Rhetorical Situation

Speaker

The speaker of the “I Have Sinned” speech is Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States. Clinton delivers his message on September 11, 1998, at the annual White House prayer breakfast. 

From the beginning of his speech, Clinton portrays himself as a repentant man, who is aware of his mistakes. His uneasiness at the beginning of the speech helps Clinton appear as a man who tries to deal with the consequences of his misbehavior: “I may not be quite as easy with my words today as I have been in years past, and I was up rather late last night thinking about and praying about what I ought to say today”. 

Clinton portrays himself as a man with a “broken spirit”, who is remorseful and sincere in acknowledging his mistakes: “I don't think there is a fancy way to...