Rhetorical Analysis Of Edward M. Kennedy's Speech

In the summer of 1969, Edward M. Kennedy proposed a speech to the American citizens to “apologize” for his actions and unsuccessful attempt at trying to rescue his dear friend Mary Jo. On July 18th, Edward Kennedy, the current president, hosted an annual cookout on Chappaquiddick Island, inviting Kennedy campaign secretaries, one of them being Mary Jo Kopechne. Around 11:15 P.M., Edward offered to drive Mary Jo home, despite the “possible” alcoholic drinks he may have had. She accepted, and not soon after, Edward drove off a bridge into a lake, killing Mary Jo. While the events of the night ended tragically, Edward did have one advantage, saving him throughout all of this, his last name. Kennedy and his brother were very impactful political
During the constant shaming and berating of the public, Edward used denial and refused to take responsibility for his actions, to help save his image. After denying the rumors, and evading responsibility for his actions through the strategy of it just being an accident. Kennedy used this as a claim that the events of what happened were just beyond his realm of control. In his speech he uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, stating to the public, “It has been 7 years since my first election to the Senate. You and I share many memories”. He uses his ethos to try to get his credibility and political status to overweigh the wrath the public currently feels for him. He also uses multiple fallacies in his speech, saying, “I have made immediate and repeated efforts to save Mary Jo by diving into the strong and murky current, but succeeded in only increasing my state of utter exhaustion and alarm”. To hopefully gain the publics understanding, he twists the truth in his favor stating he attempted to rescue Mary Jo multiple times when in fact, at the time of the accident he only tried to save