The purpose of this study is to illuminate the presence
and rhetorical effect of anecdotes in President Clinton's
major health care address. It is the health care debate that
shows most clearly how Clinton tries to direct a multi-level
campaign that attempts to identify his interests (passage of
the Health Security Act) with the interests of Congress and
the American people. The analysis of his address and remarks
during the week of his Joint Session of Congress appearance
will demonstrate how Clinton uses anecdotes as a rhetorical
tool to address different audiences, and will argue that this
use of anecdotes functions to heighten emotional appeal while
promoting identification with his audience. Clinton relies
on the pathos of anecdotes to pass a health care bill, which
will be analyzed according to Kenneth Burke's discussion of
political rhetoric. This study adopts a Burkeian perspective
on political rhetoric as a means for investigating the
problems Clinton faced in confronting the complex and
divisive issue of health care. / Graduation date: 1994
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/35819 |
| Date | 26 April 1994 |
| Creators | Dahl, Nicholas D. |
| Contributors | Moore, Mark P. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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