It seems that, once again, rhetoric has asserted itself in the Democratic primary.

Of course, it hasn't happened yet, but now news outlets are focusing on Obama's speech tomorrow night as a "make or break moment" for him. It might be a good way to start a conversation in class about rhetorical situations - what Obama's goals are in this speech, what is the context, etc., and then follow it up the next class with an analysis of how well he responds to the rhetorical situation.

I caught Bill Moyers the other night and the program was all about analyzing the sorts of arguments are being made by campaign ads. It could be a nice was to talk about visual rhetoric, rhetoric and multimedia (sound and images) and different types of arguments. Link below:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02292008/profile.html

It is great so see so many posts about the election campaign. I have been wishing I was teaching a rhetoric class right now with all the talk of rhetoric, plagiarism, etc. in the media. I wanted to offer this piece to the conversation, a pretty solid (B/B+) rhetorical analysis of an Obama speech in The Washington Post. Lots of talk of audience and it addresses Obama's direct appeal to our shared "young voter" demographic.

Watching the Democratic debate last week made me think this primary has been a potential goldmine for rhetoric instructors.

Throughout the debate, Clinton argued that "actions speak louder than words," while Obama insisted that "words matter."

Beyond this, Clinton's big attack was over plagiarism:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/21/videos.21feb.debate/

Here's a link to an article that looks at language and the Democratic primary a bit more:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/25/foreman.raw.politics/index.html

In case anyone is interested in discussing Michelle Obama's recent statements in a rhetoric class, here's an interesting MSNBC debate on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEZCor8LqVk

Which commentator is more persuasive? Does Mr. Scarborough's overbearing, macho approach succeed in getting the better of the more conciliatory (but yet firm and outspoken) Ms. Brzezinski? How much of a role do race and gender play in how this story is being covered in the media?

The Daily Show has always satirized media coverage. Still, recently -- and especially in reference to election and campaign coverage -- I've noticed in an increase in the number of times the word "narrative" has appeared on the program. More and more, the show seems to be focusing on journalistic rhetoric and its misuse.

Here's a fairly typical clip that focuses on language and tone.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=148479&title=daily...

Has anyone tried using these sorts of clips to illustrate a point in a rhetoric class?

It seems that the 2008 presidential campaign season is now officially underway. Does anyone have any plans for incorporating anything from ambitious politicians into their rhetoric classes? If so, I'd love to hear what people are doing.

As a starter, the former SNL writer Al Franken has officially announced he's running for the US Senate. His website has an eight minute video clip that is more or less an ethos-based appeal. I'm thinking of using it in my class.

Anybody else have any ideas?

Jim Aune at the Blogora posted a link to MySpace.com’s MyState of the Union Contest. As Jim notes, this could be a great classroom exercise. I suspect most won't be able to make the January 18 deadline (UT classes don't even start until next week), but this could still be an interesting assignment.

You have probably heard about the recent leaking of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign "playbook". This text would be a great way to discuss audience with students. The playbook was for insiders, but it got in the hands of some outsiders. What happens when an argument leaks?

However, in addition to this, Joyce Purnick of the New York Times presents an interesting (rhetorical) analysis of Giulian's website. She points to what the site says, but she focuses on what it doesn't say (no mention of his first two wives or his children, and no mention of his ties to Bernie Kerick.

A friend sent me this: http://www.fantasycongress.org/fc/

It's a fantasy game where you pick members of Congress and compete against others. This could be a great activity for rhetoric classes (though, I'm sure we could think of some negatives as well). Here's a description from the "What is Fantasy Congress?" page:

Fantasy Congress™ offers you the power to "play politics." As in other fantasy sports, you - the Citizen - draft a team of real-life legislators from the U.S. Congress and score points for your team's successes. Join a league and compete against other Citizens, or form a league of your own! Play against your friends, family, bloggers, fellow politicos, or even a sitting U.S. Senator (one could be playing incognito, you never know!). On weekends, move Members of Congress into your active line-up or off your team to strategize for the upcoming week of legislation!