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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Newspaper Coverage Of U.S. Senate Debates, William L. Benoit, Corey Davis
Newspaper Coverage Of U.S. Senate Debates, William L. Benoit, Corey Davis
Speaker & Gavel
Political debates are important message forms, capable of informing and in-fluencing voters. However, news coverage of debates informs and influences both those who watch, and those who do not watch, the debates. This study compared the content (functions and topics) of 10 U.S. Senate debates from 1998-2004 with the content of newspaper articles about those particular debates. Newspaper coverage of debates was significantly more negative than the debates themselves, reporting a higher percentage of attacks and a smaller percentage of acclaims than the candidates employed. The newspaper articles also stressed character more, and policy less, than the candidates. This journalistic …
When Water Works: A Case Study Of Campaign Tears And The 2008 Presidential Election, Ryan Neville-Shepard
When Water Works: A Case Study Of Campaign Tears And The 2008 Presidential Election, Ryan Neville-Shepard
Speaker & Gavel
Since the fall of Senator Ed Muskie in the 1972 Democratic primary there has been an unwritten rule that political candidates should avoid crying. However, four presidential candidates cried in ten separate incidents during the 2008 election cycle, with only three episodes receiving negative attention. Addressing this inconsistency in the “Muskie rule,” in this essay I argue the effect of crying on a political candidate’s image is not well understood. As such, this essay develops and applies a framework for comprehending when crying will likely trigger a public relations crisis, and when it might actually benefit a candidate.
Explaining The Revolution: Vernacular Discourse And The Tipping Point In America’S 2006 Midterm Election, Ryan Michael Shepard
Explaining The Revolution: Vernacular Discourse And The Tipping Point In America’S 2006 Midterm Election, Ryan Michael Shepard
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
The 2006 midterm election marked perhaps the first time that the American public held the Bush administration accountable for its controversial actions. Various explanations have been offered for the backlash, ranging from public concern about the war to disgust over sex scandals involving prominent conservatives. In this essay, through analysis of vernacular discourse appearing in letters to the editor from USA Today, I argue that the election results stemmed from Bush’s weakening credibility – in respect to the dimensions of honesty, competence, and moderation – which limited the effectiveness of his rhetoric that was so powerful since September 11th.
Paws, Pathos And Presidential Persuasion: Franklin Roosevelt’S "Fala Speech" As Precursor And Model For Richard Nixon's "Checkers Speech", John Llewellyn
Paws, Pathos And Presidential Persuasion: Franklin Roosevelt’S "Fala Speech" As Precursor And Model For Richard Nixon's "Checkers Speech", John Llewellyn
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
In autumn 1944 Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential campaign was losing momentum. Then, in Congressional debate, U. S. Representative Harold Knutson of Minnesota accused Roosevelt of extravagance, claiming he sent a Navy destroyer to the Aleutian Islands to retrieve his Scottish terrier. FDR parried these charges with "the Fala speech," a mocking and acerbic attack on Republicans ("No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala") that reenergized his campaign. "The Fala speech" also indirectly rescued Richard Nixon. Under attack in the 1952 campaign, Nixon saved his vice presidential aspirations and political career with the "Checkers" address. However, the …
The Triad Of Evil And The Bush Incumbency: Convergence, Competition, And Cooperation, Meryl J. Irwin Carlson
The Triad Of Evil And The Bush Incumbency: Convergence, Competition, And Cooperation, Meryl J. Irwin Carlson
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
In this essay, I analyze discourses circulating during the 2004 re-election campaign of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as a means to explore the interactions of three tropes of “evil” as identified by James P. McDaniel (2003). In the months between September 11, 2001 and November 2, 2004, the tropes of “Evil-in-itself,” “Evil-for-itself,” and “Evil-for-others” converged, combined, and competed in the culmination of criticism leveled at the Bush-Cheney campaign regarding the screening of entrants into events and rallies. Integral to this interaction is the articulation of American democracy with capitalism, as theorized by Kenneth Burke (1969). Ultimately, I argue …
Maine, Muskie, And Delta Sigma Rho, Brooks Quimby
Maine, Muskie, And Delta Sigma Rho, Brooks Quimby
The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho
How did it happen that Maine elected a Democratic governor? Television and radio commentators, news weeklies and editors have all had their guesses; here is the forensic explanation!