Rhetorical Analysis III

Liberal Democrats, So Hypocritical
Media Research Center
By L. Brent Bozell III

The first apparent aspect of this article is its title. It is a very straightforward attack on Liberal Democrats. It is interesting that both liberal and Democrat appear in the title, two words that describe essentially the same thing, although in this case indicating quite directly the far left of the Democratic party.

After the harshness of the title, there is little doubt as to what makes up the actual article. In fact, it seems to ratchet up its overbearing harshness. For example, Bozell III writes, “Now we are to believe, as they [liberal Democrats] wring their hands in agony and outrage – outrage, I say! – over Ms. Plame’s outing, that they…care? This goes beyond rank hypocrisy. It is intellectual dishonesty.” Despite the fact that this passage is written in a semi-informal tone, it continues the heated spirit.

There is no doubt that this article is well written, but it is not as affective as it might be. The sarcastic, mean spirit of the article makes all of the points less poignant. The angle is so clear, that there is no chance of believing this article to be impartial. For this reason, none of the uncited examples and quotes are quite believable.

Mr. Bozell III has intrinsic ethos because of his position as President of the Media Research Center and because of his reputation as a strong advocate of his beliefs and those of his followers. As for ethos from the text, it seems to be lacking. He does cite some examples of the liberal historical position on treason, but there is very little to rely solely on because of his harsh diction. It is hard to build up a respect for his position without a more balanced perspective.

This article is what you would expect from an extreme right-winger describing the extreme leftwing. The purpose of this article is not to convince a majority of people, it seems more directed at those with a similar perspective who might need to be mobilized. Because of this, most people will not have too much to get excited about.