Trey Jensen 1/28/2014 In the reading assignment, Vatzs ethos can be observed from the footnote on page one,

stating him as a doctoral candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. This footnote provides a way for readers to believe Vatz has a comfortable amount of rhetorical credibility. Bitzers credibility stems from his position at the University of Wisconsin. He has been called one of the most respected rhetorician of the latter half of the twentieth century. Bitzer logically states that rhetoric depends on the situation it is presented, otherwise known as its Kairos. He claims the situation (kairos) dictates the response of the audience. Bitzer states a situation is rhetorical only if something should be done. Vatz counters by stating that facts and events taken from a situation are purely arbitrary. Vatz rather believes that situations are rhetorical. He relates through pathos back to the time of the Vietnam War and the confusion there was. No one really knew what it was like overseas. Since no one knew the situation, the U.S. created a sense of rhetorical victory through the given situation. Vatz concludes by reaching the settlement that rhetoric is a cause, not an effect.