Edward M. Kennedy

A detailed Summary of Edward M. Kennedy

1. In Kennedy's speech he mainly concentrates on two types of persuasive discourse. The first element of discourse that he makes obvious is Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Corbett 23). This type of discourse is more commonly known as Political Apologia, and it is most frequently used when a politician is trying to publicly apologize for some form of wrongdoing. Kennedy makes this apparent right from the start. He wants to let the audience know that he did not handle the situation in the right manner, and is very sorry for what happened. Kennedy makes this evident when he is stating how he entered a plea of guilty for leaving the scene of an accident, and how it would not have been right for him to comment on the matter until he had made an appearance in the courtroom. Kennedy is letting the audience know that he is bothered by the accident, and does feel bad about what he did. He shows this again when he states. "But tonight I am free to tell you what happened and!

to say what it means to me"(200). At this point in the speech Kennedy is trying to communicate to the audience that he is free and ready to let his guard down and tell the people what really happened on the night of the accident. Kennedy needs to let th

Kennedy did not have to wait very long before he received feedback from his constituent's in Massachusetts. The New York Times Reports that. "Massachusetts residents, the target of Mr. Kennedy's televised appeal for "advice and opinion" in deciding his political future, poured out their support for him in tens of thousands of telegrams and telephone calls to newspapers and radio and television stations across the state" (McFadden 51, Col 1). As you can see by this one statement contained in this article that Kennedy had done just what he wanted in getting the people to show their support for him, and letting him know that they did want him to stay in office. However the reaction was different from all over the country. In the same article The New York Times reports that. "A San Francisco radio station reported that most callers were unfavorable to Mr. Kennedy"(McFadden 51, Col. 4). Luckily for Kennedy he was able to deliver the type of speech he wanted to, to the p!

Reed, Roy. "Kennedy to Stay in Senate; Implies No '72 Candidacy." New York Times 31 July 1969.

e people know that he is upset over what has happened. By displaying signs of political apologia at the beginning of the speech he has set the tone and foundation for what he is going to say and is now ready to deliver the rest of his discourse.

However, not everyone thought Kennedy was going to suffer huge set backs in his career because of what he had done. In fact Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana, who at the time was the majority leader, said to The New York Times that, "he did not believe the accident would hurt the career of Senator Kennedy, who this year at the age of 38, became the majority whip"(Rosenbaum 25 & 28.)

a narrow bridge which had no guard rails and was built on a left angle to the road"(201). In this description Kennedy is slowly trying to take the attention off of him, and focus it more on the poor conditions of the road. He wants the people to actually believe that things like the bridge being built on a left angle are actually important.

McFadden, Robert D. "Senator Reported Moved by Response." New York Times 27 July 1969.

"Kennedy's Career Feared Imperiled by Accident" New York Times 21 July 1969

Prior to his accident with Kopechne, Kennedy's political career was in good standings with the people of Massachusetts. However many things during his political career were not taken seriously. As it is stated in the Biography, Edward M. Kennedy by Adam Clymer, "For years hardly anything he did, from his Senate votes to his travels, was taken seriously on its face, rather than as part of a grand strategy to recapture Camelot"(8). At the time this was not the only mark Kennedy ha

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Approximate Word count = 1830
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History