Bush's address towards the World Trade Center disaster was to project the United States" unbreakable qualities of strength, patriotism, and unity towards the United States and the world. It was designed to strike fear into the heart of terrorism, and to instill a sense of courage throughout the United States.
The speech starts as a mock State of the Union address, emphasizing the strength, patriotism, and support of the Union. Following this the President moves to the subject of war declared on the U.S., and the war he declares on terrorism and every nation supporting it. The speech ends with President Bush giving the Union and the world a decided plan of action and a thanks for the support from U.S. citizens and other countries.
Given the audience and situation, the speech could not get more appropriate than it was. It was directed towards mainly the United States, but also to the entire world. It was given in a time when the U.S. was still in shock and still in mourning, and President Bush gave the country the clarity and zero tolerance attitude of these acts which it needed to hear. The organization of the speech was brilliant, beginning with the rallying of the entire congregation to his side with the recognition of others, and continuing that throughout the speech. .
His choice of wording and emphasis enhanced the clarity of his points, along with animation of select phrases for effectiveness. .
The President most definitely played off of the patriotism of the American people to accomplish more than one task. First, to unite the country as one, as well as with other countries for international support, and second, to get near unanimous support for a decision of war. I am not saying I disagree with his decision, but this strategy was used very effectively. In addition to his intelligent strategy, his style was also very effective. The President used just the right amount of emotion when it was needed, and just the right amount of anger when it was called for.
