Okay, let me do it for you.

rhet•o•ric
Pronunciation:   REH-tuh-rick
Function:   noun
Etymology: Middle English rethorik, from Middle French rethorique, from Latin rhetorica, from Greek rhEtorikE, literally, art of oratory, from feminine of rhEtorikos of an orator, from rhEtOr orator, rhetorician, from eirein to say, speak
1 : the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
2 a : skill in the effective use of speech b : a type or mode of language or speech; also : insincere or grandiloquent language
3 : verbal communication : DISCOURSE

In ancient times, rhetoric was an art, and it consisted of framing one's argument logically. Within recent years, people have corrupted the term, using it to mean only one of the secondary definitions above, "insincere or grandiloquent language." That, of course, is what most political speeches have degenerated into:   one goddam bumper-sticker after another, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Rhetoric is not a lost art by any means. But there are very few good practitioners of the art these days. Miraculously enough, a few of them can be found here on Mudcat.

Don Firth