Presidential Communication

Presidential Communication combines a study of the presidency with communications. It first builds a base for the "rhetorical presidency"--what it means and how it works--and why an approach based on an analysis of presidential rhetoric and persuasion works better than others to uncover the essential nature of the office. The authors also examine the presidency from the major areas of concentration traditionally found in communications scholarship. The theoretical discussion is reinforced with case studies drawn from recent history.

This work treats presidential leadership as persuasive communication. The major theories of presidential leadership found in the literature establish the central role of persuasion, and introduce the interpretive systems approach to political communication as a theoretical framework for the study of presidential leadership as persuasion. Case studies examine recent presidents' use of public persuasion to perform their leadership functions. Particular attention is devoted to coalitional constraints on presidential pardoning rhetoric, presidential leadership through the politics of division, the political significance of conflicting political narratives, the sermonic nature of much 20th-century presidential discourse, the difficulties inherent in persuading the public to make sacrifices, and the dangers of relying too heavily on public rhetoric. The concluding chapter considers the rhetoric that contributed to the demise of the Bush presidency, the election of Bill Clinton, and the challenges facing the Clinton presidency.

This unique study focuses upon a specific component of American presidential rhetoric--how presidents depict the office--and relates that rhetorical tactic to broader questions of politics, public opinion, political symbolism, and presidential power. The work analyzes this specific rhetorical component longitudinally, examining a president's depiction of the office during the presidential campaign, throughout his term in office, and after leaving office. By presenting and analyzing generous examples of presidential rhetoric--from Lyndon Johnson through Bill Clinton--Zernicke offers a revealing look at the symbolic power of the presidency and the use of that power in political terms.

The presidency, in Theodore Roosevelt's famous words, is a "Bully Pulpit." Humes, a former White House speechwriter, here gives us a unique perspective on presidential speech writing. No other book has examined the major presidential addresses--their construction and their impact--as history, and no one has studied the presidency from this vantage point. This is a vital study of American political history seen through the prism of selected presidential addresses. It reveals how presidents used major addresses to give a theme for their administration, to introduce history-making legislation or programs, or to rally a majority of the nation behind their policies.

The essays in Halford Ryan's The Inaugural Addresses of Twentieth-Century American Presidents explore how presidents have used their addresses to empower themselves in office. The volume's construct holds that the president delivers persuasive speeches to move the Congress and the people, and to move the people to move the Congress if it is intransigent. Even on Inauguration Day, a largely ceremonial occasion, the president seeks acquiescence and action from Congress and the people in his first rhetorical deed as the nation's chief executive officer. Since scholars agree that the rhetorical presidency arose in the twentieth century with Theodore Roosevelt, the book commences with Roosevelt's address, followed by all subsequent presidents' inaugurals - including that of Bill Clinton. The authors' methodology applies classical rhetoric to the nexus of political discourse - the interrelationships among the speaker, the speech, and the audience - discussing vox populi, elocutio, inventio, and actio. Each of the,chapters analyzes the political situation with regard to political purpose, giving special attention to genre criticism and to the themes of campaign rhetoric that were or were not carried forth into the inaugural address. The essayists explicate the evolution of each inaugural's preparation, criticize its delivery, and evaluate its persuasive strengths and weaknesses by accounting for its reception by the media and by the American people. Recommended for scholars of political communication and rhetoric, political science, history, and presidential studies.

Within These Walls goes beyond the study of presidential speeches and examines the organizational structure, systems of information flow, and communication styles in the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt through Ronald Reagan. Focusing specifically on the post-Watergate presidents, this book illustrates that a crucial dimension of presidential communication is not that which is spoken during public addresses but that which takes place between the chief executive and his senior staff. The author's research includes interviews with President Ford and several former senior aides in the Ford, Carter, and Reagan White Houses.

Denton and Woodward provide a newly updated revision of their classic in political communication. This pioneering text provides a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the role and function of communication in American politics.

This important text is the first to examine the Clinton presidency from a communication perspective. Experts in communication and presidential studies analyze the rhetoric, images, issues, and communication strategies employed by the President, the First Lady, and the administration. From the feel-good town meetings of the campaign to the exuberant days of the inauguration, from the health care "crisis" to the Whitewater scandal and the Republican congressional landslide, this volume attempts to separate image from reality and spin from actuality in the media presidency of William Jefferson Clinton.

Playing the Game offers an exploration of the rhetoric of the "Reagan Revolution." The book fully explores how the rhetoric supported, impeded, and affected Reagan's policy goals and political success. Stuckey shows how Reagan's use of language in his public speech was instrumental in the creation of the "Teflon Presidency," and how use of this language created a situation where by the President would not remain unscathed forever--as was the case in 1986. The data for this volume includes speeches, remarks, addresses, statements, memorandums, and other forms of public speech during the Reagan years.

Silvestri provides a chronicle of the political and social contexts for John F. Kennedy's 18-year career as a public communicator and political leader. He offers communication analysis of his years in politics, his campaigns, debates, and use of television on issues that became landmark communication efforts, elevating his charismatic presidency.

Harry Truman is famous for his plain speaking, and his presidential rhetoric is evaluated in terms of his most important speeches relating to the Cold War, Korean War, and whistle-stop campaigning to win a remarkable election victory, and his summation of his presidential role. This in-depth analysis of his major speeches as president, texts, chronology, and bibliography give insights into presidential rhetoric and communications research.

This first systematic critique on the rhetoric of 21 presidents shows how political constraints shaped rhetoric and how oratory shaped politics. An introduction places American public address in the context of classical rhetorical practices and theory and sets the stage for the bio-critical essays about presidents ranging from Washington to Clinton. Experts analyze the style and use of language, important speeches and their impact, and their ethical ramifications. Each essay on a president also keys major speeches to authoritative texts and offers a chronology and bibliography of primary and secondary sources. For students, teachers, and professionals in American public address, political communication, and the presidency.