas…I am marcharacteristic, not a personal failure. This excuses ried to a black American who carries within her the
Obama’s relationship with the pastor by characteriz- blood of slaves and slave owners” (Obama, “More
ing his views as relatively on par with those of others Perfect Union”). Here Obama draws on his ethos in
from similar backgrounds and limiting Wright’s per- order to present his perspective as uniquely derived
from his background. He gently suggests to his audisonal responsibility for his comments.
Obama’s subsequent endeavor in this speech to ence that they could not relate to the experience that
apply the same treatment to the American dream is has brought him to this viewpoint. But he goes on to
say, “your dreams don’t have
more complex. The dream
to come at the expense of my
holds a unique place in the
dreams” (Obama, “More Peridea of American culture and
fect Union”). Oba ma paints
life, serving as a uniting cona picture of the American
cept in the identity and outDream in which he is both the
look of the people of the
key manifestation of the nanation (Cullen). The rhetorition’s promise and also one
cal situation of Obama’s verstory among many. His elecsion of the American dream is
tion, then, would mark the
that of an America whose valnext step on the road to full
ues are rooted in its Con Obama places the Constitution
equality — both because of its
stitution, the primary function
uniqueness and because of its
of which is to ensure an equal
and U.S. history into a rhetorical
representativeness. Whereas in
experience for all Americans,
situation in which his election
Obama’s view America has
on top of an interpretation of
would help the nation achieve
en deavored to perfect the
American history that defines
union in the past, “through
the dominant narrative as that
its dream.
protests and struggles, on the
of the pursuit of that equal experience, the movement for individual rights, a per- streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil
spective that he develops through his ethos. Obama disobedience” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”), that
signals that he intends to make his speech about more progress has slowed. Today, in his view, the country is
than race by beginning with a quote from the Con- unable to fix its issues of equality of experience due to
stitution, “We the people, in order to form a more per- “a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years”
fect union” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”). He later (Obama, “More Perfect Union”). To get out of this
defines the document as “a Constitution that promised stalemate, Obama proposes that he serve as a stand-in
its people liberty and justice,” and subsequent at- for the nation’s progress. His election would mark a
tempts to better adhere to its principles as “[narrow- giant step towards fulfilling that ideal of equality
ing] the gap between the promise of our ideals and the laid out in the Constitution. Indeed, Obama places
reality of their time” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”). the Constitution and U.S. history into a rhetorical sitHe recontextualizes the Constitution, transforming it uation in which his election would help the nation
from a legal document to a “promise of ideals.” In this achieve its dream.
Obama’s American dream envisions a post-racial
situation, the Constitution is a reference manual for
the nation’s values. According to Obama’s reading, society that promotes economic justice for all indi“the document…was ultimately unfinished. It was viduals. This dream emanates from his ethos and idestained by this nation’s original sin of slavery,” a stain alizes his own perspective and experience. In the conthat needed “successive generations who were willing text of the Wright controversy, Obama argues that
to do their part” in order to improve a flawed “union the way to move forward is to say “Not this time,”
that could and should be perfected over time” to a dialogue that “tackle[s] race only as spectacle”
(Obama, “More Perfect Union”). Though the Consti - (Obama, “More Perfect Union”), and to open up to
a dialogue that considers the perspectives of both
races. Scholar Robert Terrill’s analysis of Obama’s
speech cites his main success as crossing the racial
divide and fully elucidating both perspectives on the
issues, using what W.E.B. DuBois labeled “double
consciousness” (Terrill 364), a skill he is granted by
his biracial ethos. This suggests that Obama himself is
the key to the future of the dream. Further, he suggests
that those who fought for the dream in the past, mostly civil rights crusaders, embodied the hope in the
future inherent to the American dream, and that “one
of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this presidential campaign [was] to continue the long march of
those who came before us” (Obama, “More Perfect
Union”), showing that he presented himself as the logical next step in the trajectory of American history. In
Obama’s idealized America, notions of economic fairness for individuals trump corporate concerns. His
conversation about moving forward includes a racial
dialogue, but it also argues, “the lines in the emergency room are filled with [those] who do not have
health care…the shuttered mills…the homes for
sale…[and] that the corporation you work for will
ship [your job] overseas for nothing more than a profit” (Obama, “More Perfect Union”). The casual inclusion of these politically oriented ideals stems from
Obama’s rhetorical definition of a Constitution that
serves to protect individual rights, at the expense of
the insurance companies, banks, and companies that
he vilifies. Further associating himself with this
dream, all of these suggestions were core components
of his presidential platform. Obama’s American dream
outlines a specific vision of the nation, of which
Obama is himself an embodiment.
Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union” is a
case study in the use of ethos to construct “rhetorical situations,” and it defines the American dream
that rhetoricians attribute to his electoral success.
Throughout his treatment of both Wright and the
American dream, he employs the technique of recontextualization to change the implications of various
concepts. The political environment in which he gave
his speech necessitated that he place Wright’s comments within a more favorable rhetorical situation
than they had been presented in by the media, while
the imperatives of his interpretation of the American
dream as a post-racial society modeled after his own
social outlook compelled him to recontextualize
American history and the Constitution. The design of
both these rhetorical situations was driven by the
application of his ethos. This definition of the American dream places the presidency and outlook of
Obama in a new light. By understanding what he sees
as the Constitution’s imperatives, the motivations
behind his rhetorical decisions become clear. And this
clarity raises the question — did Americans vote for
Obama the man or for Obama the dream? Works Cited
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