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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies
Motivated Reasoning And Viewers' Reactions To The First 2012 Presidential Debate, Jeffrey W. Jarman
Motivated Reasoning And Viewers' Reactions To The First 2012 Presidential Debate, Jeffrey W. Jarman
Speaker & Gavel
General election presidential debates are highly argumentative encounters filled with evidence, argument, and refutation. While the candidates come to the debates armed with evidence and arguments in support of their positions, it is unclear how the audience interprets the information. This paper reports the findings from a study of the first presidential debate in 2012. Participants evaluated the strength of arguments made by Obama and Romney, as well as which candidate won each segment of the debate. The study confirms that viewers do not dispassionately evaluate the debate, but instead are driven by partisan interests that lead them to find …
A Functional Analysis Of 2008 General Election Presidential Tv Spots, William L. Benoit, Mark Glantz
A Functional Analysis Of 2008 General Election Presidential Tv Spots, William L. Benoit, Mark Glantz
Speaker & Gavel
This study performed content analysis on the general election TV spots from Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign. There was no significant difference in function by incumbency, which is not surprising given that neither major party candidates was the sitting president or vice president. Unlike ads from previous years, these ads contained more attacks (65%) than acclaims (34%; and like earlier campaigns few defenses: 1%). These ads stressed policy (58%) more than character (42%). The Democratic candidate, as in previous elections, discussed policy more, and character less, than the Republican candidate. Both …
President Barack Obama's Commencement Addresses: Revising The Functions Of Ceremonial Rhetoric, Milene Ortega Ribeiro
President Barack Obama's Commencement Addresses: Revising The Functions Of Ceremonial Rhetoric, Milene Ortega Ribeiro
Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)
Commencement speakers are typically expected to praise students for their achievements and motivate them for the path that is to come. When the commencement speaker is a President, however, the expectation is different. In times of rhetorical presidency, no presidential address is apolitical, and this project investigated the functions of ceremonial rhetoric in light of the rhetorical presidency doctrine. Close textual analysis of the three most controversial commencement speeches delivered by President Obama, revealed that the challenge of fulfilling the expectations of a commencement address, while also responding to rhetorical problems, required the President to adopt complex rhetorical strategies. The …
Mother Knows Best The Rhetorical Persona Of Michelle Obama And The "Let's Move" Campaign, Monika Bertaki
Mother Knows Best The Rhetorical Persona Of Michelle Obama And The "Let's Move" Campaign, Monika Bertaki
Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)
Some first ladies are often condemned for being too involved with the presidents' power in politics and other first ladies find themselves condemned for the lack of involvement. First ladies, it seems, are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Consequently, Michelle Obama faces rhetorical problems, which in some respects are similar to those of previous first ladies, and in other respects are quite different. Along with the criticisms encountered by previous presidential wives, Obama faces the stereotypes African American women have endured since the inception of the nation. Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign serves as a rhetorical …
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton And The Use Of Presidential Surrogacy In Foreign Policy Discourse, Mary Mcinturff
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton And The Use Of Presidential Surrogacy In Foreign Policy Discourse, Mary Mcinturff
Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)
Abstract: Through a case study utilizing the rhetoric of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, this essay reveals the value of investigating the rhetoric of presidential surrogates in conjunction with presidential discourse. Support for this argument is derived from a close analysis of the combined rhetorical tactics of Obama and Clinton, illuminated by dramatistic criticism, value analysis, and mode of argument. Although an essential foundation for an analysis of an administration’s foreign policy rhetoric, the president’s discourse is not the only data that merits attention. For foreign policy rhetoric, this essay elucidates both the importance and utility …
Kairotic Strategema: A Rhetorical Investigation Of Barack Obama’S 2009 Health Care Address, Serena M. Sánchez-Wilson
Kairotic Strategema: A Rhetorical Investigation Of Barack Obama’S 2009 Health Care Address, Serena M. Sánchez-Wilson
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
This thesis examines President Barack Obama’s address given on September 9, 2009 entitled “Remarks by the President to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care.” In order to address various situational and contextual elements such as legislative ambiguity, national expense, bureaucratic intrusion, abortion, euthanasia and illegal immigration, President Obama opportunely enters the conversation at a particular time so as to benefit his agenda of passing health care reform. Revolving around the notion of kairotic strategema, which includes the understating of deliberative address as well as the possession of kairos and phronesis, I assert that this aids President …
Uniting A Nation: A Close Textual Analysis Of Barack Obama's Inaugural Address, Thomas Michael Gatta
Uniting A Nation: A Close Textual Analysis Of Barack Obama's Inaugural Address, Thomas Michael Gatta
Communication Studies
An analysis of Barack Obama's Inaugural Address. The author aims to look into the hidden mechanisms and meanings in Obama's address. He uses Close Reading, or Close Textual Analysis to discover what Obama was trying to portray to the audience that day. On this historical occasion the author argues Obama uses a precise pattern and stylistic qualities such as metaphors to enunciate a theme of 'we' and 'us' with the audience. The author aims to reveal how Obama gave an effective speech despite some of the political experts' opinions. Obama urges to the nation that the only way for America …