Willard Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, made a play for the Republican Party Ticket for both the 2008 and 2012 Presidential Election 1. While he was successful in 2012, he was not in 2008. The speech I decided to analyze, Faith in America, delivered on December 6, 2007[2], in Texas, was a time when Mitt Romney was trying to come off as a very family and faith-oriented candidate. Romney, like any other presidential hopeful, came across as many different identities in his speech, using several different methods and devices to get his messages across. Romney’s use of rhetoric identifies that the goal of Romney’s speech was to come across as a patriotic, faith-regarding candidate that everyone can identify with on some deeper level.
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Now, to many, this seems like nothing other than a wardrobe choice when he was getting ready for the event. However, it is important to note that it is blue [3]. On any other day, it wouldn’t matter that much. For this speech, as he is trying to win the Republican nod for the 2008 election, it is important to note. Blue is the color commonly associated with the Democratic Party. But Romney is trying to win the Republican ticket, whose color is red, you ask? As a candidate, he has already appealed to Republican and conservative voters by identifying as that party. If he wants to gain votes from Democrats and liberal voters, he needs to draw them in to listen to his platform. By wearing the color of the opposing party party, he is identifying with them, pulling them in to listen to his ideas and thoughts. This subtle use of wardrobe in fact had a major purpose when giving his Faith in America …show more content…
While he is saying one thing, alternate meanings can be interpreted. The inverses Romney uses work to establish the sense of patriotism he is trying to get across. As he states, “Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation,”4 he is also implying that anyone who isn’t American isn’t willing to risk their lives to defend and preserve their country. This will strike a note with anyone watching the speech. Because this is during his presidential campaign, people will identify with the patriotic tone of this line. This is not the only patriotic inverse in his speech. Another example of this is “America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us,” [5]. At first glance, this is not a very patriotic statement. If anything, some would think it is anti-patriotic. However, the inverse of this statement is that no other country is facing challenges or radical groups that want to hurt them as a nation. This is very similar to the ideas used in speeches after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Even in fear and chaos and destruction, we can still come together as one society and as a country. Both of these statements provide the sense of patriotism that viewers and listeners want to hear in a campaign speech, to enable them to see the candidate in one of the highest positions of power in our
Now, to many, this seems like nothing other than a wardrobe choice when he was getting ready for the event. However, it is important to note that it is blue [3]. On any other day, it wouldn’t matter that much. For this speech, as he is trying to win the Republican nod for the 2008 election, it is important to note. Blue is the color commonly associated with the Democratic Party. But Romney is trying to win the Republican ticket, whose color is red, you ask? As a candidate, he has already appealed to Republican and conservative voters by identifying as that party. If he wants to gain votes from Democrats and liberal voters, he needs to draw them in to listen to his platform. By wearing the color of the opposing party party, he is identifying with them, pulling them in to listen to his ideas and thoughts. This subtle use of wardrobe in fact had a major purpose when giving his Faith in America …show more content…
While he is saying one thing, alternate meanings can be interpreted. The inverses Romney uses work to establish the sense of patriotism he is trying to get across. As he states, “Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation,”4 he is also implying that anyone who isn’t American isn’t willing to risk their lives to defend and preserve their country. This will strike a note with anyone watching the speech. Because this is during his presidential campaign, people will identify with the patriotic tone of this line. This is not the only patriotic inverse in his speech. Another example of this is “America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us,” [5]. At first glance, this is not a very patriotic statement. If anything, some would think it is anti-patriotic. However, the inverse of this statement is that no other country is facing challenges or radical groups that want to hurt them as a nation. This is very similar to the ideas used in speeches after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Even in fear and chaos and destruction, we can still come together as one society and as a country. Both of these statements provide the sense of patriotism that viewers and listeners want to hear in a campaign speech, to enable them to see the candidate in one of the highest positions of power in our