Presidential Rhetoric and Moral Leadership

In his debate with Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln asserted, "With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."[i] Throughout American presidential history, presidents have used their language to communicate government affairs and enact changes in policy. Presidents often used the press as a very efficient means to disseminate their messages. Throughout the history of the United States, the methods and platforms used by presidents have undergone significant changes. However, presidents continue to use these platforms to communicate the key objectives of their administration. The magnitude of the White House Communications Office, which is the most extensive department in terms of personnel within the White House, exemplifies the significance of the president's remarks.[ii] The president holds a distinctive position in the political system of the United States as the sole representative chosen to serve the entire nation. The president serves as a representative for the general public, allowing their opinions and concerns to be heard.[iii] Regrettably, the utterances of a president frequently carry more significance than any other aspects of the administration.[iv]

The media have a crucial role in shaping people's understanding of the government and the broader world. In contrast to 1974, when the media landscape primarily consisted of newspapers, nightly television news shows, and radio, several new media platforms have evolved as channels for citizens to access government news.[v] Due to this position, the media wield significant influence over both the American public and the presidency. Presently, most presidential leadership relies on receiving favorable media coverage for the president.[vi] However, the president cannot control the press's agenda. It is essential to remember that "the media independently choose which issues to highlight and how to frame them for their viewers and readers. As a result, the media provide powerful competition for the president in his attempts to structure choices before the public."[vii]

Nonetheless, a key responsibility of the president is to employ his language to demonstrate moral guidance to the nation. Different presidents throughout the years have used their words to show moral leadership. In some instances, moral leadership defines campaigns in which some presidential candidates have used the media to pass out moral imperatives to Americans. When defining the presidency Franklin D. Roosevelt, said, "The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. That's the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is preeminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought when certain historic ideas in the nation's life had to be clarified."[viii] Presidents demonstrate their highest effectiveness when they employ moral persuasion instead of coercion to persuade the nation of their objectives and aspirations. Within this tradition, individuals can transcend their political party or philosophy and inspire "Americans to their highest ideals, and to their personal and collective responsibilities, even as [they remind] them of certain home truths."[ix]

Different presidents have delivered moral leadership speeches to promote their policies to the nation. A notable example is Barack Obama, who commenced delivering moral leadership speeches during campaigns. Former Senator Barack Obama exemplified the concept of moral persuasion when he delivered his renowned speech, "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union," during his presidential campaign in 2008. He attempted to convince the nation with his speech:

I chose to run for president at this moment in history because 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 we hold 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 — toward a better future for our children and our grandchildren.[x]

In his address, Senator Obama underscored the significance of intergenerational collaboration in pursuit of a more promising future for all citizens of the United States. In another moment, as President, Obama stood in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room following the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman, who was being tried for the killing of 17-year-old Trevon Martin during that address,

You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son.  Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.  And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away.[xi]

During this moment, President Obama used his platform to bring attention to the African-American community's issues. He explained to the country why this issue was still alive. The President further required Americans to assess their history critically and attempt to rectify some historical injustices rather than ignore our history, as it defines most of our actions today.

Likewise, President William Jefferson Clinton exhibited ethical leadership as he delivered a speech from the very same podium from which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his final address. Clinton conveyed to the audience his vision of the contemporary dialogue that King would engage in with the African-American community:

But he [Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.] would say, I did not live and die to see the American family destroyed. I did not live and die to see 13-year-old boys get automatic weapons and gun down 9-year-olds just for the kick of it. I did not live and die to see young people destroy their own lives with drugs and then build fortunes destroying the lives of others. That is not what I came here to do. I fought for freedom, he would say, but not for the freedom of people to kill each other with reckless abandon, not for the freedom of children to have children and the fathers of the children walk away from them and abandon them as if they don't amount to anything. I fought for people to have the right to work but not to have whole communities and people abandoned. This is not what I lived and died for. My fellow Americans, he would say, I fought to stop white people from being so filled with hate that they would wreak violence on black people. I did not fight for the right of black people to murder other black people with reckless abandon.[xii]

President Clinton employed his rhetoric to inspire the American populace, demonstrating their potential for improvement. Notably, this speech highlighted a major problem the country had grappled with in the last two decades: a surge in crime. This speech intuitively invoked the moral fabric of American society: the family. President Bill Clinton stressed that all Americans had a significant role in curbing crime and racial injustice.  

Bill Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, delivered a moral leadership speech during a horrific time in America's history. In response to the devastating act of violence perpetrated against the American people on September 11, 2001, President George H.W. Bush visited the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. On December 17, 2001, he made a proclamation stating, "Islam is Peace." He continued:

The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about.  Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam, we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace.  And that's made brothers and sisters out of every race -- out of every race. This is a great country. It's a great country because we share the same values of respect and dignity and human worth. And it is my honor to be meeting with leaders who feel just the same way I do. They're outraged, they're sad. They love America just as much as I do.[xiii] 

Accordingly, all of the aforementioned presidents comprehended their duty during their time in office and, in those instances, rose to demonstrate ethical guidance to the public. During critical moments in our nation's history, the president has demonstrated moral authority and guided the country. Every president encounters a specific moment throughout their term when they have the opportunity to demonstrate moral leadership to the nation. The responsibility to meet the challenge lies with the president, and these instances become indelibly imprinted in the collective recollection of the United States.

[i] Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, ed. Paul M. Angle (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 128.

[ii] David Michael Ryfe, Presidents in Culture: The Meaning of Presidential Communication (New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2005), 1.

[iii] Bartholomew H. Sparrow, “Who Speaks for the People? The President, the Press, and Public Opinion in the United States,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38, no. 4 (December 2008): 578-92, 578.

[iv] James W. Ceasar et al., “The Rise of the Rhetorical Presidency,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 11 (1981): 158-71, 159.

[v] Sparrow, “Who Speaks for the People? The President, the Press, and Public Opinion in the United States,” 578-79.

[vi] Ibid., 582.

[vii] George C Edwards, On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 2003), 173.

[viii] Anne O’Hare McCormick, “Roosevelt’s View of the Big Job,” The New York Times Magazine, September 11, 1932.

[ix] Carol Gelderman, “All the Presidents’ Words,” The Wilson Quarterly 19 (0AD): 68-79, accessed December 30, 2020, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40258979, 69.

[x] “Transcript: Barack Obama’s Speech on Race,” NPR (NPR, March 18, 2008), last modified March 18, 2008, accessed December 30, 2020, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88478467.

[xi] Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on Trayvon Martin,” National Archives and Records Administration, July 19, 2013, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/19/remarks-president-trayvon-martin.

[xii] William J Clinton, “November 13, 1993: Remarks to the Convocation of the Church of God in Christ in Memphis,” Miller Center, last modified May 4, 2017, accessed June 16, 2021, https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/november-13-1993-remarks-convocation-church-god-christ-memphis.

[xiii] George W. Bush, “Islam Is Peace,” National Archives and Records Administration (National Archives and Records Administration, September 17, 2001), last modified September 17, 2001, accessed December 30, 2020, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.html.

By Joshua Longmire

Joshua Longmire is an assistant professor in leadership at Dallas Baptist University.

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