1887
Volume 5, Issue 3
  • ISSN 2211-4742
  • E-ISSN: 2211-4750
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

This paper argues that surface-level analysis of political argument fails to explain the effectiveness of ideological enthymemes, particularly within the context of presidential debates. This paper uses the first presidential debate of the 2012 election as a case study for the use of “Obamacare” as an ideological enthymeme. The choice of a terminological system limits and shapes the argumentative choices afforded the candidate. Presidential debates provide a unique context within which to examine the interaction of ideological constraints and argument due to their relatively committed and ideologically homogenous audiences.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.5.3.01kir
2017-01-16
2024-09-09
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Alter, Jonathan
    2013 “Obama’s Choke Revisited.” New Republic, May 29, 2013, www.newrepublic.com/article/113287/obamas-denver-debate-choke-inside-debate-prep.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Baker, Peter
    2012 “A Clash of Philosophies.” New York Times, October 4, 2012: A0.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Balz, Dan , and Philip Rucker
    2012 “Obama and Romney Campaigns Seek Breakthrough Strategy.” The Washington Post, September 8, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-and-romney-campaigns-seek-breakthrough-strategy/2012/09/08/0e84d5a8-f935-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_story.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Benoit, William L. , Glenn J. Hansen , and Rebecca M. Verser
    2003 “A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Viewing U.S. Presidential Debates.” Communication Monographs70 (4): 335–350. doi: 10.1080/0363775032000179133
    https://doi.org/10.1080/0363775032000179133 [Google Scholar]
  5. Bitzer, Lloyd F
    1959 “Aristotle’s Enthymeme Revisited.” Quarterly Journal of Speech45 (4): 399–408. doi: 10.1080/00335635909382374
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335635909382374 [Google Scholar]
  6. Boydstun, Amber E. , Rebecca A. Glazier , and Matthew T. Pietryka
    2013 “Playing to the Crowd: Agenda Control in Presidential Debates.” Political Communication30 (2): 254–277. doi: 10.1080/10584609.2012.737423
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2012.737423 [Google Scholar]
  7. Bradberry, Leigh A. , and Gary C. Jacobson
    2014 “The Tea Party and the 2012 Presidential Election.” Inpress atElectoral Studies, available onlineOctober 7, 2014, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379414001024.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Burke, Kenneth
    1957Counter-Statement. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. 1969A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. 1974The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Ceccarelli, Leah
    1998 “Polysemy: Multiple Meanings in Rhetorical Criticism.” Quarterly Journal of Speech84 (4): 395–415. doi: 10.1080/00335639809384229
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335639809384229 [Google Scholar]
  12. Conley, Thomas M
    1984 “The Enthymeme in Perspective.” Quarterly Journal of Speech70 (2): 168–187. doi: 10.1080/00335638409383687
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335638409383687 [Google Scholar]
  13. Cook, Ian P
    2012Tuning the Dog Whistle. Preliminary paper draft, April 1, 2012, www.ianpcook.com/research/ipc_dogwhistle_mw_040112.pdf
    [Google Scholar]
  14. 2013Dog Whistling. Preliminary paper draft, www.ianpcook.com/research/ipc_dw_052313_curr.pdf.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Cox, Amanda , Alicia Desantis , Alicia Parlapiano , and Jeremy White
    2012 “Fighting to control the meaning of ‘Obamacare.’” The New York Times, March 26, 2012: A12.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Crummy, Karen E
    2012a “President Obama, Mitt Romney Ready to Duel in Denver.” Denver Post, October 3, 2012: A2S.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. 2012b “Will the Debate be a Game Changer?” Denver Post, October 2, 2012, www.denverpost.com/politics-national/?third_party=will-the-debate-be-a-game-changer.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Delia, Jesse G
    1970 “The Logic Fallacy, Cognitive Theory, and the Enthymeme: A Search for the Foundations of Reasoned Discourse.” Quarterly Journal of Speech56 (2): 140–148. doi: 10.1080/00335637009382995
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335637009382995 [Google Scholar]
  19. Dionne, E.J
    2012 “Romney’s Shifting Persona.” Washington Post, October 4, 2012: A23.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Fallows, James
    2012 “Slugfest: Sizing up the Obama-Romney Debates.” National Journal, August 23, 2012, www.nationaljournal.com/2012-election/slugfest-sizing-up-the-obama-romney-debates-20120823.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Fitzgerald, Thomas
    2012 “Debates Often Not ‘Game-Changers’ but that’s what Romney Needs.” The Seattle Times, September 29, 2012, www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/debates-often-not-game-changers-but-thats-what-romney-needs/.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Grant, David
    2012 “Hurricane Isaac Delays Start of Republican National Convention in Tampa.” Christian Science Monitor, August 25, 2012, www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0825/Hurricane-Isaac-delays-start-of-Republican-National-Convention-in-Tampa.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Guzder, Deena
    2012 “Chaos on the Convention Floor as RNC Blocks Ron Paul Delegates, Alters Seating Rules.” Democracy Now!August 29, 2012, www.democracynow.org/2012/8/29/chaos_on_the_convention_floor_as.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Haberman, Maggie
    2012 “5 takeaways from the Denver Debate.” Politico, October 4, 2012, www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82006.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Haney-López, Ian
    2014Dog whistle politics: how coded racial appeals have reinvented racism and wrecked the middle class. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Harnden, Toby
    2012 “Obama ‘believed he had BEATEN Romney’ in Denver debate - after ignoring advice of top aides on preparation.” The Daily Mail, October 9, 2012, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215173/Obama-believed-beaten-Romney-Denver-debate-ignoring-advice-aides.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Hiland, Al
    2015 “Polysemic argument: Mitt Romney in the 2012 Primary Debates.” InDisturbing Argument, ed. by Catherine H. Palczewski , 168–173. New York, NY: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Holbrook, Thomas M
    1999 “Political Learning from Presidential Debates.” Political Behavior21 (1): 67–89. doi: 10.1023/A:1023348513570
    https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023348513570 [Google Scholar]
  29. Ingold, John
    2012 “Romney Repeatedly Batters Obama in Presidential Debate at DU.” The Denver Post, October 4, 2012, www.denverpost.com/ci_21694418/romney-repeatedly-batters-obama-presidential-debate-at-du.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Jamieson, Kathleen Hall and David S. Birdsell
    1988Presidential Debates: The Challenge of Creating an Informed Electorate. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. John F. Kennedy , School of Government
    2013Campaign for President: The Managers Look at 2012. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Khimm, Suzy
    2012 “The truth about Romney’s ‘six studies.’” The Washington Post, October 16, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/16/the-truth-about-romneys-six-studies/.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Krebs, Justin
    2012 “Obama’s Flat, Romney Fibs: The First Debate that Wasn’t.” WNYC, October 4, 2012, www.wnyc.org/story/241783-analysis-obamas-flat-romney-fibs-first-debate-wasnt/.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Lanigan, Richard L
    1974 “Enthymeme: The Rhetorical Species of Aristotle’s Syllogism.” Southern Journal of Communication39 (3):207–222. doi: 10.1080/10417947409372230
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10417947409372230 [Google Scholar]
  35. Lee, M.J
    2012 “Clint Eastwood Delivers Rambling RNC Speech.” Politico, August 30, 2012, www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80498.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Lenz, Gabriel S. , and Chappell Lawson
    2011 “Looking the Part: Television Leads Less Informed Citizens to Vote Based on Candidates’ Appearance.” American Journal of Political Science55 (3): 574–589. doi: 10.1111/j.1540‑5907.2011.00511.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00511.x [Google Scholar]
  37. Levinson, Alexis
    2012 “Romney Tempers Debate Expectations.” Daily Caller, October 2, 2012, dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/romney-tempers-debate-expectations/.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. MacAskill, Ewen
    2012a “Mitt Romney Comes Out on Top as Obama Stumbles in First Debate.” The Guardian, October 4, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/04/romney-obama-first-presidential-debate.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. MacAskill, Ewan
    2012b “Romney and Obama Curtail Debate Expectations Ahead of First Meeting.” The Guardian, September 30, 2012, www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/30/romney-obama-first-presidential-debate.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Madden, Edward H
    1952 “The Enthymeme: Crossroads of Logic, Rhetoric, and Metaphysics.” The Philosophical Review61 (3):368–376. doi: 10.2307/2182321
    https://doi.org/10.2307/2182321 [Google Scholar]
  41. Marinucci, Carla , and Joe Garofoli
    2012 “Romney, Obama Square off in Polite Debate.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 3, 2012, www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Romney-Obama-square-off-in-polite-debate-3917947.php.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Martin, Jonathan , and Maggie Haberman
    2012 “Denver Debate Do-or-Die for Mitt Romney.” Politico, September 27, 2012, www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81729.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. McBurney, James H
    1936 “The Place of the Enthymeme in Rhetorical Theory.” Communications Monographs3 (1):49–74.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. McGee, Michael C
    1980 “The ‘Ideograph’: A Link between Rhetoric and Ideology.” The Quarterly Journal of Speech66 (1):1–16. doi: 10.1080/00335638009383499
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00335638009383499 [Google Scholar]
  45. Medved, Michael
    2012 “Obama’s Big Whimper: Four Big Surprises from the Denver Debate.” The Daily Beast, October 4, 2012, www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/04/obama-s-big-whimper-four-big-surprises-from-the-denver-debate.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Metzler, Rebekah
    2012 “Obama, Romney Get Ready to Rumble in Denver.” US News and World Report, October 3, 2012, www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/10/03/obama-romney-get-ready-to-rumble-in-denver-obama-romney-get-ready-to-rumble-in-denver.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. McKinney, Mitchell S. , and Benjamin R. Warner
    2013 “Do Presidential Debates Matter? Examining a Decade of Campaign Debate Effects.” Argumentation and Advocacy49 (4): 238–258.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Milbank, Dana
    2012 “Romney Holds his Own – and then Some.” Washington Post, October 4, 2012: A02.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. National Public Radio
    2012 “Transcript and Audio: First Obama-Romney Debate.” Federal News Service, October 3, 2012, www.npr.org/2012/10/03/162258551/transcript-first-obama-romney-presidential-debate.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. NBC News
    2012 “NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey.” Hart/McInturff Polling, September 19, 2012, pos.org/documents/wsjsept2012.pdf.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. O’Brien, Matthew
    2012 “The 6 Studies Paul Ryan cited Prove Mitt Romney’s Tax Plan is Impossible.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2012, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/10/the-6-studies-paul-ryan-cited-prove-mitt-romneys-tax-plan-is-impossible/263541/.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Rowland, Robert C
    2013 “The First 2012 Presidential Campaign Debate: The Decline of Reason in Presidential Debates.” Communication Studies64 (5): 528–547. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2013.833530
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2013.833530 [Google Scholar]
  53. Rueckert, William H
    1982Kenneth Burke and the Drama of Human Relations. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. 1994Encounters with Kenneth Burke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Sarlin, Benjy
    2012 “Romney: Obama Puts us on Path to Europe – or California.” Talking Points Memo, September 21, 2012, talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/romney-obama-puts-us-on-path-to-europe-or-california.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Schlesinger, Robert
    2012 “Romney’s Tax Plan Doesn’t Obey the Laws of Mathematics.” US News and World Report, October 17, 2012, www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2012/10/17/romneys-six-studies-dont-actually-support-his-tax-plan-math.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Stelter, Brian
    2012 “Not Waiting for Pundits’ Take, Web Audience Scores the Candidates in an Instant.” New York Times, October 4, 2012: A22.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Talev, Margaret , and Julianna Goldman
    2012 “Obama Dueling Romney with Europe Debt Crisis as the Foil.” Bloomberg, June 6, 2012, www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-06/obama-dueling-romney-with-europe-debt-crisis-as-the-foil.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Tau, Byron
    2012 “Gore Blames Obama Debate Performance on Denver’s Altitude.” Politico, October 4, 2012, www.politico.com/politico44/2012/10/gore-blames-obama-debate-performance-on-denvers-altitude-137503.html.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Whitley, Stephen
    2014‘Dog-whistle’ Rhetoric: Pedagogy and the Coded Language of Modern American Politics. Ph.D. dissertation, Texas A&M University-Commerce.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Zarefsky, David
    2008 “Strategic Maneuvering in Political Argumentation.” Argumentation22 (3):317–330. doi: 10.1007/s10503‑008‑9096‑9
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-008-9096-9 [Google Scholar]
  62. 2015 “What “Went Wrong” in the First Obama-Romney Debate.” InDisturbing Argument, ed. by Catherine H. Palczewski , 244–249. New York, NY: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.5.3.01kir
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Barack Obama; enthymeme; ideology; Mitt Romney; Obamacare; presidential debates; public address
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error