Joe Biden's use of Pathos

To the question "What promises will your campaign not be able to keep because of bailout?" Joe Biden used the rhetorical appeal pathos to argue his points. He tried to appeal to the emotions of the audience. To do this he had to set a tone to his argument. He began talking about “corporate America” and the super wealthy getting tax cuts. The way he states these terms during his speech gives them a negative connotation. A vast majority of Americans are not in the elite class of the super wealthy and would be likely to feel compelled to agree with this argument. The next thing he does is to use the pronoun “we.” Humans like to feel included, and the way he talks about “we” and “us” making changes makes the viewers feel like he is one of them. This feeling of having a person include themselves as part of the rest of the United States, rather than an aloof leader who only cares about their own opinions also reaches out to the feelings of those watching and listening. Another technique he uses of the pathos appeal to viewers is to reach out to them with physical appearance and gestures. When he is speaking, he looks directly into the camera. He keeps eye contact with it through all of his important, more-emotional statements, like he is actually talking to a viewer. It feels like he is trying to have a normal one-on-one conversation with each and every person, and gives the feeling that he cares. Although maybe not in the “sexual imagery” context that Envision describes in chapter 2 (Understanding the Strategies of Persuasion), Biden definitely uses his physical appearance to appeal to emotions. People in general are more attracted to clean-looking, well dressed, attractive people, and Biden works on his appearance. For being old, he presents himself well. He dresses in a sharp-looking dark suit, the “power suit” of politics. He also wears a blue tie to match. This could have some significance. Since he is a member of the Democratic party, and the Democratic party is associated with the color blue, this could be an intentional move to influence viewers. He also has extremely white perfect teeth, which makes his face a little more pleasing to look at and this might make people be drawn to “nonrational impulses than to our powers of logical reasoning” (Envision 41). One other strategy he uses is “the slippery slope.” Biden focuses a lot on taxes. He even implies strategies like ethos to discredit the Republican views on taxes. He makes America feel like what the Republicans are doing with tax cuts will be harmful and send the economy on a downward spiral while oil companies like Exxon Mobile, who already have enough money are getting richer and richer. That’s why, he says, people should side with him and vote for him: to save them from being victim to scams to giving the wealthy even more money.