Democratic Orators from JFK to Barack Obama (Rhetoric, Politics and Society)

This book examines the oratorical and rhetorical styles of leading figure in Democratic Party politics since the 1960s. It reveals how leading orators strove to connect their message with a variety of audiences from the Senate to the media. How do leading Democratic Party figures strive to communicate with and influence their audience? Why have some proven more successful than others in advancing their ideological arguments? How do orators seek to connect with different audiences in different settings such as the Senate, conventions and through the media? This thoroughly researched and highly readable collection comprehensively evaluates these questions as well as providing an extensive interrogation of the political and intellectual significance of oratory and rhetoric in the Democratic Party. Using the Aristotelian modes of persuasion ethos, pathos and logos it draws out commonalties and differences in how the rhetoric of Democratic Party politics has shifted since the 1960s. More broadly it evaluates the impact of leading orators upon American politics and argues that effective oratory remains a vital party of American political discourse. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-11 The Oratory of John F. Kennedy....Pages 12-31 The Oratory of Lyndon B. Johnson....Pages 32-53 The Oratory of Robert F. Kennedy....Pages 54-73 The Oratory of Jimmy Carter....Pages 74-93 The Oratory of Edward Kennedy....Pages 94-116 The Oratory of Bill Clinton....Pages 117-147 The Oratory of Al Gore....Pages 148-170 The Oratory of John Edwards....Pages 171-192 The Oratory of John Kerry....Pages 193-216 The Oratory of Jesse Jackson....Pages 217-238 The Oratory of Hillary Clinton....Pages 239-260 The Oratory of Barack Obama....Pages 261-282 Conclusion: Oratory and Rhetoric in Democratic Party Politics....Pages 283-287 Back Matter....Pages 288-313