Style of Obama’s Bid for the Second Term of the U.S. Presidential Office

Abstract

This article seeks to identify the characteristics of the style of Obama’s bid for the second term of the U.S. Presidential office. It examines the central ideas and their respective elaborations into the main ideas in Obama’s three speeches: Osawatomie Speech (2011), State-of-the-Union Address (2012), and Virginia Beach Campaign Speech (2012). The research method applied was qualitative content analysis to deconstruct the speeches by means of analytical narratives in the light of some rhetorical strategies, and then some degree of interpretation were done to arrive at the underlying thought of the speeches. In the Osawatomie Speech, Obama underpinned and framed his bid for re-election by citing a blueprint for a stronger American economy built to last. Then through his State-of-the-Union Address, he highlighted his first-term Administration’s success in unifying Americans of all backgrounds towards the common good that prompted America to continue going forward. Based on the prior claim of his Administration’s success, he drove home his political goal to strengthen further the American economy again by realizing a stronger American middle-class economy. Finally, this message was magnified by his assertion of a plea to reclaim the American Promise through his proposed congruent programs toward a stronger middle-class economy that is built to last in his Virginia Beach Campaign Speech.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n1s1p215