President Obama's Speech: A More Perfect Union

The speech “A More Perfect Union,” was addressed to the people of United States given by the senator Barack Obama. In his speech, Obama was responding to the attention made to the controversial remarks made by Reverend Wright, a former pastor of Obama. Obama addressed the subjects of racial tensions, white privilege, and race and inequality in the United States, discussing black "anger", white "resentment", and other issues as he sought to explain and inquire Wright's controversial comments. He responded to denounce his pastor’s statements by “vehemently disagree[ing with] and strongly condemn[ing]... inflammatory and appalling remarks Wright made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents." He wanted to distinguish that Wright

and himself are two different people. What Reverend Wright had said doesn’t reflect what Obama thinks. He wanted to calm the people. Obama effectively confronts the controversy by reducing its significance by addressing the many social and political problems in America that are of greater importance. Obama used the repetition of his opening phrase, the classical appeals, literary techniques, as well as unique delivery to reinforce his character, distance himself from Wright, and appeal to America to address the issue of race once and for all.
The speaker of the speech had mentioned that he was “the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas,” and that he is “married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners” His family lineage is “scattered across three continents.” Obama gives out his family history, and his successes to give his speech and himself credibility and validity.

He wanted to be able to give himself character. By telling his story, he admits that he is not “the most conventional candidate” but that “this nation is more than sum of its parts – that out of the many, we are truly one” He was very well educated as he had “gone to some of the best schools in America.” Obama is illustrating that he does have the authority and experience to make these statements. By assuming the role of an uncertain public, Obama supports his credibility when admits that he would “react in much the same way” if all that he knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of sermons. This allows him to explain his association with Reverend Wright and also use the pastor’s controversial remarks to boost his argument for a more perfect union. It was important for him to make sure that the audience knew who he was. He wanted to make sure that the audience was able to relate to

him.
The main audience Obama addresses in his speech is that of the American public, voters, media, news watchers, whites and blacks, younger generation. More specifically to the white and black voters of America. He speaks to the white audience about the “anger is real” and “powerful,” that has boiled over from decades of discrimination toward African-Americans and a “legacy of defeat . . . passed on to future generations”. He addressed the African-American audience stating that, “a similar anger exists within segment of the white community” Obama also suggests that “to wish away the resentments of white Americans . . . widens the racial divide, and blocks the past to understanding”. By offering these two perspectives to these audiences, Obama brings them together as one audience against a racial division that blocks the path to a more perfect union. He states “In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people”.
The speaker and the audience are the key point to the speech. Because of those two elements, his speech is more influential. Throughout his whole essay, he gives the audience a visual imagination about current state we are in with racial inequality. Obama wanted the audience to be able to relate to his speech. All in all, Obama once said, “I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together—unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories but common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place but we all want to move in the same direction.” He was trying to distract the media and the people of the controversy; he mentions how the racial discrimination and inequality was the problem that was stopping the United States from being a perfect union.