Rhetorical Appeals in the Article "What Republicans Could Learn from the British"

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay
In the article "What Republicans could learn from the British," Richard Cohen compares America's GOP leadership to Britain's. Cohen begins by explaining the conventional style of British administration. In Britain, leaders do the conventional thing and the right thing. The conventional thing because it is the norm, and the right thing because they value principles. In America, however, leaders, especially in the GOP, seem unable to stick to their conservative views and governance ways. Cohen, therefore, challenges Republicans to be better by emulating the British. In this paper, the author seeks to show how Cohen uses rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to convince his readers that Republicans are running a sham government.
Ethos refers to the authority and expertise over a subject that enables the writer or speaker to convince their audience. To his readers, Cohen is an experienced writer in the area of politics. To new readers, Cohen's expertise also becomes evident once they research him. This authority over political matters grants Cohen the ethos. Cohen uses his power over political issues brilliantly. He expects the reader to trust that he has a strong opinion over America's political matters because he has written the column for more than 50 years. As a journalist, Cohen presents a well-researched, impartial, and comprehensive article that speaks to his professional expertise. In various sections, he provides hyperlinks, which the readers can explore to gain more insight into the topic he is discussing. These hyperlinks, which lead to previous articles written by him, help confirm his position as an experienced writer in political matters. In addition to his experience in journalism, Cohen applies ethos as a trusted columnist. The public trusts journalists, and Cohen expects that the trust the public has placed in him will enable them to view his opinion as noteworthy.
Pathos is the appeal to emotion. In rhetoric, this is the most useful and powerful element. Using pathos, a speaker or writer can provoke specific responses from their audience. In the article, Cohen points out an instance when former President Trump used extremely foul language. The conversation, which was recorded and the tape circulated to members of the public, angered many citizens. Cohen understands that Trump's lewd language in the recording still irritates many Americans to date. Many citizens would like to have leaders who respect women and people in general, and Cohen appeals to this urge by restating what transp...