Campaign Finance Discussion

For this discussion we had do research on the financing of recent Utah House of Representatives
and Senate races. We were to write about what we found interesting about the data and whether
the numbers fit the patterns described on the Open Secrets website.
Anna Koudriachova
Feb 27, 2016 Feb 27 at 1:44pm
Gerald Ford
Gerarld Fords speech on pardoning Nixon did not inspire confidence. The speech was not
memorized, causing the President to shift his eyes down to his notes and I felt that that made
his speech appear somewhat insincere. He tried to appeal to the religious constituency by calling
himself a humble servant of God. He appealed to the listeners emotions but I felt that he did
not present concrete reasons for granting the pardon. Gerald Ford made it sound like he made
the decision for personal reasons rather than exercising his powers granted by the Constitution
by using numerous personal pronouns.
George Bush
To appeal to as many people as possible and find common ground between government and the
people are the most important goals of presidential speeches. If you can connect with the
American people and appeal to their emotions, they will trust and stand behind your decisions.
President Bushs speech 9 days after the 9/11 attacks resonated with the public because
emotions were already running high. The speech strives to inspire Americans and the rest of the
world to take action to eliminate terrorism. Either you are with us or you are with the
terrorists. After the 9/11 attacks Americans wanted justice and in his speech, George Bush
promised to punish those responsible for the tragedy. To heighten the emotions of the already
emotional public is an effective tool to get the people to agree to such actions as invading Iraq.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR delivered his speech via radio broadcast. Back in 1933 radio was probably the most
effective medium to reach as many people as possible. FDR had to try and prevent wide-spread
panic caused by the banking crisis. He used simple vocabulary in order to clearly explain the
banking crisis to the American public. Trust in government was the most important goal of the
speech. The public had to believe that the elected officials would do everything in their power
to minimize the loss cause by banks failing. FDR was careful not to make unrealistic promises.
He admitted that some banks will not open and some personal loss will be suffered. I appreciated
the honesty in his speech.
John F. Kennedy

JFK sought not only to inspire the American people but also send a message to the rest of the
world. He stressed the importance of co-operation and the need to work together. The speech
was international in nature. JFK was great at speaking simply and plainly and using effective
metaphors such as the chains of poverty and the bonds of mass misery. In the last few
sentences of the speech, JFK called Americans to action: Ask not what your country can do
for you, ask what you can do for your country. He is saying that it is everyones responsibility
to make sure America remains a great country. He then calls on the rest of the world to ask not
what America can do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of men. Only if we
work together will we be able to achieve peace and justice for all. The speech arouses emotions
in the listener and inspires him or her to take action.