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George Bush Doesn’T Care About Black People: An Ideological Rhetorical Criticism Of Whiteness And Racism, Kate Braden

College of Communication Master of Arts Theses

On September 2, 2005, hip-hop artist Kanye West’s made the comment on live television that standing President “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, contributing to the national debate surrounding the government’s response to the storm and its survivors and the impact of race (and class) on such circumstances. An ideological criticism is conducted to assess how the dominant ideologies of whiteness and racism emerge in Bush’s rhetoric and affective performances in reaction to that accusation. In my analysis of Bush’s discursive and emotional enactments that responded to Kanye’s comment against him, three strategies …