Argumentum Ad Hominem

Sabrina Carreno and Angeles Cruz Mrs. Gardner English 10 Honors 0*

What does this mean?

Argumentum ad Hominem is turning from the issue to the character involved. It comes from the Latin meaning against the man (or person).

http://reverendryan.blogspot.com-argumentum-adhominem.html

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Examples In Culture
Now, Barack Obama, of course, he's pretty much only voted along his party lines. In fact, 96 percent of his votes have been solely along party line, not having that proof for the American people to know that his commitment, too, is, you know, put the partisanship, put the special interests aside, and get down to getting business done for the people of America. - Sarah Palin
[CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/David_Letterman_episodes

Continued
"These are tough times, with real serious issues. So you have to scratch your head when the president spends the last week talking about Big Bird," Romney said at a campaign event in Iowa.
["Romney Slams Obama for Talking Big Bird." TheHill. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore

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Argumentum ad hominem in latin means against the man, which is how it is mainly seen today in politics. Many politicians use this as a tactic within debates, instead of addressing an issue they comment on their opposing candidate. An example we found is in an interview with Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. ...Barack Obama, of course, he's pretty much only voted along his party line, said Palin during the interview when asked about Obamas standing. Here she directed the attention to Obamas votes instead of his potential as president. Another example was when Romney pledged to cut PBS funding as a way to cut costs. This created a huge controversy due to his mentioning of Big Bird. Many citizens love Big Bird and completely opposed his idea. At the time, there were huge financial issues and Romney went to Iowa for a campaign event. This is an example od Argumentum Ad Hominem because Romney is criticizing the topics Obama chooses to discuss while there is a huge issue underway. Romney is using Argumentum Ad Hominem to change the topic between Obamas capability of being an amazing president and starts talking about the topics Obama has been discussing lately.