Speech Analysis

Since the dawn of the radio, presidential speeches have become an integral part of
the American political arena. While some are more influential than others, the ultimate
goal of a presidential speech is to communicate with the American people. With expert
rhetoricians at their side, presidents have some of the most carefully crafted speeches,
with attention being paid to each word and even the colors on their tie. One of those
carefully crafted speeches occurred after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
With a whole nation in shock and uncertainty, all eyes and ears were on President George
W. Bush as he delivered his solemn, but delicate speech, twelve hours after the first plane
hit the World Trade Center. Because this tragedy had an end-of-the-world like
appearance, Bush had two responsibilities: to restore order and comfort the nation.
Through his American pride themed language (i.e. phrases, metaphors, diction, and
ideologies) and how he chose to deliver his speech from the Oval Office in professional
attire, George Bush was effectively able to console those who were grieving and restore
peace of mind to those who were fearful and confused.
George W. Bush uses recognizable phrases that resemble Americas strength and
power in order to comfort his audience after an event that appeared to weaken national
security. Strategic phrases like our country is strong and [we responded with the] best
of America, instill confidence in Americans by reminding them that they are still in one
of the most powerful countries in the world. He did this to make Americans feel strong in
this time of weakness. Bush goes on to assure the American people that the functions of
our government continue without interruption and [he has] directed the full resources
of [the American] intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those

responsible and bring them to justice. On September 11, Americans felt complete
defeat, therefore it was important for Bush to remind them that we are not done and we
will get right back up and find those responsible. Bush is essentially removing the feeling
of despair that many Americans felt that day and replaces it with full confidence that
we as a country will bring those responsible to justice and seek retribution for what
was lost.
Bush employs the use of propagandistic metaphors in order to further instill a
sense of national pride and decimate feelings of defeat. He uses metaphors such as, they
cannot dent the steel of American resolve and were the brightest beacon for freedom
and opportunity in the world to make citizens feel proud of themselves and happy to be
American. He compares Americas strength to steel and Americas influence and power
in the world to a beacon. Steel is one of the toughest metals, thus making America the
toughest nation, while a beacon produces an image of a light that shines above all the
rest, that being America. This strategic goal of Bushs rhetoric is really interesting
because he is trying to eradicate the feelings that resulted from the attacks and replace
them with a feeling of Im proud to be an American!. However, because emotions
were high at that time, he had to do this subtly and sparingly; otherwise, it would have
been a disaster because it would blatantly disregard Americas feelings of insecurity. The
metaphors found in Bushs speech carry an under-current theme of American superiority.
Using specific words like were the brightest beacon and they cannot dent the steel,
he supports his position that Americans will get through this tragedy because we are
strong and the superior nation. In general, presidential speeches like to emphasize unity,
but it was especially important that George Bush over-emphasized this topic in order to

bring together a broken nation. The use of we and our was evident in every sentence
for the purpose of assuring every American that they are not alone. Bush even explicitly
states this is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for
justice and peace. He does this to not only boost morale, but also to bring America
together and create a fire to fight and defend freedom and all that is good and just in our
world. As a rhetorician, Bush wants to remove the power from himself and give it to the
nation because it is our fight. Overall, the whole goal of the American ego boost and
emphasis of unity is to restore the faith of the American people in their government,
something that the terrorists momentarily took away.
Bush dehumanizes the enemy through his diction in order to, rally the troops of
America and unite everyone against one enemy. He starts his speech with the description,
thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. Using a
popular war-time rhetorical tactic, Bush removes the people behind the attack and
replaces them with a single word, in this case that word is evil. Instead of choosing
bad or wrong, Bush chooses evil a word known for its intensely bad
connotation. The word evil also sparks a long time moral battle of good versus evil;
Bush is stating that America is morally good and therefore, the enemy is evil. By using
this strategy, Bush fuels the passion for retribution, which ultimately helps his goal of
changing Americas feelings from insecurity to confidence. Another example comes from
the end of the speech when Bush reminds everyone that America has stood down
enemies before, and we will do so this time. A recognizable phrase, we have done it
before, and well do it again, usually associated with sports, creates that team feeling in
that we will get through this as one nation. This phrase also effectively turned what was

a terrorist attack carried out by Al Qaeda into an all out war, giving the impression that it
is a war against another country.
Towards the end of his speech, former President Bush alludes to the bible and the
Christian faith in order to religiously appeal to his audience and thus bolster his argument
that America is the moral good one. He quotes the beginning of Psalm 23: Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me to
support his mission to restore peace of mind, but also to defend his claim that we are
morally good by including the words shadow of death. He also finishes off his speech
with his famous God bless America line, in an effort to create comfort for those who
may be grieving. Even for non-believers, the famous line God bless America gives a
sense of peace in knowing someone is watching out for us. Even after Bushs assurance
that all government resources have been devoted to the quest for justice, he understands
that some things are just out of our control and we should seek security in the Lord. Since
most Americans have some sort of religion or belief that they hold dear in their lives,
Bush was able to tap into the lives of every American in one way or another and
effectively comfort them.
Finally, aside from the language used in Bushs speech, the physical elements of
his speech ultimately contributed to the overall nationalistic theme through his specific
location and choice of clothing. The former president delivers his speech from the Oval
Office in a black suit with a blue tie. Behind him, one sees the two flags the U.S. flag
and the presidential flag along with pictures of Bushs family. First off, the fact that the
speech took place in the oval office adds a level of comfort, knowing it was delivered
from home, just as many Americans watched that nights speech from home. Also,

Bush was wearing a solid blue tie, a color that is often associated with trust, loyalty, and
confidence. The flags in the back, the president flag right next to the American flag, gives
a subtle meaning that the president is standing shoulder to shoulder with America. And
finally, the picture frames emphasize that unity/family feel as well as that homey,
comforting feel. As mentioned before, the president speaks in a soft, but confident tone of
voice. His eyes express concern while his facial features remain motionless. His words
come out with careful concern, but there are not many pauses or moments of silence. The
nations eyes and ears were on him, therefore he had to be careful. If he was on either
side of the spectrum: happy or sad, he would have received criticism. Remaining neutral
in emotion helped him maintain his authority as commander-in-chief without coming
across as insensitive.
Every president handles speeches differently, from Franklin D. Roosevelts
relaxed fireside chats to John F. Kennedys bold call to action, George W. Bushs post
9/11 speech was effective in turning sadness and fear into confidence and patriotism.
From his successful rhetorically engineered phrases to the little nuances like his tie color,
Bush was able to restore order to a broken nation and comfort the wounded.