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Transcript

George W. Bush's 9/11 Bullhorn Speech

Presented By:

Kyle Cogan

and

Shelby Stevenson

$1.25

Vol XCIII, No. 311

Significance of his speech

The cultural work of the "bullhorn" speech is to reassure Americans that we will stand resilient and defy the expectations of our enemies.

Facts

Reception from the immediate crowd:

Reception on a national level

  • Crowd chants "USA, USA, USA"
  • Numerous shouts of "God Bless America!"
  • Some vocal first responders scream "Go get 'em, George!"

  • Overall, this was a huge morale booster for those who were working long shifts at Ground Zero. To see their president thank them for their service and promising to find out who did this motivated the crowd to not lose faith but to keep their heroic efforts going.
  • Bush's comments mirrored the zeitgeist of the nation at the time
  • His words embodied the emotion Americans felt in the days following the attacks

President Bush's Approval Ratings

On September 14th, 2001...

Crowd Manipulation

Deep Analysis using Crowd Manipulation Lens

  • President George W. Bush arrives at Ground Zero to pay his respects and encourage first responders
  • No remarks were planned for this trip
  • Many crew members were asking if the President was speaking, which he was not
  • Nina Bishop, a White House Advance person, told Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to Bush, that the crowd wanted to hear Bush speak
  • Without any preparation, Bishop was told to go find a bullhorn due to the lack of a sound system
  • Rove insisted that the platform be the burnt-out fire truck that was beneath the rubble of the buildings

Definition:

-intentional use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influence the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action

  • site selection/venue
  • symbolic, tangible backdrops can appeal to the audience's emotions

I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings

down will hear all of us soon!

Did Bush purposely use Crowd Manipulation?

His "Bullhorn" Moment

Video Courtesy of American Rhetoric

On the other (LIBERAL) hand...

  • This speech was not planned until he arrived at Ground Zero that morning
  • We were not sure who the definite target was at the time
  • There was no dedicated speaker system to broadcast himself (he did not know how to work the bullhorn too)
  • The scene was all too perfect
  • The burnt-out fire truck
  • Abundant American flags
  • Standing next to a retired fireman
  • Many feel this was his first "campaign stop" to convince Americans to go to war

References

Crowd Manipulation. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_manipulation.

Eidenmuller, M. E. George W. Bush: Bullhorn Address to Ground Zero Rescue Workers.

Retrieved from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911groundzerobullhorn.htm.

Fournier, R. (2012, September 11). How Bush’s Emotions Mirrored Ours on 9/11.

Retrieved from http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/how-bush-s-emotions-mirrored-ours-on-9-11-20120911.

Hennessy, K. (2010, September 14). “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you!”

Retrieved from http://keithhennessey.com/2010/09/14/bullhorn/.

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