In attempting to persuade the reader by appealing to emotion û the pathos û Dickerson and Gibbs argue that Bush was, in effect, still the ôoutsiderö in Washington, despite being the incumbent, and very much the underdog. Because he made a point to stop at the small, ôinsignificantö towns along the campaign trail, however, he was able to make a big impact on those voters (Dickerson and Gibbs 43). Readers relate to the notion of the underd

One other way the authorÆs appeal to reason is by giving examples of how ôordinaryö politicians conduct a campaign then go to great lengths to describe how Bush did exactly the opposite û leaving the reader to reach just one conclusion: if Bush is not ordinary, then he must be ôextraordinary.ö

In appealing to the readerÆs reason û the logos û Dickerson and Gibbs utilize statistics to compare BushÆs presidency to those of his predecessors. One particularly effective way they do that is by citing statistics that defy logic û that argue why Bush should not have been re-elected: Bush had only a 53 percent approval rating in December û the lowest December rating for a re-elected President in GallupÆs history (32); a below 50 percent approval rating late in the campaign; and 60 percent of Americans thinking the country was on the wrong track (46). By citing these statistics, the reader must agree that anyone who, statistically, should not have won the election, but did anyway, is worthy of being named Per