Obama Town Hall Speech Brims with Rhetoric

A hard-hitting President Obama town hall speech in Elyria, Ohio signalled the fighting spirit of the Administration after the loss of the Democrat Senate seat in Massachusetts last week. This classic town hall speech at the Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio gave the President a perfect platform for some impressive rhetorical flourishes.

In a captivating speech his most memorable section was a multi-part position taker. Here the President noted the comments about health care reform and Massachusetts. But he then explained that the focus wasn’t him…but you, the audience. This technique then allowed the President to present a range of issues in terms of his audience…and allowed him to repeat the aphorism…”I’ll never stop fighting.” And repeat it he did. Eight times in this format and several times in other word sequences.

Town Hall Speech Repetition

This is a favourite technique for the President. And to prove it, he’s really not worried about borrowing phrases from Dr. Martin Luther King’s Now is The Time speech. But as a rhetorical technique, it’s one of the better ones.

Altogether, the repetition made for audience impact. So, the President noted his support for his grass roots voters and their central position in the political arguments. So, yes, Well-worked stuff, indeed.