Theses/Dissertations - Communication Studies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2104/4478

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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Communication Studies by Subject "Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-"

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    Economic frames : transitional rhetoric under Clinton, Bush, and Obama.
    (2013-09-16) Kurr, Jeffrey A.; Medhurst, Martin J.; Communication.; Baylor University. Dept. of Communication.
    During boom and bust periods, the dynamic status of the economy has become a perennial issue in the political arena. In this thesis, I engage in a rhetorical criticism analyzing how three presidents, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, rhetorically framed economic conditions to justify legislative solutions. I examine how each president prescribed policy solutions during his first months in office. In particular, I argue: Clinton constituted national identity around economic concerns to push his 1993 budget plan; Bush reinterpreted the nation-as-family metaphor to justify his 2001 tax cuts; and Obama injected crisis rhetoric into the American Dream to champion his 2009 stimulus. This analysis provides a foundation for understanding the econo-rhetorical leadership role of the president and the implications it has on framing congressional and public deliberation.
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    Islam as a rhetorical constraint: the post-September 11th speaking of George W. Bush.
    (2007-12-04T19:50:18Z) Bajema, Hillary Ann.; Medhurst, Martin J.; Communication Studies.; Baylor University. Dept. of Communication Studies.
    The post 9/11 rhetoric of President George W. Bush presents an interesting opportunity to assess the cross-cultural currency of presentations of American ideology. This thesis attends to the President’s unifying rhetoric especially regarding the religion of Islam, recognizing that each statement risked backlash from Muslims within the nation as well as for those practicing the faith of Islam in the Middle East and beyond. Bush’s national presidential addresses between the dates of September 11, 2001, through May 1, 2003, the declared end of the military campaign against Iraq, are examined. Three ideographs – , , and – isolated for their dominance throughout the twelve Presidential addresses, have been identified and studied. The thesis concludes that the President’s intention to appeal to his diverse audience was successful thematically; but presenting a confident country while simultaneously overcoming international accusations of American arrogance was impossible.