The prospect of presidential rhetoric / edited by James Arnt Aune and Martin J. Medhurst.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Aune, James Arnt.

Medhurst, Martin J.

Series:

Presidential rhetoric series ; no. 18.

Presidential rhetoric series ; no. 18

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-.

Presidents--United States--History.

Presidents.

Rhetoric--Study and teaching.

Rhetoric--Political aspects.

United States.

History.

Presidents--United States--Language.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States.

Rhetoric.

Rhetoric--Study and teaching--United States.

English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching--United States.

English language.

English language--Rhetoric--Study and teaching.

United States--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Communication in politics--United States.

Communication in politics.

Political leadership--United States.

Political leadership.

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946---Language.

Bush, George W.

United States--Politics and government--2001-2009.

Physical Description:

ix, 384 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, [2008]

Summary:

In a time when the office of the nation's chief executive has come to be characterized as "the public presidency," the fundamental questions posed in this volume are more vital than ever. The focus of this important compendium is on the future of both presidential discourse and the discipline that studies such discourse.

Culminating a decade of conferences that have explored the dimensions of presidential speech, its context, and, to some degree, its effects, The Prospect of Presidential Rhetoric draws on the work of leading individual scholars and six task forces to assess progress and suggest directions for future research.

In Part One, following an analytic review of the field by Martin Medhurst, seven contributors address the state of the art in their own areas of special expertise. Roderick P. Hart then summarizes their work in the course of his rebuttal of an argument made by political scientist George Edwards: that the rhetoric of presidents lacks political impact.

The studies included in this work have the goal, as outlined by volume coeditor Medhurst, of examining "the current state of presidential rhetoric by focusing on some of the issues that George W. Bush, and presumably those who will follow him" must confront: religion and the state, the nature of the American Dream, the fight over Supreme Court nominations, and the rhetoric appropriate to respond to-and head off-terrorism.

Part Two of the volume consists of the forward-looking reports of six task forces charged with outlining the likely course of presidential rhetoric in the years to come, as well as the major questions scholars should be asking about it and the tools at their disposal. More than forty scholars contributed to the task force reports.

Scholars and students of public discourse and the presidency will not want to be without this pivotal work. The Prospect of Presidential Rhetoric will serve as an important chart to the shifting landscape of American political leadership.

Contents:

Part 1 Readings in Presidential Rhetoric

1 From Retrospect to Prospect: The Study of Presidential Rhetoric, 1915-2005 / Martin J. Medhurst 3

2 Power and Authority in a Postmodern Presidency / John M. Murphy 28

3 The Econo-Rhetorical Presidency / James Arnt Aune 46

4 The Return of the Imperial Presidency / Marouf Hasian Jr. 69

5 To Produce a "Judicious Choice": Presidential Responses to the Exercise of Advice and Consent by the U.S. Senate on Supreme Court Nominations / Trevor Parry-Giles 99

6 The Rhetorical Presidency and the Myth of the American Dream / Leroy Dorsey 130

7 Of Allies and Enemies: Old Wine in New Bottles or New Wine in an Old Jug? / Marilyn J. Young 160

8 Revising the Cold War Narrative to Encompass Terrorist Threats: Vietnam and Beyond / Carol Winkler 182

9 George W. Bush, Public Faith, and the Culture War over Same-Sex Marriage / Martin J. Medhurst 209

10 Thinking Harder about Presidential Discourse: The Question of Efficacy / Roderick P. Hart 238

Part 2 Task Force Reports

11 Report of the National Task Force on the Presidency and Deliberative Democracy / Chair: Vanessa B. Beasley, Robert B. Asen, Diane M. Blair, Stephen J. Hartnett, Karla K. Leeper, Jennifer R. Mercieca 251

12 Report of the National Task Force on Presidential Communication to Congress / Chair: Mary E. Stuckey, Michael A. Genovese, Sharon E. Jarvis, Craig Allen Smith, Craig R. Smith, Robert Spitzer, Susan M. Zaeske 272

13 Report of the National Task Force on the Presidency and Public Opinion / Chair: J. Michael Hogan, George C. Edwards III, Wynton C. Hall, Christine L. Harold, Gerard A. Hauser, Susan Herbst, Robert Y. Shapiro, Ted J. Smith III 293

14 Report of the National Task Force on the Ethical Responsibilities of Presidential Rhetoric / Chair: Steven R. Goldzwig, Karrin Vasby Anderson, Frederick J. Antczak, Thomas W. Benson, Rita Kirk Whillock 317

15 Report of the National Task Force on the Theory and Practice of the Rhetorical Presidency / Chair: David Henry, Philip Abbott, Davis W. Houck, Mel Laracey, Stephen E. Lucas, Shawn J. Parry-Giles 340

16 Report of the National Task Force on Presidential Rhetoric in Times of Crisis / Chair: Denise M. Bostdorff, Martin Carcasson, James M. Farrell, Robert L. Ivie, Amos Kiewe, Kathleen B. Smith 355.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781585446261

1585446262

9781585446278

1585446270

OCLC:

154308837