PathosDuring his early career, Barack Obama's speaking style was pretty much the epitome of pathos. Much like when we used to watch American Idol, when people heard him talk, they cheered, they cri...

Inaugural Address/Motivational SpeechIf you've ever been in a locker room at halftime or watched pretty much any inspirational sports movie ever, you're familiar with the format of the rah-rah spee...

OptimisticOptimism equals hope. Seriously, they're almost synonyms. So it's no surprise that the dude on the "Hope" poster gave an optimistic inaugural address. "On this day," he says, "we have ch...

Political SermonIn sermons, the speaker usually talks with a sense of urgency and encourages inner changes. You know, "be a better person," blah blah blah. Much like a religious leader might do, i...

Some of Barack Obama's most memorable speeches received cool titles before or after the fact. "The Audacity of Hope" from 2004 and 2008's "A More Perfect Union" have both entered the Obama canon...

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. (1.1)Obama's opener hints at what's t...

Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grac...

(3) Base Camp If you haven't noticed, the man has a way with words.Obama's 2009 inaugural address is short and uses basic vocabulary. In fact, critics of the speech accused it of being too simplist...

In-Text ReferencesHistorical and Political ReferencesGeorge W. Bush (2.1)Financial Crisis of 2008 (5.2, 11.3, 12.2, 15.3)Battle of Concord (9.3)Battle of Gettysburg (9.3)Invasion of Normandy (9.3)B...

Everyone (hopefully) knows Obama was the first African American president. He was also just the fifth African American senator in more than a century since the Civil War. The U.S. federal governmen...