John McCain's Concession Speech

I think that McCain's Concession Speech was very effective because of the organization of his speech. He starts out by addressing the audience as "my friends" which he is known to say frequently. He then goes on to explain the significance of this election in that it is the first time an African American has been elected president. He proceeds to thank all that helped him in his campaign, his family, and all his supporters. He then winds down his speech by saying that running for office was the greatest "honor" of his life, and that he has no regrets. He urges Americans to put their differences aside for the good of the country. He ends his speech with a very powerful set of short sentences: "Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America." The repetition in these last statements really enhance the ending of the speech.
He also uses a lot of pathos throughout the speech, which also enhances its quality. For example, he talks about what this election means to the African American people throughout the country; I am sure that many emotions were elicited by his comments. Also, he frequently refers to how great and wonderful American is, and how it is the "greatest nation on Earth," which also elicit emotions from many people.
For our speech, we are writing the concession speech of Sarah Palin. I think that the way McCain structures his speech is very effective, and I think we should try doing something similar. On the other hand, while McCain uses a lot of pathos in his speech, it would probably not be a good idea to use so much for Palin's speech. The fact that she is a women already elicits stereotypes about her that she may become to emotional for such an important position so it would be best to stay away from too much heavy emotion. For our speech, it will be more important to establish Palin's credibility since that is something that many people think she lacks. I also think that we need to incorporate something that mentions that great accomplishment that Obama has achieved as the first black president, and that she believes the same great stride can be made for women.