Intention

President Barack Obama's 2015 State of the Union address focuses on themes like economic issues in the US and American foreign policy.

Through his speech, Barack Obama wants to convey a message of unity and collective action, an approach that has dominated both his mandates as a US president: “…and spend more time lifting young people up with a sense of purpose and possibility, asking them to join in the great mission of building America.” (ll. 776-778); “My fellow Americans, we, too, are a strong, tight-knit family. We, too, have made it through some hard times.” (ll. 869-871)

The speaker’s overall intention with the speech is to present the issues that the US is facing and his proposals on how to overcome these issues. Within this overall intention, the speaker has various small, more specific aims.

The first part of the speech, for example, is intended to make the speaker appear as trustworthy and to emphasize that he delivered on his electoral promises: “Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before. More of our people are insured than ever before.” (ll. 14-17);

In this way, he establishes his authority in front of the Congress so that his next proposals are more likely to be accepted.

After reviewing the ...