Runing for president fundamentally is a confrontation between the candidates’ debating accomplishments. Whoever best nowadayss their docket and platforms and right speaks for the party they represent. wins. Candidates whose statements and premises prove to be groundless and finally do non keep H2O. lose. A smart elector. hence. should be able to weigh every candidate’s statements and justice for himself/herself if they so would keep H2O in the terminal. Stephen Toulmin one time said that “the merely arguments we can reasonably judge by deductive criterions are those held out as and intended to be analytic. necessary and officially valid. ” ( Toulmin. p. 154 )
At this clip where the US Presidential Candidacy is fast nearing its homestretch. we can utilize Toulmin’s theoretical account of debate in analysing how the current presidential campaigners address some political and societal issues. For this paper. I will be utilizing the Toulmin Model to analyse the 2008 Presidential Candidates’ places on this issue ( as posted in the Washington Post’s particular study on the Presidential Candidates and their issue statements ) : How do you believe the United States should manage illegal immigrants? Do you back up President Bush’s in-migration program?
This is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s issue statement as published on The Washington Post:
“The failure of the Congress and the White House to go through comprehensive in-migration reform has left the state with a broken system that needs to be fixed. As President. I will work to go through comprehensive in-migration reform that includes five cardinal elements. I believe we have to toughen security at our boundary lines. by puting more people and engineering at that place.
I will guarantee that my policy clefts down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants and applies strict punishments for those who exploit these workers. I think that we should work with local communities to cover with the effects of a broken in-migration system. I plan to work with our neighbours to the South to happen ways to supply economic chances for their ain people. And. in conclusion. I will do certain that my policy provides a way to earned legalisation that requires people to larn English and pay mulcts. ”
Senator Clinton’s chief place on the in-migration issue is based on the premiss that the current in-migration Torahs and system need reform. since they are “inadequate and no longer function our best interests” ( Clinton. 2008 ) . Clinton so attempts to give evidences in this claim. saying that “as a state. we place a premium on compassion. regard. and policies that help households. but our in-migration Torahs don’t reflect that” . She neglects. nevertheless. to explicitly show which Torahs she was speaking about. and what parts of them do non reflect the prioritization of the demands and public assistance of the household.
Clinton neglects to show concrete grounds for her claim that the current disposal has failed to beef up and procure the nation’s boundary lines. In fact. all of the points in her action program are “corrective” steps to a failed in-migration system that. once more. is non supported by grounds in her statement. Alternatively of seeking to appeal to the reader’s logical logical thinking by utilizing valid statistics and mentions. Clinton goes for the reader’s beliefs. values and demands. She chooses to travel for the voter’s bosom and sympathy alternatively of the head.
Clinton besides claims that we can be able to “know who is in our state by procuring our boundary lines and guaranting that employers comply with the jurisprudence against engaging and working undocumented workers” . She farther suggests the execution of a kind of designation system to assist control and immediately verify immigrants’ employment information.
Again. Clinton does non win in doing a strong. valid point here since her thesis is yet to be proven. Clinton implied that fastening the neckband around the undocumented worker and rising security steps in the boundary lines would allow us cognize who precisely is in America. This statement has no executable footing. and is a far-fetching thought. at its best. This statement merely does non keep H2O.
Interestingly. Sen. Clinton answers the 2nd inquiry ( Do you back up President Bush’s in-migration program? ) rather indirectly. and merely returns to proclaim that the present administration’s in-migration system has fallen short of its outlooks. Besides. in the terminal of it all. Clinton so proceeded to recite her ain cogent evidence of her ain candidacy for reform in this section rather early on in her calling. Her premiss for this subdivision of her place statement is that she ( Senator Clinton ) is ready to take the state in this facet because she had earlier advocated for the policies she has posted at that place.
This is Senator Barack Obama’s issue statement as published on The Washington Post:
“I was really defeated by the Congress’s failure to go through comprehensive in-migration reform. This crisis demands that we take action. Holes remain in our boundary lines. Millions of undocumented immigrants persist in the shadows. I will work to go through comprehensive reform that protects our security. bolsters our economic system. and preserves America’s tradition as a state of immigrants who are welcomed every bit long as they work hard and play by the regulations. ”
Senator Barack Obama’s take on this issue is slightly political and straight berates the current disposal for political development ( Obama. 2008 ) . He blames the evident dislocation of the in-migration system on the ceaseless politicking and divisiveness of those at power who can really do a difference in this facet. Obama’s chief premiss is that “our broken in-migration system can merely be fixed by seting political relations aside and offering a complete solution that secures our boundary line. enforces our Torahs and reaffirms our heritage as a state of immigrants. ”
He so enumerates his ain five-point scheme and supports each point with statistics and existent facts and events. Appealing this clip to an audience that demands facts. cogent evidence and statistics. Obama’s take on saying his place on this issue is to supply hard. cold informations and utilize this information as establishing tablets to back up his ain claims. Senator Obama even enumerated alongside the statistics several points that support his claim that the current in-migration system is so broken down.
Interestingly. Obama did non straight address the 2nd inquiry ( Do you back up President Bush’s in-migration program? ) but openly criticized the disposal for being the obstructions in the system itself. Senator Barack Obama “believes we must repair the dysfunctional bureaucratism to equilibrate the demands of American workers and the U. S. economic system. ” Even more interesting is his including the immigrant military personnels in his five-point program. It is Obama’s belief “that legal immigrants who have fought for us overseas should hold expedited processs towards citizenship. ”
Here is what Sen. John McCain has to state about this issue ( The Washington Post ) :
“Immigration is one of those disputing issues that touch on many facets of American life. I have ever believed that our boundary line must be secure and that the federal authorities has absolutely failed in its duty to guarantee that it is unafraid. If we have learned anything from the recent in-migration argument. it is that Americans have small trust that their authorities will honour a pledge to make the things necessary to do the boundary line secure. ”
Senator McCain’s push in his issue statement about in-migration and boundary line security evolves around his chief claim that “as president. [ it is my duty to ] … secure the boundary line. I will reconstruct the trust Americans should hold in the basic competence of their authorities. A secure boundary line is an indispensable component of our national security. ” ( McCain. 2008 ) McCain makes a strong and direct onslaught against the current disposal and its in-migration system. but fails to supply specific cases to explicate and back up his statement. In fact. even his shutting statement on this issue is vaguer than what he started with. and does non give the reader any information that is logically and disputatiously sound:
“Border security and our failed in-migration system are more illustrations of an ailing Washington civilization in demand of reform to recover the trust of Americans. In excessively many countries — from in-migration and porc barrel disbursement to Social Security. wellness attention. energy security and revenue enhancement alleviation — business-as-usual political relations prevents turn toing the of import challenges confronting our state. ”
McCain. in his said statements. take to appeal to the sentiments of the public but ended up endangering his credibleness in his cognition about of import social issues such as in-migration. Yes he strongly emphasized on the demand for tighter and more efficient boundary line security. but his chief premiss besides is that the job with in-migration will be solved if the boundary line state of affairs is reined under the administration’s control.
What is interesting is McCain’s perennial reduplication of this said requirement by mentioning to the importance of acknowledging the importance of several implicit in issues ( which the other campaigners have frontally and straight addressed in their issue statements. such as beef uping the ties between America and its neighbours in the South. for illustration ) and non traveling farther as to give directives and action points. Merely acknowledging a demand is non the same and will non accomplish the same consequence as really turn toing that demand. McCain weakens his point by halting short of originating action and reform. and settling at the act of acknowledging.
Judging from these issue statements published by the Washington Post and the expounded versions on each of the candidates’ functionary campaigning websites. one may reason that this electoral run is more than merely a conflict of rebuttals and stronger statements. The existent clout of a statement is non measured in how much it opposes the popular or current sentiment and position quo. but it is measured in how strong and good the state-r makes his instance. It’s non a inquiry of articulation either ; it’s all a affair of merely cognizing and profoundly believing in what you are stating. to the consequence that you are capable of converting anyone ( or about everyone ) that you are the authorization in that country and that you are worthy to be heard and followed.
Plants Cited
2008 Presidential Candidates. The Washington Post Company. 2008. 23 April 2008.
& lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //projects. washingtonpost. com/2008-presidential-candidates/ & gt ;
Barack Obama: Change We Can Believe In. Official web site for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaigning. 23 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. barackobama. com/issues/ & gt ;
Hillary for President. Official web site for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaigning. 23 April 2008.
& lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. hillaryclinton. com/issues/ & gt ;
John McCain 2008 – John McCain for President.Official web site for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaigning. 23 April 2008. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. johnmccain. com/Informing/Issues/ & gt ;
Toulmin. S. E.The Uses of Argument( 9Thursdayed. )Cambridge. England: Cambridge University Press. 1988.
