Organizationally, this won't make sense yet. But I plan to pay attention to ordering and transitions for my second draft. So just keep that in mind.
The struggle over health care reform is a well-known issue in the current times. In providing a plan for such a reform, President Obama and his staff have been met with significant resistance from Republican, and even some Democratic representatives. Because it lacks acceptance in Congress, the Democratic party is attempting to rally troops in order to influence congressmen through their constituents. “The Obama Plan” website was created to advocate this movement and inform the American public of the essentiality of health care reform. Organizing for America has its origins in the Obama for America organization and is pushing forward Obama's ever-present mantra of "change." The article, along with its semi-interactive website, attempts to gain the trust and confidence of the reader in the effectiveness of the proposed plan for reform as well as persuade the audience to action—whether it be through contacting their representative or spreading their open support of the president’s arguments.
The Democratic National Party is attempting to reach all of America, rich and poor, those with and without health insurance, to make it clear that everyone will benefit from this change, not just for those who lack sufficient coverage. This is clear through their three-column approach: one listing benefits for those who don't have health insurance, one expressing the benefits for those who already have health care, and a final column “For All Americans."
For the majority of the masses, the Democratic Party uses a strategy that works to their advantage. They trust that the average reader will briefly skim the issue at hand, accept that which makes logical sense to be fact, and move on. In this sense, the “Obama Plan” rhetoric is infallible. The information is summarized, bulleted, and proportioned—an easy read for the lazy eye. Even the video provided is organized into short, bite-sized clips that give the all-too-trusting American everything they need to know about Obama’s health care reform. However, for those who remain inquisitive and doubtful, this over-simplification can lead to mistrust. They may ask, “How can there be no negative consequences to such a great change in the country’s health care system?” or “How can we know that all will go as planned?” Even these two basic questions fail to be answered.
One of the text’s greatest strength is its ability to connect with kairos, simply because health care reform is an issue still at hand. Also, they allude to the great deficit and economic troubles that face this country at this time. It succeeds in appealing to a currently worrisome, thrifty, and hesitant American population due to the misfortunes this country has so recently experienced.
The use of the term “Americans,” and, in President Obama’s quote, the use of a collective “we” ( “our families, our businesses, our government”) uses pathos to pull at the patriotic heartstrings of the public. Although a good portion of the audience will not notice it, this tool is very effective in making every reader of this text feel included in the “us” or “our” category. Once the connection is made between the unsuspecting reader and the Democratic Party—or even the President of the United Sates—it is more likely that said person will believe that the words in front of them are, indeed, for them specifically, and require their action.
This article, interestingly enough, is organized more like it is trying to sell something to the American “customer” than anything else. The average consumer doesn’t want too much to read, but just enough to know the basics—costs and benefits. From there, they decide whether or not to “buy” what they’re being sold. Simplified, categorized information is given, mostly to appeal to the logos of the average American “buyer.”
The text is written at a level that can be understood by most technology-savvy, nationally-concerned adults. It is mostly casual, which appeals to the reader’s ethos. Somehow after reading the article, the Democratic National Party and their main-man Obama seem almost like old pals—honest, hard-working, individuals in American society, much like anyone who may be viewing the site, trying to do what is best for their country. This appeal works if the reader doesn’t have any previous judgments or experiences that may undermine this friendly, open stratagem.
On the website there is a summarizing text as well as a short film of integrated clips in which, essentially, the same information is expressed, but from Obama’s himself. This assists the integrity of the entire piece. Where ethos may be weak for the inquisitive mind, or to the reader who mistrusts a casual style of language, the visual presence of President Obama can be quite convincing. He is an eloquent spokesman, and the Democratic Party has used this to their advantage.
The site has been very ingeniously designed to support reader choice through their three-column approach at displaying information. In this way, there really isn’t a top or bottom, a beginning or end. A reader can choose any column, sort through the information in any order, and still understand the main message presented. This appeals to the reader’s logos; the organization makes sense and can be easily navigated by the curious browser.
The site uses two of President Obama’s quotes—both of them to appeal to pathos. The more powerful of the two states, “I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.” This is intended to empower the individual, to move them to action because Obama said they could make a difference! This may work for some, but to others it will seem unrealistic. It is a common belief in society today that the individual can hardly make much difference in governmental proceedings.
The site uses contrast well in its colors, borders, and texts. The white text area contrasts with the blue surrounding it and the shadowed border lines on each side emphasize this. Also, many different fonts and indentations are used in the text. This provides contrast that leads the eye from place to place, paragraph to paragraph on the page. This appeals to logos—the reader is more likely to read something that makes sense graphically and spatially than something that doesn’t.
Very similar to nonlinearity and reader choice appeals, the alignment of the article helps its logos. The columns effectively pull out the important information to various readers all at once, which means that it can appeal to large numbers of people at the same time.
It is used only twice on the page, but very effectively. The “Organizing for America” icon is a red, white, and blue circular seal-like emblem that portrays a sense of hope. It has rays of light extending out from it like a sun, and within the circle is a small portrayal of a morning sun coming up over a hill. Although small, it still appeals to pathos in simple re-emphasizing that the Democratic Party and Obama stand together in hope for a better tomorrow.
