George W. Bush Persuasive Speech

Within his first year as president, George W. Bush experienced the single most deadly conflict on U.S. soil in the history of the nation. On the morning of September 11th, a series of attacks in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania left nearly 3,000 Americans dead and shook the foundations of the nation. In his national address that evening, Bush ultimately mourned the loss suffered by the United States and sympathized with those directly impacted by the violence. Although the speech may be conceived as primarily serving as a eulogy for a grief-stricken country, Bush’s overarching goal rested with the future actions that would be taken; his premise was to expedite the rally effect of such a national crisis to provide the fuel …show more content…
The Bush campaign appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States to delay the recount until case proceedings could move forward. On December 12th, the Court ruled on the matter reversing the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to mandate a recount thus awarding the Floridian electoral votes to Bush and naming him the de facto victor of the election narrowly edging Gore by an electoral vote margin of 271 to 266. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Stevens fumed at the Court’s decision to rule on the matter, “one thing ... is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law” (McBride, para. 5). The most blatant controversy surrounding Bush v. Gore is related to the Court’s decision to make a ruling in the face of precedent that states that the judiciary must remain impartial to the vices of the political sphere. The question as to whether or not the Court overstepped its boundaries will remain unanswered; more pertinent to this paper stems from the reaction of the public regarding the manner in which George W. Bush won the election. In essence, the Court granted Bush the victory; however, the people, …show more content…
Leading up to that fateful morning, Bush had his victories – the passage of a tax cut proposal by the Congress – and his losses – Senator James Jeffords’ conversion from Republican to Democrat giving the Democratic Party control of the Senate. However, his approval rating – according to Gallop – had dropped since his inauguration from 57% to 51% by early September. The attacks would change his course of action entirely. With a nation devastated by such an unprecedented act, Bush’s only option remained addressing the incident and rallying the citizenry. Though his national statement contained elements of a commemoration for those who were affected by the violence of the day, Bush aimed to catalyze a rally effect. The rally effect, from the viewpoint of political psychology, occurs when an international crisis causes noticeable spikes in presidential approval rating. To illustrate this concept, consider President Franklin D. Roosevelt presiding over the nation during the Pearl Harbor attack. Before the attack occurred, his approval rating rested comfortably at 72% whereas after the attack, his approval rating rose to 84% for nearly 30 weeks. Referring back to Bush, considering his rapidly dwindling approval rating, the rally effect could, in fact, provide the spark necessary to charge the nation toward a unified goal of preventing such devastation from occurring on U.S. soil. In