Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2004 Rnc Speech
Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech given at the 2004 Republican National Convention was clearly of persuasive intent supporting the current President, George W. Bush and the Republican Party. His rhetorical purposes throughout the speech involve not only the encouragement to vote for Bush in the 2004 Presidential election but also to support him in his past leadership choices and possible future decisions. Schwarzenegger also clearly states his intentions to give other immigrants and Americans the same opportunities that he was given and will do this by believing in and supporting the Republican Party. We see here that he focuses his speech on an audience which he addresses as "my fellow Americans". Although he seems to be speaking to all American citizens, he actually focuses in on the Republican citizens and even identifies different sub-groups of his targeted audience. These sub-groups, consisting of his "fellow immigrants" as well as those Americans who are strong Republicans and those who agree with only some Republican beliefs, narrow his intended audience even more. Upon identifying his audience, he centers his message and rhetorical purposes around them to reinforce their Republican beliefs and create a feeling of pride in America. It is his belief and intention to convince the audience that this pride in America is a result of having a Republican for our president. Schwarzenegger uses a variety of strategies and methods throughout his speech to enhance his message. Many of these strategies and methods coincide with the 7 P's of rhetoric that we previously studied. His speech is set within a political convention, rallying the audience to get their voices heard. The audience I described earlier allows this speech to fulfill the public aspect as Schwarzenegger shares his own beliefs with them in hopes that they will help to make a difference that he cannot do alone. He clearly accomplishes the propositional aspect of rhetoric by stating that he