Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2004 Rnc Speech

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech given at the 2004 Republican National Convention was clearly of persuasive intent supporting the current President, George W. Bush and the Republican Party. His rhetorical purposes throughout the speech involve not only the encouragement to vote for Bush in the 2004 Presidential election but also to support him in his past leadership choices and possible future decisions. Schwarzenegger also clearly states his intentions to give other immigrants and Americans the same opportunities that he was given and will do this by believing in and supporting the Republican Party. We see here that he focuses his speech on an audience which he addresses as “my fellow Americans”. Although he seems to be speaking to all American citizens, he actually focuses in on the Republican citizens and even identifies different sub-groups of his targeted audience. These sub-groups, consisting of his “fellow immigrants” as well as those Americans who are strong Republicans and those who agree with only some Republican beliefs, narrow his intended audience even more. Upon identifying his audience, he centers his message and rhetorical purposes around them to reinforce their Republican beliefs and create a feeling of pride in America. It is his belief and intention to convince the audience that this pride in America is a result of having a Republican for our president.

Schwarzenegger uses a variety of strategies and methods throughout his speech to enhance his message. Many of these strategies and methods coincide with the 7 P’s of rhetoric that we previously studied. His speech is set within a political convention, rallying the audience to get their voices heard. The audience I described earlier allows this speech to fulfill the public aspect as Schwarzenegger shares his own beliefs with them in hopes that they will help to make a difference that he cannot do alone. He clearly accomplishes the propositional aspect of rhetoric by stating that he wants everyone to have the same opportunities as he did which would be possible through Republican leadership. By stating this proposition he strengthens his persuasion by adding reasoning and example to his message. The purpose of his message is to encourage his audience to vote for President Bush in the 2004 Presidential Election. In order to have his message heard, Schwarzenegger uses all the levels of response within the range of rhetorical purposes. He creates virtual experience through his own personal stories and therefore creates emotional appeal. He continues by altering the perception of the audience members who are not already strong Republicans, to show them just what this party stands for. Schwarzenegger covers the explaining phase by stating directly what exactly is a “Republican”. In each of these statements he strives to identify just want exactly the Republican Party and therefore George W. Bush can offer. Through this explaining and his use of reasoning he formulates the belief that the best leader for our country is, in fact, President Bush. He initiates action by telling his audience to get out there and vote for George W. Bush on November 2. He maintains this action by further rallying the audience and leaving them chanting the phrase “four more years”. Schwarzenegger’s speech does not so much present a solution to a current problem but examines the problems that have already been solved by the Bush administration. By doing this, he achieves the problem-solving aspect of rhetoric in assuring his audience that because the problems in the past have been solved so successfully,