E-Book Overview
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.
E-Book Content
The White House
Speaks
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The White House
Speaks Presidential Leadershi as Persuasion Craig Allen Smith and Kathy B. Smith
Praeger Series in Political Communication
WAEG p>)
Westport, Connecticut London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Smith, Craig Allen. The White House speaks : presidential leadership as persuasion / Craig Allen Smith and Kathy B. Smith. p. cm. — (Praeger series in political communication, ISSN 1062-5623) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-275-94394-1 (alk. paper) 1. Presidents—United States. 2. Presidents—United States— Messages. 3. Political leadership—United States. 4. Political oratory—United States. I. Smith, Kathy B. II. Title. III. Series. JK518.S583 1994 353.03'23—dc20 93-23468 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 1994 by Craig Allen Smith and Kathy B. Smith All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-23468 ISBN: 0-275-94394-1 ISSN: 1062-5623 First published in 1994 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 1098765432
Copyright Acknowledgments Chapter 3 is a revision of "President Ford's Coalitional Crisis," which appeared in The Modern Presidency