Indeed, arguably he is playing a little loose with the terms here, for persuasion, while it may be based on logic, is rarely simply logic. Rather it is logic combined with at least a coating of emotion.

In the following passage toward the end of his speech Obama uses language that I believe to be persuasive in a way in which Aristotle would approve, for Obama is using facts to build a case for his point-of-view rather than simply trading in emotion that he has called up for the occasion: This is not sophistry.

And that's why this award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity -- for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon...
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