TOW #15 – “The Optimism of Barack Obama”

Less than a week before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the Editorial Board of the New York Times published an article, The Optimism of Barack Obama, regarding the presidency of Barack Obama. Suggesting he is “one of the most popular presidents in recent decades,” (Board 1) the Editorial Board employs strong diction and statistical information to drive his argument to Americans that President Barack Obama was a progressive leader over his two terms in office. Connecting this presidency to President-elect Donald Trump, the board states, “the bigotry that president-elect Donald Trump capitalized on during his run for office [showed that] simply electing a black president would not magically dispel the prejudices that have dogged the country since its inception,” (Board 2) suggesting that while Obama’s presidency itself was progressive, it does not mean the nation has been automatically healed. With these connections, the Editorial Board includes the wording “magically dispel” in order to define what is expected of a president. Furthermore, the Editorial Board includes statistical data to remind Americans of some of President Obama’s accomplishments: “preserving or creating an average of 1.6 million jobs a year for four years” (Board 3) and “[reducing] Americans without insurance to a record low 9.1 percent in 2015” (Board 4). With this data, the Editorial Board produces a strong appeal to logos, logically proving several aspects of Obama’s presidency that defined him as a successful leader that Americans needed. The Editorial Board’s strong diction and use of statistical information assists to evoke emotions of patriotism in Americans, allowing the board to continue extensively on the beneficial impacts Obama has had on the nation. Moreover, given the identified rhetorical devices above, the Editorial Board demonstrated a focused argument to Americans that Obama’s optimism and leadership made him an effective executive to direct the nation.

Works Cited

Board, Editorial. “The Optimism of Barack Obama.” The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/opinion/sunday/the-optimism-of-barack-obama.html?ref=topics&_r=0, p. 10.