I Am an Op-Ed Coulumnist by Stephen Colbert (style Analyst)

In Stephen Colbert's column, he uses examples with his current life events to explain his point that he is just like any other person. Portraying a humorous and opinionative tone throughout the passage to explain his reasoning.

Throughout the whole passage, he uses humor to explicate that he is not more special than others. He writes that "the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief". Making it humorous and exaggerating by saying "commander in chief". He could've just said something such as far superior. He also uses personification and humor together when he writes "why the Manhattan D.A. had an accent like an Appulachian catfish wrestler". Reasoning that its influence is as useless as a Appulachian catfish wrestler. A prime example that even though the Manhattan D.A. is supposably important, it's not.

Stephen uses a couple of examples using ethos to help prove his opinion that he is just like any other person. At the beginning of his column he writes that he "thanks Maureen Dowd for permitting/begging [him] to write her column". Using that as an example that people believe that he is something important. He also makes it humorous by adding the "begging". Another example would be when he writes "others point to my new bestseller". A major example to prove that most people would assume he is important or special. Trying to reason that even though he has a bestseller book written, he is still just like any other man.

Towards the end of the column, Stephen then uses diction to present his opinions. He writes that "[he] shares Americas' nostalgia for an era". Utilizing "nostalgia" to show that he also would like to go back to the past where a man was not judge by his job or career. By writing that he tries to back up his opinion that he himself is just like any other man. He than writes that "[he] [is] not the Anointed". He tries to prove to people that there is nothing special with him, by writing "Anointed". Utilizing "Anointed" to state that he is not the chosen one or anything else that makes him better than anybody.

Overall Stephen Colbert uses these any many more rhetorical devices to reason with the readers that he is nothing more than a regular man. Also by using a humorous tone to entertain the readers, he attempts to prove to the readers that "[he] [is] just an Average Joe like you".