In Rhetoric, Aristotle maintains there are three types of persuasive appeals; Logos, Pathos, and Ethos (Simmons, 2001, p. 48). Logos represent appeals to reason; Pathos refers to appeals to emotion, and Ethos represent appeals based on the character of the speaker. Political campaign tactics aimed at persuasion often rely on all three types of persuasive appeals, whether transmitted through speeches, debates, or television advertisements. In the current presidential nomination race, Barack Obama is often accused of promoting "rhetoric" over "substance;" while others view Hillary Clinton as lacking the "character" qualities of Senator Obama. Larson (1983) maintains that political candidates are frequently condemned for stressing "image" over "issues" in their campaigns (p. 297). From speeches and debates to advertising and television appearances, political candidates employ a variety of tactics aimed at persuasion. This analysis will discuss a number of different strategies of persuasion employed by political candidates during a campaign. A conclusion will relate the findings of this research with the current presidential campaign.
In order to persuade voters of the legitimacy of their agenda and candidacy, politicians resort to a number of persuasion tactics, which they employ through speeches, public and media appearances, advertising and other means of information dissemination. The cliché image of a politician kissing or holding a baby is still employed by politicians in a campaign, as recent ads for Hillary Clinton show. Successful campaigning requires the ability to persuade voters to ignore other candidates in favor of oneself. To accomplish this, the media is often employed as the forum for presenting a persuasive image. Agenda-setting tactics like "humor, editorializing, dramatizing, and role-modeling" are often used to win voter support (Larson, 1983, p. 249). Media bias is often "instrumental ...