¶ … approves of the Superfund and the taxation on oil and chemical companies that is used to clean up environmental messes. Even before these specific elements of the author's concern are mentioned, he or she has made a tacit appeal to the sense of fairness expected to be found in the article's readers; using quotes to offset the alliterative phrase "polluter pays" (and calling it in full the "polluter pays' principle," adding one more instance of the repeated "p" to help the phrase stick in readers' minds) and referencing it as the "cornerstone of environmental policy," the author immediately sets out what is right and what is wrong. This is done in such a way that there is no room for argument -- obviously, if someone makes a mess, they should be the ones to clean it up. Throughout the article, the author never engages in any of the more intricate and complex details of the...

This is a useful way for framing a rhetorical argument and immediately paces the reader in position alongside the article's author, making the latter and more immediate arguments made in the article easier to agree with.
This does not mean that they are necessarily agreed with, however, or that the author is able to effectively prove his or her point. Other emotional appeals and rhetorical devices are relied on, such as an initial appeal to patriotism ("Congress made an important commitment to Americans") and the specter of external aggression ("that principle is now under attack"), and these come about as frequently as do the logical arguments and real points made by the author.…