Rhetorical Analysis Of Bernie Sanders Campaign

The recent events of the 2016 presidential election have turned the race into an absolute nightmare. The American voters have whittled the candidacy down to two candidates of completely polar views on nearly everything. Clinton is on the far left and Trump is on the far right, which generates a precariously balanced peace between them. One little gust of accusation and everything comes tumbling down. Consequently, the presidential race has been bitterly fought, and both campaigns have utilized cheap tactics to attempt to pull ahead of the other candidate. However, the 2016 election was not this harsh in the beginning. The candidates focused more on boosting themselves up, rather than beating the other candidates down. One candidate that stood out in their creation of excellent advertisements was Bernie Sanders. Although he only has a small number of ads, they are all high quality, and are built around a variety of rhetorical appeals. Bernie Sanders’ campaign has created three ads--”It’s

The ad starts out with clips of Americans from all walks of life--farmers, cafe workers, office workers, parents, and more--engaged in their careers. The ad then transitions to people enjoying themselves at Bernie Sanders’ rallies, and shows Sanders actively seeking them out and addressing them directly. This is accompanied by a folk-style song from Simon and Garfunkel. The ad continues to show clips of massive groups of people cheering for Sanders. A standout video clip is shown, matching the song lyrics, that says: “They all come to look for America.” The huge crowds cheering for Sanders continue until the ad ends. The ad has no obviously clear message, until it shows the standout image saying “They all come to look for America.” This statement, combined with the images of Sanders’ rallies, creates the subconscious message that his campaign embodies American