Political Campaign Rhetoric
Political Campaign Rhetoric
In 2004 the United States of America held a presidential election as it does every four years. Throughout the process, from primary to convention, from the debates to Election Day, both the candidates and the media relied on rhetoric to influence the thoughts of the electorate. Because of the close results of the 2000 election and the bitter court battle that followed, the rhetoric of the campaigns of both major candidates in 2004 was stronger and more focused than before. To show the uses of this rhetoric and its effects on the public through the media, several topics are discussed within. First, the language used by the candidates, followed by a discussion of the political conventions and a look at the rhetoric of journalism and the way that the media effects the government. The Oxford English Dictionary provides several definitions of rhetoric. Several rather different concepts are called rhetoric, but this paper is concerned with "Speech or writing expressed in terms calculated to persuade; hence (often in depreciatory sense), language characterized by artificial or ostentatious expression." Another term often found in articles about rhetoric, and sometimes used interchangeably by those unfamiliar with its meaning, is semantics. The definition of semantics offered by the Oxford English Dictionary that I find most relevant to this discussion, is "the relationships between linguistics symbols and their meaning." In order to understand the rhetoric that political candidates use, we must understand the semantics of their words.
During a political campaign, the candidate must modulate their words very carefully, so much so that sometimes it seems that he or she becomes an entirely different person. In order to attract new supporters, and to not alienate those who already have given their support, the candidate's statements must always be carefully constructed. Typically, each candidate chooses issues that they feel they can
In 2004 the United States of America held a presidential election as it does every four years. Throughout the process, from primary to convention, from the debates to Election Day, both the candidates and the media relied on rhetoric to influence the thoughts of the electorate. Because of the close results of the 2000 election and the bitter court battle that followed, the rhetoric of the campaigns of both major candidates in 2004 was stronger and more focused than before. To show the uses of this rhetoric and its effects on the public through the media, several topics are discussed within. First, the language used by the candidates, followed by a discussion of the political conventions and a look at the rhetoric of journalism and the way that the media effects the government. The Oxford English Dictionary provides several definitions of rhetoric. Several rather different concepts are called rhetoric, but this paper is concerned with "Speech or writing expressed in terms calculated to persuade; hence (often in depreciatory sense), language characterized by artificial or ostentatious expression." Another term often found in articles about rhetoric, and sometimes used interchangeably by those unfamiliar with its meaning, is semantics. The definition of semantics offered by the Oxford English Dictionary that I find most relevant to this discussion, is "the relationships between linguistics symbols and their meaning." In order to understand the rhetoric that political candidates use, we must understand the semantics of their words.
During a political campaign, the candidate must modulate their words very carefully, so much so that sometimes it seems that he or she becomes an entirely different person. In order to attract new supporters, and to not alienate those who already have given their support, the candidate's statements must always be carefully constructed. Typically, each candidate chooses issues that they feel they can
Cited: Cline, A. (2003, 21 November) How to Read a Campaign Horse-race Story. Retrieved May 7, 2005, from The Rhetorica Network. Hoffmann, G. (2005, January) Political Conventions, Images, and Spin. ETC: A Review of General Semantics Miller, M. (2004) Campaign Rhetoric. Forbes. 174(4), 56. Retrieved April 21, 2005, from EBSCOhost database. Ripmaster, T. (2005, January) Semantics and the 2004 Election. ETC: A Review of General Semantics The Buying of the President 2004 (2005) Retrieved May 12, 2005 from The Center for Public Integrity.