Political Governance: The Rhetorical Presidency and the Post-State of the Union Addresses of

As American presidential rhetoric has evolved over the last 225 years, presidents have increasingly sought new instruments to affect policy change and new mechanisms to communicate with the American people. Over the course of the last century, many have noted the rise of the rhetorical presidency where the quantity of speeches has dramatically increased and the purpose of presidential rhetoric has changed. In the Presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, their respective post-State of the Union tours have typified a relatively new dynamic of the rhetorical presidency. After a close examination of Bush and Obama’s Post-State of the Union tours in their second terms, one can see the continuing evolution of the rhetorical presidency and a predominantly personal mode of persuasion of the modern presidency