The White House Speaks: Presidential Leadership as Persuasion

by Craig A. Smith, Kathy B. Smith

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275943943
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/11/1994
Series:	Praeger Series in Political Communication
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1360L (what's this?)

About the Author

CRAIG ALLEN SMITH is Professor of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

KATHY B. SMITH is Associate Professor of Politics at Wake Forest University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Presidential Leadership as Persuasion
The Interpretive Systems Approach to Presidential Leadership
The Coalitionless President and the Pardons
The Politics of Division
Narrative Conflict and the Panama Canal Treaties
Political Jeremiads from the Bully Pulpit
Presidential Mobilization for Sacrifice
The Presidency in Rhetorical Crisis
Conclusions: Presidential Leadership in the 1990s
Index