On a cold winter morning, January 28 in the year 1986, America was deeply shaken and brought to its knees when the space shuttle Challenger exploded horribly within seconds after launch. The seven crew members, including a civilian teacher, were all missing. This was a turning point, we had never lost a single astronaut in flight. The United States by now had unfortunately become accustomed to successful space missions, and this confrontation with reality was all too sudden, too brutal for a complacent and unaware nation (“Space”). The outpouring of sympathy among its citizens had not been seen since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The disturbing scenes were shown repeatedly on news networks, which undeniably made it difficult to keep them from haunting the nation's attention (“Space”). The current president had more than just one situation to deal with, he had the problematic feat of gracefully lifting America by the boot straps. President Reagan, at the beginning of his second term, had successfully maintained an overall high approval rating among the American people. He had gained their trust and respect by being quite recognizable to the average citizen (Cannon). He had planned to give his State of the Union address that evening, but postponed it instead. The tragedy that had occurred a few hours earlier required his full attention (Eidenmuller 29). From this enormous loss a rhetorical situation had arisen (a situation in which individuals' understanding can be altered through messages) (Zarefsky 12). The American public was in chaos, school children left with more questions than answers, and grieving families took on most of everything (Eidenmuller 29). That this……medium of paper……ent would present an ineffective speech. This was not an easy task for me, because I am not a Reagan admirer; however, I abandoned my listener prejudices to finally appreciate the Great Communicator in his element. Works Cited Cannon, Lou. “Actor, governor, president, icon”. The Washington Post. June 6, 2004. Web. September 3, 2010. .Eidenmuller, Michael E. Great Speeches for Better Speaking: Listen and Learn from America's Most Memorable Speeches. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. Google Books. Network. 4 September 2010. “Space: they have loosened the gruff bonds of the earth to touch the face of God”. Time. February 10, 1986. Web. September 3, 2010. .Zarefsky, David. Public speaking: strategies for success. 6th ed. Allyn & Bacon, 2011. Print.