Playing the Game: The Presidential Rhetoric of Ronald Reagan

of the flotsam without risking anything of substance. All of the data come from the Public Papers of the President, published by the Government Printing Office. The documents are cited by title and date. The speeches were given at the White House unless otherwise specified. There are a total of 1,968 documents.

The design of the book is both chronological and thematic, which is possible given the theme of the development of Reagan's rhetoric over time and the eventual exposition of its inherent weaknesses. Chapter 1, "Ronald Reagan and the National Media," is an analysis of Reagan's relationship with the White House press corps. It focuses on the institutional and rhetorical factors that contributed to Reagan's success with the media. Chapter 2, "Revolution: Reagan's First Years," details the first two years of the Reagan presidency, and analyzes the learning process by examining both the smooth and rough spots of those years. Chapter 3, "Consolidation: The Teflon President," focuses on the foreign policy events of 1983-85, and on how Reagan and his staff used those events to consolidate his personal standing. Chapter 4, "Cracks in the Teflon," provides an exegesis of the unraveling of that success between 1986-88, and Reagan's increasing vulnerability to criticism. Chapter 5, "The Great Com- municator?,"provides a summary of the rhetorical aspects of Reagan's presidency, and discusses lessons from the past and his legacy for the future. The concluding chapter, an epilogue, focuses on Reagan's rhetorical legacy through an examination of the public speech of various candidates from the 1988 presidential election.

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