TASK Read the following speech carefully and identify the following presentation techniques.

·         dramatic contrasts

·         repetition

·         machine gunning

·         rhetorical questions

·         puns

·         other

SPEECH 6

Bill Clinton – Democratic Convention Speech, August 2008, Part 2

I.

The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the
selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park.

With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight,
and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need.

Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be
President of the United States.


II.

He will work for an America with more partners and fewer adversaries. He will rebuild our frayed
alliances and revitalize the international institutions which help to share the costs of the
world's problems and to leverage our power and influence. He will put us back in the forefront of
the world's fight to reduce nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and to stop global warming.
He will continue and enhance our nation's global leadership in an area in which I am deeply
involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, including a renewal of the battle against
HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort. But in a
world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by
other threats to our security, our interests, and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries
into partners, he will stand up to them.

III.

Barack Obama also will not allow the world's problems to obscure its opportunities. Everywhere, in
rich and poor countries alike, hardworking people need good jobs; secure, affordable healthcare,
food, and energy; quality education for their children; and economically beneficial ways to fight
global warming. These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack
Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets, and create new
jobs for our people.

Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at
home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the
example of our power.

IV.

Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising
productivity. They've worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining
wages, less than ¼ as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller health care and pension
benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American
families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage. I
will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on
the campaign trail that they couldn't afford health care and couldn't qualify their kids for
Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so
proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple
deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on
unions and the unlimited favors for the well connected? What about Katrina and cronyism?

America can do better than that. And Barack Obama will.

But first we have to elect him.

V.

The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and
suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a Senator, he
has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how
to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still
embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we
never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of
both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they
had talked about for decades were implemented.

VI.

They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22 million new jobs
down to 5 million; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than
$2,000; from almost 8 million Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million
falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for
the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy.
More band-aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and
increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared
responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our
influence.

They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send
them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this
case, the third time is not the charm.