An audience can be swayed by factors outside the rhetoric realm. This was briefly mentioned in class on Thursday when the Kennedy/Nixon debate was discussed. Radio listeners thought Nixon won the debate, but television viewers considered Kennedy the winner. Nixon won the second and third debates, while the fourth was considered a draw, but Kennedy won the election. Kennedy’s appearance helped in the first debate; he is probably one of the best looking presidents, while Nixon looks like a certain diabolical mouse (http://totallylookslike.com/2008/09/01/richard-nixon-totally-looks-like-the-brain/).

Quintilian speaks of an analogous situation in Chapter 15 of Book 2 with the story of Phryne and Hyperides. Phryne was on trial, and one of her lovers, the great orator Hypereides, defended her. The trial seemed to be going against her, so either Hypereides or Phryne herself removed her clothing and exposed her to the judges. She was acquitted.

Rhetoric is powerul, but innate biases can neutralize rhetoric’s potency. One way rhetoric can be more persuasive is by putting those biases out in the open and making the audience aware. George W. Bush lacked the oratory skills of his opponents, but he used it to his advantage by making himself seem more down to earth than Al Gore or John Kerry. Maybe Bush had a better grasp of rhetoric than he is given credit for.