Spiro 1 Brenton Spiro Mrs.

Leslie Wolcott ENC 1101 (12pm) 27 April 2012

Bracing the Border of American Education:

An Analysis of a Political Ad against Illegals Educational Benefits

"Four years of college; an almost one hundred thousand dollar discount if you are an illegal alien and go to the University of Texas. If youre a United States citizen from any of the other forty-nine states you have to pay one hundred thousand dollars more." This is a direct statement made by the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney which is included in the political advertisement Thank You Governor Perry that I chose to rhetorically analyze. In his statement Mitt Romney seeks to blatantly attack Texas Governor Rick Perry about his controversial decision to provide undocumented immigrant youths with the rights to in-state tuition in Texas and it is this criticism that establishes the basic premise that the political ad Thank You Governor Perry seeks to follow. Mitt Romneys contentious statement was made during the U.S. Republican Presidential Primaries in Florida when Rick Perry was still running to become the Republican candidate in the presidential election. The negative ad seeks to thwart Rick Perrys objective to win over the electorate by reminding voters why Rick Perrys presidency and decision-making abilities will negatively affect his ability to run the nation.

Conversation:
In order to see if the ad was successful in fulfilling its purpose I sought to conduct a full rhetorical analysis. All rhetorical analysis starts with a rhetorical situation. Keith Grant-Davie, a notable rhetorician,

Spiro 2 identified a rhetorical situation as being a situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse. (Grant-Davie 105) GrantDavie characterized rhetorical situation based off the work of Lloyd Bitzer, a rhetorician who coined the concept of a rhetorical situation. Lloyd Bitzer described a rhetorical situation as being made up of an exigence (a problem or need that can be addressed by communication), an audience (that is limited in decision and action), and the constraints (constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence). (Bitzer 6) Lloyd Bitzer claimed also that the rhetor brings about a new set of constraints through the image of his or her personal character called ethos, logical proofs called logos, and the use of emotion called pathos. (Bitzer 8) Laura Carroll elaborated on Lloyd Bitzers definitions of the appeals of argument and stated that ethos is an ethical appeal that is used to establish the writer as trustworthy and credible, logos is the strategic use of logic, claims, and evidence to convince an audience of a certain point, and pathos is an emotional appeal used to create an emotional connection between the reader and discourse (Carroll 52-53). Ethos, logos, and pathos are considered to be modes of persuasion because they persuade the audience to react in a certain way; use of these elements can help to create a successful form of discourse. In my study I sought to pick up where these researchers off, whereas I planned to employ these constituents to efficiently utilize the method of rhetorical analysis on a political ad so that I could formulate an idea of how effective the ad was; something that none the rhetoricians had ever done. By means of critical and rhetorical analysis I wanted to see if the ads purpose was fulfilled. In other words; was the Mitt Romneys ad effective in depicting Rick Perry as being a bad fit for Republican presidential candidacy?

Methodology:

Spiro 3 In order to successfully rhetorically analyze the Thank You Governor Perry political advertisement and examine whether or not it was successful in fulfilling its purpose I had to first start by watching the political ad repeatedly and examining the details and effects being used. The particulars I observed and took note of were the type of audio that was being used including the tone of the music and the commentator, the scenes and people who were part of the video and the light they were shown in, the use of language and text and the manner it was presented in, the general mood or tone in the video conveyed by the videos graphics, the views and argument being expressed in the video. I then used my analysis of the video to progress on to the next phase of initiating my rhetorical analysis which was to pinpoint the exigence, the audience, the constraints, and if any ethos, logos, or pathos were being used.

Results:
After composing my analysis of the video I was able to locate several components that were used in order to further the ads aim in diminishing the competence of Rick Perry as a good choice for the Republican presidential candidacy. Firstly the music being used within the video was very dark and ominous like the music used in a horror movie scene to build up the suspense before a big horrific climax. The woman commentators tone was paralleled to the music being used whereas it was very foreboding and menacing like she sensed that a bad event was about to occur. In the beginning of the video President Barack Obama and politicians Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were all negatively depicted as being supporters of Rick Perrys nonsensical legislative decision to give illegal immigrants in-state tuition. Their pictures shoot intensely onto the screen with thunderouslike audio effects. Vincente Fox, the former president of Mexico is also shown giving a speech in which he expresses his approval of Rick Perrys decision to assist illegals; the music and the graphics try to communicate how negative this instance is with more sinister audio and a gloomy background.

Spiro 4 The language being used is very direct in serving its purpose in communicating the various reasons why Rick Perry is inapt in his decision-making abilities and the text is presented in very large font in all caps possibly to express how serious the situation is and to command viewers upmost attention. The argument being presented is obviously that Rick Perry is unfit for Republic presidential candidacy because of his presumed poor decision-making skills that are reflected by his decision to give illegal immigrants in-state tuition in Texas. This argument is supported by the video in two clips; one is from a debate where Rick Perry makes a failed attempt to justify his legislative decision and says that people who disagree with his decision dont have a heart. The other is of Mitt Romney criticizing Rick Perry for his legislative position and his reasoning behind it. Romney discusses how its ludicrous to give illegals in-state tuition while denying the same benefits to citizens outside of the state of Texas. The selection bias of the video seeks to imply that Rick Perrys decision and his statement in defense of the decision are illogical. The general mood or tone in the video is menacing. This is conveyed through the type of music played and the commentators sinister voice. Its also expressed by the way the language and text are used since together they help significantly in showing Perrys supposed horrible decision-making skills and the need for something to been done about him. As well as this, the way Mitt Romneys adversaries are adversely depicted including Rick Perry himself, Barack Obama, Vincent Fox, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. The prime contributor to the tone, however; is just the essence of the video since it basically is an attack ad condemning the decisions made by Governor Rick Perry. After I identified the components that made up the structure of the video Thank You Governor Perry I was able to use what I learned from the ad to pinpoint some of the constituents of a rhetorical situation. These are the exigence, audience, constraints, and the modes of persuasion; ethos, logos, and pathos into application. While some of the constituents could be identified without really having to use the video much, I was able to pick out the rest with the help of observing the ads components and making detailed identifications of them.

Spiro 5 The exigence was one of the constituents that I did not have to watch the ad to identify; its implied because the name of Mitt Romney is written on the description as the developer of the ad and Rick Perrys name is in the title. It wouldnt take a genius to figure out that because of the politicians involvement and how the ad was created during the Republican Presidential primaries that the exigence or problem that could be addressed by communication was the Republican presidential primaries and the need for a Republican candidate. Obviously communication is exhibited by means of all the advertisements, debates, and rallies held in order to get their names as potential candidates there for the electorate to see. After looking over the details of the video I was able to deduce that the ads audience was intended for the general electorate; however, it can also be inferred that the audience adheres more to specific demographic of people like conservative parties who oppose benefits for illegal immigrants. Arguably however, the ad was most likely put into place for an audience of all voters who have political or societal beliefs that disfavor benefits for illegal immigrants. On a side note because the ad is specific to only two candidates, the audience it is directed at could the supporters and detractors for both Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney was able to show how his political stance would benefit America which could have gained him more support from his supporters and even from his detractors. Since Rick Perry was shown in a bad light his supporters might give their support to another candidate like Mitt Romney and then Perrys detractors would just gain validation in their reasons for disliking Perry and his politics. The constraints or limitations shown by my analysis of the general structure of the ad and its contents include how the tone within the add was too aggressive or demeaning for some people to view or listen to. Another might include how voters wouldnt want to watch the ad because of how they feel it is nonobjective since it was created by Mitt Romneys campaign staff that are bias of Romney and will mention anything in order to support him and undermine other candidates, like Rick Perry. Along with this the some voters may not have access to the video, they may have been too dedicated to Perry to be

Spiro 6 persuaded to think negatively of him, and they may be incapable of reading the text or understanding the language of the video. The audience is either captivated or repelled by the argument used by the rhetor, which Laura Carroll denoted as depending on how the modes of persuasion are used or ethos, logos, and pathos. (Carroll 52) I do not believe that there is an ethos presented in this ad since the creators of the ad, or Mitt Romneys campaign staff, cannot necessarily be considered to be trustworthy and credible. The reason I say this is because the election campaign system is known for being very corrupt and often times by manipulating the media and employing the selection bias, candidates and their staff only include information in their ads that benefit the candidate. This was made evident by how Rick Perry was looked at as having characteristics that would negatively affect his ability to run the country, while Mitt Romney was viewed as having a political viewpoint that would benefit the people of America. The ad touches base with logos whereas it implicitly infers that a politician who makes decisions in favor of another countrys people rather than his own is incompetent. There are also estimates within the ad that state how much more money legal citizens that live outside of Texas have to pay in order to attend school in Texas versus illegal immigrant residents that live in Texas. This was expressed in the clip within the video where Mitt Romney discusses Rick Perrys legislation regarding giving Texan illegal immigrants in-state tuition benefits. There are several components within the video that express pathos, for instance, the tone of the music and the commentator within the video are very serious and threatening which I believe could encourage further rage in viewers who see the implied outrageous legislation of Rick Perry. This adds to what I feel like incites the most profound instance of pathos which is the approach taken in the video that incites anger and disappointment in Rick Perrys legislative decision to give a college discount to illegal immigrants and not to citizens living outside of the state of Texas. Moreover, pathos is also expressed in the feeling of pride that people in certain demographics, especially people who feel dislike towards

Spiro 7 illegals and the implementation of rights to them, might feel for Mitt Romney because of the action he has taken against Rick Perry who is in favor of giving rights to illegals in Texas.

Conclusion:
Presidential campaigns are known for being cut-throat and the players within the political campaign game must do whatever it takes to gain points for their campaign team. The exigence or the Republican presidential primaries would stand in vain if it was not for the battle between candidates in communicating to public why they would be a good fit for the Republican presidential candidacy. After watching and analyzing the Thank You Governor Perry political ad I was able to deduce that in order for the candidates to show the public that they were the best fit for the Republican presidential candidacy they had to strike down their competitors by means of showing how their aggressors would not be as a good a fit for the candidacy as they would be. Mitt Romney attempted to do this with the Thank You Governor Perry ad, but was it really successful in showing that Perry was a bad fit for the Republican presidential candidacy? My rhetorical analysis has allowed for me to evaluate and look at the methods used in Mitt Romneys attack ad Thank You Governor Perry, where he made sure to be as persuasive as possible in showing the electorate why Rick Perry would not be as good a fit for the presidency as he would. The video was well done in my opinion; the threatening tone within the music, background graphics, and the commentators voice all suggested that doom would come if Rick Perry got anywhere near the White House. The arguments used were sound, especially because of the selection bias presented in the video, whereas Rick Perry was looked as being a bad decision-maker, while it seemed as though Mitt Romney had all the right political ideas. The ad also targeting the audience perfectly since Romney used a topic that was very controversial to several Americans and went out of his way to show that Rick Perry supported the problem of giving in-state tuition to illegals. Whether the people watching the video were

Spiro 8 moderate or conservative, when vast amounts of money are being taken away from citizens, theres often unanimous disapproval. Although a portion of the potential audience might have been restricted from seeing the video as a result of the constraints, I believe the video would still receive a great amount of support because the people that were able to see the ad could be easily persuaded to support Romney because of the ads great use of elements such as logos and pathos. Even if the chances were small that Mitt Romney would receive as many supporters as he intended to I believe that at least the chances were high that Rick Perry was losing them since because of Mitt Romneys attack ad he looked like a completely bad fit for the Republican presidential candidacy.

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Works Cited:
Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Pennyslvania State Press, 1923. <https://webcourses.ucf.edu/webct/urw/tp0.lc4130001/ cobaltMainFrame.dowebct>.

Carroll, Laura Bolin. Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. 1. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 2010. Web. <http://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/carroll--backpacks-vs-briefcases.pdf>.

Thank You Governor Perry. 2011. Video. YoutubeWeb. 1 Feb 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qENAbpMM0A>. (Political Advertisement)