A critical textual analysis was used to examine speeches and memorials given by President
George W. Bush shortly after September 11. The findings demonstrate the applicability of
Spillman and Spillman’s (1997, p. 50-51) model and how this political rhetoric stimulated the
enemy image syndrome. Specifically, speeches given at a prayer service at Washington National
Cathedral for the September 11 victims on September 14, 2001; his State of the Union addresses
on October 7, 2001 and January 29, 2002; and his speech before a joint meeting of Congress on
September 20, 2001, were analyzed. The categories are not mutually exclusive. Examples are
used that best represent a given characteristic. The stories were read multiple times for general
understanding of the text, notes were taken, and representative quotes applied to the Spillman
and Spillman (1997) model. Transcripts were obtained using Lexis/Nexis. The speeches were
printed in the Los Angeles Times (January 30, 2002), The New York Times (September 14 and
September 21, 2001), and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (October 7, 2001). The transcripts were
recorded by the Federal News Service, the New York Times, Reuters, and released by the White
House