We know: this word sounds odd.It sounds like a skin condition—wait, that's eczema. It sounds like being thrown out of the Church—oh, that's excommunicate. It sounds like that movie starring the weird gray-faced, crab-walking demon-child…nope, that's The Exorcist.

So what in the name of Merriam-Webster is exigence?

In the study of rhetoric, "exigence" is a call to action necessitated by a problem or situation. It can also mean the reason a speech is given. This device is included in pretty much every major political speech. A politician brings up the issues…and then tells people to do something about them.

In the 1996 State of the Union, Bill Clinton uses the phrase "I call on" twice and "I challenge" over twenty-five times. (Twenty-five.) Even though the annual Address is supposed to be a report on how things have been going for the past year, in practice it ends up as a stumping platform. He brings up the issues in order to express where he stands on them.

By using the seven challenges to frame the exigence of the speech, Clinton also adds a sense of urgency to the pro forma proceedings. Hey, Bill: when is it time to balance the budget?

Now it is time to finish the job and balance the budget. (11.4).

This method of framing argument makes the audience feel that it's feasible to accomplish things in the near future…even though most American policies take years to implement. Clinton wants voters to think that, if they reelect him, solving America's problems will be like checking off ingredients on a list at the grocery store.