Barack Obama and the Rhetoric of Hope

<p> The historical and literary antecedents of the President's campaign rhetoric can be traced to the utopian traditions of the Western world. The rhetoric of hope is a form of political discourse characterized by a forward-looking vision of social progress brought about by collective effort and adherence to shared values (including discipline temperance a strong work ethic self-reliance and service to the community).</p><p> By combining his own personal story (as the biracial son of a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya) with national mythologies like the American Dream Obama creates a persona that embodies the moral values and cultural mythos of his implied audience. In doing so he draws upon the Classical world Judeo-Christianity the European Enlightenment the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights the presidencies of Jefferson Lincoln and FDR slave narratives the Black church the civil rights movement and even popular culture.</p>