Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft

On June 16, 1972, a security guard found a piece of tape over the lock of the door to the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex, a discovery that would lead to one of the biggest scandals in American history. The break-in at the Democratic National Committee was linked to a fund of money used to re-elect President Nixon in the upcoming election. The news did not get much national attention until Washington Post reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, investigated and revealed attempts in the Justice Department, FBI, CIA, and White House to cover it up. Tape recordings, which Nixon had set up in his offices, were subpoenaed by the Supreme Court and reluctantly handed over by the president. These tapes revealed Nixon’s involvement in the scandal and ultimately lost his supporters in Congress. With full knowledge that he would most likely be removed from office, President Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974. America watched in awe as President Nixon delivered his resignation speech, and he immediately became the only U.S. president to step down from office. In his resignation speech, President Richard Nixon failed to connect to the American people and effectively appeal to the ethos, logos, and pathos of the audience.

A struggle with situational ethos seems to be the first obstacle that hinders Nixon in his resignation speech. When I first viewed the speech as a casual audience member rather than a rhetorical analyzer, I immediately noticed President Nixon’s discomfort and nervous energy through his body language. He appeared stiff and rigid as he read from a paper instead of engaging with the audience in a conversational manner. I thought this to be quite peculiar since Nixon, President of the United States and leader of the free world, should automatically be able to appeal to ethos, right? Wrong. While his title would normally constitute more than enough of an ethical foundation, Nixon was at a disadvantage do to a perfect example of situational ethos. Before he even began speaking, the president already lacked credibility and ethical appeal based on his severely damaged reputation. More often than not, speakers are given a blank slate, or opportunity to build credibility through invented ethos. But unfortunately for Nixon, the American public was already aware of his selfish acts of injustice against the country. Therefore, anything that Nixon said, even statements of validity and truth, would be in question.

So at what point did Nixon fall from grace, or fall from ethos. Thats a great question; I’m glad you asked. When President Richard Nixon was voted into office, he obviously had credibility with the American people. But as news of the Watergate scandal was released by the press, the public began to question his moral character. Nixon lost all credibility when the “smoking gun” tape was subpoenaed by the Supreme Court. On this particular tape, Nixon ordered the FBI off the case for matters of “national security.” Following this discovery, even Nixon’s most loyal supporters on the House Judiciary Committee announced their decision to vote for impeachment once the matter was to reach the House floor. As his public support evaporated, Nixon was forced to step down from office, thus delivering his speech of resignation. With this knowledge, I can see why Nixon appeared uncomfortable, for I would surely be in tears if I were put in his situation. Nixon was facing the worst moment of his political life, publicly acknowledging his failure in front of a world which despised him.  President Richard Nixon and his support staff attempted to build a sliver of ethos by displaying the American flag and presidential seal in the background. Because presidents are typically portrayed with American symbols, Nixon was relying on the credibility of his position rather than establishing invented ethos for himself. However, the American people, as well as President Nixon, knew attempting to establish ethos was a lost cause from the beginning.

Not only did Nixon fail to establish ethos, but he also failed to achieve logos in his resignation speech. President Nixon and his staff attempted to use deductive reasoning to mask his empty logic. I noticed the use of syllogism as a way to explain his resignation. I found Nixon’s major premise to be directly quoted: “As president, I must put the interest of America first.” Nixon also inserted the phrase “interest of the nation”  into what seemed like every-other sentence to reiterate the major premise of his argument. Because of the Watergate Scandal and the damage done to his political base, Nixon’s resignation would be in the best interest of the American people (minor premise). From the major and minor premises, the conclusion is the well-known phrase “Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.” Although this was correct use of a syllogism in deductive reasoning, the minor premise is flawed. Nixon was not nearly as concerned with the interest of the American people as he was his own best interest. In reality, Nixon was resigning because the votes were present for impeachment in the House of Representatives, and a two-thirds majority in the Senate would likely remove him from office.  Since conviction of the Senate does not bar criminal prosecution, Nixon would have likely be tried criminally, as well. Resigning before the process started rolling would keep more of the evidence private and perhaps save what remained of his political base. So although this syllogism is convincing at first glance, the logic is flawed and misleading to his actual intent.

I also took note of the phrase “…to continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress.” In this statement, Nixon implied that he was in fact innocent of the charges brought against him and would, therefore, be acquitted if the trial were brought to court. He wanted the audience to believe he was stepping down because the process would simply take “too much time” or “too much energy” away from his duties as president of the United States. In reality, Nixon did not have the option to carry out his term as president. If he did not step down voluntarily, Congress would soon forcibly remove him from office. Nixon even admitted “It has been evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in Congress…”  Nixon’s inability to establish logos only added to the speech’s poor rhetorical value.

In regards to pathos, Nixon made a valiant attempt to appeal to the emotions of the audience. Well aware that families all over the nation would be watching his speech on the living room television set, Nixon sought relate to the American family unit. He said his family unanimously urged him to seek his term out until the end. Being a conservative, he wanted to portray family values. At the same time, he showed that he was sacrificing the best interest of his family for the best interest of the American public. President Nixon also tried to build himself up as a moral figure or hero through phrases such as “I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is compete is abhorrent to every instinct in my body” and “I would have preferred to carry through to the finish, no matter the personal agony it would have involved.” These were strategically placed in the speech to illicit sympathy among the audience. However, President Nixon’s attempt to reach pathos was a resounding failure. While watching the speech, I could not sympathize with Nixon because he had already lost my trust. I believe many Americans also had an impossible time forgiving his crimes and offering their sympathies.

In reality, Nixon was given a near impossible task of addressing his resignation in front of the nation. Almost anything he said would be scrutinized by not only the Democratic Party, but also his political base in the Republican Party. The public entrusted him with the responsibility of leading the country, and he abused the power to further himself politically. Even with a divided government, both parties could agree that Nixon’s actions were unconstitutional and sufficient for removal from office and even possible criminal prosecution. However, I believe the American public would have had a better response Nixon had he been truthful in describing his side of the story and apologizing for his poor judgement. By presenting the truth, Nixon could have built enough invented ethos for the public to listen to him and consider his reasoning. An honest approach could have also made his appeal to pathos more successful. Instead, Nixon tried to misrepresent the situation and skew the facts in his favor. This was a poor choice on the part of the Nixon administration because the story had already been released by the press. Nixon was caught red-handed, end of story. President Richard Nixon failed to connect to the American people and effectively appeal to the ethos, logos, and pathos of the audience during his resignation speech. Unfortunately, this was the last address Nixon made before the nation before settling out of the public eye. His poor rhetorical performance left a bitter taste in the mouths of Americans, and President Richard Nixon remains one of the most hated presidents in history.