Yes We Can.

     Regardless of your political views, let's just agree that Barack Obama is a phenomenal public speaker.  He epitomizes every component of a successful speaker.
     Firstly, his appearance: Obama was looking sharp in neutral colors.  Both his soft gray suit and striped gray and white tie gave him a relaxed look.  His tie especially gave off a relaxed and informal look, which was good for this specific situation, since he was speaking at a high school.
     Secondly, President Obama has a way with words.  His use of colloquial diction was perfect for his setting.  Students all around the country would be capable of understanding every single word Obama used.  This is good for the purpose of this 'Back to School' speech, because if a student doesn't understand what the president was saying, the speech would have no effect on the child (which is bad).  Yet even with the use of everyday words, President Obama was still able to give the speech a bit of formality.  He is a speaking genius.
     Obama knows who his target audience is, and how to reel them in.  He starts the speech off with a light mood by making the audience laugh.  Obama uses humor periodically throughout his entire speech.  This keeps his speech interesting to the normal viewer.  His use of personal experiences and personal life also keep the student audience in tune.  By using his own stories as a student who didn't receive perfect grades during his school years, Obama establishes his character as a relatable person who understands the stress and importance of education.
     President Obama also establishes his character by placing himself with the audience.  In many of his sentences, he uses the pronouns "us," "we," and "we're."  This shows that he cares for his country just as much as anyone else does.
     When Obama uses pathos in his speech, he really uses pathos. "You're this country's future." "I have no doubt that America's best days are still ahead of us, because I know the potential that lies in each of you." "Your country is depending on you."

PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. 

     This speech riles up students enough to get them motivated for the school year, but not too much so that people start chanting Obama's words down the school hallway.  Basically, it's perfect. 

In Obama we trust.

(Until November of next year, if someone else gets elected. Then, in (insert president of 2012-2016 here,) we (hopefully, if the person is relatively competent,) trust (unless he/she is not trustworthy at all).