Barack Obama - revive the ancient art of rhetoric

President Barack Obama succeeded in his democratic campaign in a very large part
through the use of well crafted and accessible speeches. They have remained a key
feature of his Presidential Office. We are honing in on a single and crucial 17 minute
speech to illustrate the important features of his rhetoric.
Whilst Barack Obama is not a preacher, the justification for including this appendix is
that, particularly in this speech, he demonstrates possibly the best contemporary
practice of the ancient art of rhetoric and provides a good example of how to
communicate succinctly, clearly and well. Hence, there are principles for
communicators of all kinds, which of course, include preachers.

A turning point
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are
possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still
questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
So began a speech which I believe will be remembered as a turning point in history. It
was the given on the night Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United
States of America on November 4th, 2008 in Chicago. School students and
rhetoriticians of the future will examine these carefully crafted words with the same
reverence already attached to other great and memorable speeches.
Martin Luther King Jr.s I have a dream speech was delivered on 28th August 1963 at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington and is hailed as a turning point the battle for racial
equality in US southern states. Some think that Obama consciously echoed Luther
Kings great speech in his Presidential acceptance speech.
Winston Churchills comment on the temporary victory of the Battle of Britain which
ensured a partial retreat by Hitler at the start of the Second World War is held in similar
reverence. As he thanked the British people for their bravery Churchill said the
immortal words: Never before in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so
many, to so few.
Why have people hailed Barack Obamas acceptance speech? Will it find its place in
the speechmakers archive along with Luther King and Churchill?
As a piece of speechmaking it was all that you might expect a great political speech to
be: a rallying cry; a thank you to supporters; a campaign promise of hopes and
aspirations for the future; a positioning statement of intended strategy: the speech was
all that. But as the world witnessed the first black American President in the making,
these words were perhaps the most poignant:

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical,
and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history
and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
He makes a very inclusive promise (young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and
Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not
disabled). His promise is that they will witness the fulfilment of long anticipated hopes
for equality and unity which hitherto had only been dreamed of. The hopes so
eloquently expressed by Martin Luther King now, in their day, are coming to fruition.
Obama claimed the right to say: this is an historic moment which will be remembered for
a long time to come, and you were here with me witnessing it as it happened. A black
man was in the white house.

Speeches or Solutions?
Early in the democratic campaign the accusation was made by the Hilary Clinton camp
that Obama was a speaker not a doer and that, by contrast, she would provide solutions
not just empty rhetoric. For example, she said: It took a Clinton to clean up the mess
after the first Bush President and it will take a Clinton to clean up the mess after the
second Bush President.
Her accusations against Obama reflect common criticisms thrown at good speakers.
Words are cheap, people say. Or, Actions speak louder than words. People are
particularly cautious over the sound bite. Pithy catch-phrases may be memorable, they
may even sway voters, but they are no guarantee of action.
Obama responded (in February 2008 in Wisconsin) saying When I brought the
Democrats and Republicans together to have health insurance in Illinois, that wasnt
talk. When I fixed our criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions in Illinois,
that wasnt talk. When I worked with Republicans on nuclear proliferation issues that
wasnt talk. So [Hilary Clintons] right that speeches arent enough. Thats why Ive
been working for the last twenty years to provide real solutions to the American people.
Speech without action is rightly mocked as hypocrisy. But good speakers realise that it
is precisely their speeches which motivate action and encourage buy-in from their
hearers. Obama made a bold assertion that his actions will be the judge of whether his
well-crafted words were vacuous hubris or a prelude to real solutions.

Yes we can
And tonight, I think about all that [Ann Nixon Cooper has] seen throughout her century
in America the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we
were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes
we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to
see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a
nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common
purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to
witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in
Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes
we can.

Obamas Bob the Builder moment (Can we fix it? Yes we can!) somehow,
mysteriously, worked amazingly well during his election campaign. In fact, it could be
argued, if these words were said to a cynical pantomime going British public the
audience might well have chanted back Oh no we cant!
On the lips of anyone else punctuations of Yes we can! would have sounded cheesy,
trite, false. But on the lips of Barack Obama the catchphrase elicits an enthusiastic,
rapturous response from the crowd. They believe him. They believe in themselves.
They have a fresh confidence that under the leadership of this President they can bring
about long-hoped-for change.
There is something of the black preacher in Obama. The phrase "Start low, go slow,
rise high, strike fire and sit down" is often used to describe to black preaching and is
amplified and spelled out in a book by Robert Smith1:
Step One: IdentificationStart Low
Step Two: ClarificationGo Slow
Step Three: IntensificationRise
Step Four: ApplicationStrike Fire
Step Five: RecapitulationRetire
Step Six: MotivationSit down in a Storm
Obamas sermon moves from identification, through clarification, intensification,
application, recapitulation, and finally to motivation. The spiritual flavour of Obamas
speech and the emotional-laced content steadily moves the audience to a new faith. It
has rhythm and cadence.
It is because of the feel of tempo and melody that it has often been observed that a
great speech is like a great piece of music. Recall a Beethoven symphony. It has pace.
1

Smith, Robert. Doctrine that Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life. Forward by Dr.
James Earl Massey. Nashville, Tenn: B & H Academic, 2008.

It has shape. It has flow. It develops a simple melodic line. It has harmony and
counter melody. It moves the listener. It calls for a response, not just at the level of
assent, but at the gut/heart level. Obamas speech grabs the audience in precisely this
way. They need to believe in him and the values for which he is prepared to sacrifice
and serve.
The rising tension and climax of the speech follows well-worn paths: Conflict; Climax;
Resolution. In terms of conflict he said: the odds were against us; it would seem we
cannot succeed. By way of climax he claimed that by this great victory you and we
have shown that we should have those dreams which to we aspire. The resolution is:
because we have done this, we can do anything.
Good speakers take you for a ride in the best sense of that term! This is a trip of a
lifetime analogous to an aeroplane flight. Passengers (the audience) need to board and
buckle up. The speech begins by creating empathy with the audience. Taxiing is
analogous to the anticipation experienced by an audience as their expectation is raised
that something significant is going to happen here. Take off is when the speaker soars
towards the big vision and big dreams. Mid-flight is the time for amplification, illustration
and even entertainment. Landing brings us back down to earth and puts our feet on the
ground. Disembarking is closing remarks which send the audience off into new lands
on a voyage of discovery.
For all the soaring emotion and spiritual overtones, good speeches still make just a
single point. There is a dominant melody line which is repeated, developed, amplified
and illustrated. But nevertheless there is a single theme to a speech. Obamas
acceptance speech had a single theme: America is a place where all things are
possible. He said of himself I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We
didnt start with much money or many endorsements But, he claims: this victory
belongs to you. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies
ahead.
He reminds them of their inherent patriotism and expectation associated with their love
for America. America is a nation which seeks for peace for the world. It is a nation
which is as a beacon burning bright. Her power is not in the might of our arms or the
scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals, democracy, liberty, and
unyielding hope.
His message is clear there is only one place in the world where these hopes can be
fulfilled: it is in this great nation of America. He inspired a hopeful patriotism which
restored confidence in the nation.

The message encapsulated in one individual

All these great ideals are earthed in a single human being: Ann Nixon Cooper. At the
age of 106 she did something which the preceding generation would not have been able

to do: she cast her vote. In a previous generation slavery meant that blacks couldnt
vote; and prejudice meant that women couldnt vote. But now, this one individual
epitomises the American dream: all things are possible. Though a very few people
could know her, she became a living, breathing, enacted parable of all that Obama
sought to say.
By alluding to Ann Nixon Cooper Obama did two things. First he helped his hearers see
that what he was saying was very relevant to real people. Secondly he helped the
audience see themselves in the story he was telling. This is not just about rhetoric, this
is about real human beings like you and Ann Nixon Cooper; real human beings like me.
The dream that America is a place where all things are possible became a reality for
her and will become a reality for you.

Rhetorical effects
Barack Obamas acceptance speech was infused with warmth, humanity and presence.
His body posture was poised and commanding. He used little gesture or bodily
movements. He spoke in a confident, humble tone. He made good use of the gravitas
as well as the excitement of the occasion.
Upon analysis there are a number of specific rhetorical effects, already mentioned in the
previous chapter, that were used to good effect in his speech.
Triplets
Obama spoke very effectively in triplets. These did more than repeat and reinforce the
message, they added weight to the point he was making and kept the rhythm of the
speech going. For example: Shes the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nations
next first lady Michelle Obama. This is a rhetorical device known as the triptych, a
word which refers to painting on a three panel canvass. The repetition of the three adds
weight and crescendo. For example: It was built by working men and women who dug
into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to
this cause or The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not
get there in one year or ever one term, but America. We as a people will get there
or block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
Related to this is the use of paralipsis, the technique used by speakers to say
something by pretending that they are not talking about it. We do this in everyday
usage when we might say I dont even want to bring up such and such. For example:
tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the
might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals:
democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. By saying his not going to speak
about their arms, wealth etc. Obama in fact is reminding them that these things are
things worth mentioning!

Contrast
The speech built up a strong contrast with the not, but formula. The listener was
encouraged to see what he was saying by first pointing out what it was not saying.
Notice these examples:
This victory alone is not the change we seek it is only the chance for us to make that
change.
Quoting Lincoln: We are not enemies, but friends.
Or: I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices.
By using such dramatic contrasts the listener is able to see with greater clarity the point
that is being made by observing what is not being said.

Urgency and realism; passion and intensity.

The speech was given at a moment of victory; the climax of years of campaigning. But
Obama is not complacent. He wishes that his audience appreciate that this is the
beginning, not the end of the process. Again one thinks of Churchill in1942: Now this is
not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the
beginning.
There is a job to be done and we need to get to work to fulfil this great hope and put into
reality our American dreams. He has his sleeves rolled up and he is ready for the hard
graft associated with the weighty role to which they have elected him.

Crediting the audience

The speech was not about Obama, it was about them. He called for confidence in him
by giving them confidence in themselves. This was your victory, he regularly told
them: you did it. He uses the language of you; we; our not me or mine. This felt
sincere and the crowd clearly believed that this was as much their day as it was his day.

Big Vision/Small Vision

The great preacher William Sangster said Nothing interprets life like life. Obama
cleverly moves from the general to the specific and from the individual to the collective.
Obama makes good use of little picture illustrations. We can picture the lines of people
waiting to vote; we listen in on the congratulatory conversation between him and
Senator McCain, we hear the squeals of excitement from his children as they are
promised their much hoped for puppy and we felt like we have got to know Ann Nixon
Cooper.

But at the same time, the vision is also being painted on the canvass of national
economic challenges, global threats and great historic moments. For even as we
celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of
our lifetime two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as
we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of
Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and
fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make
the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new
energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet
and alliances to repair.
This is a big vision that will not be realised overnight. So, he implies, I need you with
me for the long haul. You need to grasp this big vision of what America might become.

Conclusion

To succeed as a speaker people need to believe in you

Audiences lose faith in their leaders for all sorts of reasons. When Neil Kinnock fell in
the sea at the labour party conference in Brighton in October 1983 it marked the
beginning of the end of his premiership. It was supposed to be a moment to win the
crowds with his humanity and accessibility, but it all fell flat, because he looked a fool.
More seriously, when Tony Blair was finally forced to admit that weapons of mass
destruction may never be found in Iraq in January 2004, for some, this was the end of
bright hopes of New Labour. People wavered in their belief in Tony Blair.
When people stop believing in you the speaker, you lose your audience. In calling
people to believe in you this need not be thought to be a self-centred ego trip. Rather,
speakers appeal for believability by summonsing their audiences to have the same
confidence in the direction and vision they are going which the speaker has.
The crowds believed Obama that night. Only time will tell whether that belief remains.

To succeed as a speaker you need a single unified vision and you need to
encourage buy-in from the audience
We have already observed rhetoric was a significance feature of the Greek and Roman
culture. The apostle Paul was evidently a speaker who managed to persuade people
and who moved them with his preaching. However, he was at pains to point out the he
had a single message which did not depend on his rhetorical ability. He explains this
strategy in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom
as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing
while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in
weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching
were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's
power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
He rejects any notion of empty rhetoric, so prevalent amongst the sophists and
debaters of the Greco Roman era. Instead, his preaching has a single focus on Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. There is nothing glamorous in this message and its simplicity
was an offence to some of the preachers of Pauls day. Nevertheless these words from
Don Carson capture the singular confidence which contemporary preachers who follow
in Pauls footsteps should engender:
Remember that men and women are not converted, finally, by your sagacity,
oratory, theological brilliance or homiletical skill. God in his mercy may use all
these and many more gifts. But only God is able to bring people to himself. That
is ample incentive to prayer. (Don Carson, The Gagging of God)
Despite the fact that the Apostle Paul is remembered as the great preacher of the
Christian faith, he did not believe that it was his words alone that had persuasive power.
Eloquence can be dangerous. His conviction was that the demonstration of the Holy
Spirits power is what brings life and flesh to the speakers words. Good speakers need
the confidence of the audience, but that only comes when they themselves are yielding
to a higher authority and a bigger vision.

To succeed as a speaker you need to make good use of rhetoric

In seeking to teach them how to preach I encourage my students to Paint with your
tongue. Audiences need to see themselves in the story. They need to have vivid and
lasting images painted on the canvass of their minds and hearts.
Obama also teaches us that we need to know our audience. This is not just an
audience, but it is also a collection of individuals. Each one of them must feel that the
speech is addressed to them personally. This can only be achieved if they feel that you
are living in the same world as them, struggling with the same issues as them and
celebrating at the same time as they do.

To succeed as a speaker you need to stand the test of time

Obama has an unenviable task. Hindsight allows us to look back at Winston Churchills
unwavering belief that Hitler could be defeated. We now know, that despite his black
dog of depression and dark moments, his confidence was not misplaced.

With the world watching his every move, Obama has the huge challenge of doing more
than giving an immensely believable speech. He has an enormous job to do. Can he
match substance with style? Can he do it? We know what the crowd think at least for
now - they chant back Yes he can!

Preaching is more than rhetoric. Hence, the 12 profiles in this book have concentrated
on the composite picture which emerges from a focus on Biblical preaching.
However, preaching is not less that rhetoric! Barack Obama is a marvellous example of
a speech maker who has learnt to paint with his tongue and modern preachers would
do well to learn something of his art.