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rhetoric of caution: How the rhetorical strategies of President Bill "Comeback Kid" Clinton facilitate his desire for control without commitment

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Date Issued:
1996
Summary:
The image of Bill Clinton in the popular press is that of a President who is unable to commit to a course of action, a man with tenuous credibility, and the reputation of being able to slide his way out of compromising situations. However, these characterizations reflect a limited perspective of the complex contradictions that characterize the Clinton presidency. This analysis attempts to address the paradox of a President who is perceived as being chameleon in nature, and yet who is widely recognized as being highly competent in his grasp of substantive and complex policy questions. Clinton's rhetoric, which has been negatively exploited by his opposition, has so many fundamental strategic advantages that it is also partly responsible for his political successes, for his ability to be the "Comeback Kid." A dynamic configuration of seven rhetorical strategies is proposed and discussed as forming the initial criteria of what I call a "rhetoric of caution." Clinton's rhetorical leadership, demonstrated through his televised addresses to the nation, is analyzed through the critical framework of a rhetoric of caution. When viewed from this angle of the critical prism, what the President's opponents portray as "slick" can justifiably be characterized as "flexible." Implications and limitations of this analysis are examined.
Title: The rhetoric of caution: How the rhetorical strategies of President Bill "Comeback Kid" Clinton facilitate his desire for control without commitment.
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Name(s): Escoffery, Leonie Isolyn.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Hahn, Dan F., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1996
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 161 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The image of Bill Clinton in the popular press is that of a President who is unable to commit to a course of action, a man with tenuous credibility, and the reputation of being able to slide his way out of compromising situations. However, these characterizations reflect a limited perspective of the complex contradictions that characterize the Clinton presidency. This analysis attempts to address the paradox of a President who is perceived as being chameleon in nature, and yet who is widely recognized as being highly competent in his grasp of substantive and complex policy questions. Clinton's rhetoric, which has been negatively exploited by his opposition, has so many fundamental strategic advantages that it is also partly responsible for his political successes, for his ability to be the "Comeback Kid." A dynamic configuration of seven rhetorical strategies is proposed and discussed as forming the initial criteria of what I call a "rhetoric of caution." Clinton's rhetorical leadership, demonstrated through his televised addresses to the nation, is analyzed through the critical framework of a rhetoric of caution. When viewed from this angle of the critical prism, what the President's opponents portray as "slick" can justifiably be characterized as "flexible." Implications and limitations of this analysis are examined.
Identifier: 15309 (digitool), FADT15309 (IID), fau:12079 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.
Subject(s): Presidents--United States.
Clinton, Bill,--1946---Oratory.
Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century.
Communication in politics--United States--History--20th century.
United States--Politics and government--1993-
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15309
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.