Award Date

5-2011

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication Studies

Department

Communication

First Committee Member

David Henry, Chair

Second Committee Member

Thomas R. Burkholder

Third Committee Member

Joseph M. Valenzano III

Graduate Faculty Representative

Susanna Priest

Number of Pages

140

Abstract

Every election cycle, the major party candidates accept a nomination for the presidency and launch the general campaign. These rhetors not only weave a narrative about themselves as qualified candidates; they also forward an argument about how the public should choose between two candidates. In particular, the 2008 presidential campaign's central question asked Americans about the type of change the nation should undertake. By tracing the definitional arguments utilized at the outset of the general election, this project analyzes how Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain utilized this desire for "Change" as a strategic theme.

Keywords

Campaign speeches; Definition; Election; Framing; McCain; John; 1936-; Obama; Barack; Presidential candidates; Presidents — Election; Rhetoric; United States

Disciplines

American Politics | Communication | History | Political History | Social Influence and Political Communication

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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