The Rhetorical Failure of Jimmy Carter as President

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THE RHETORICAL FAILURE OF JIMMY CARTER AS PRESIDENT: An Analysis of the impact Carter’s inaugural discourse had on his presidency Alexandra Eichner January 5th, 2009 Professor Eisenhower Communications 395 INTRODUCTION: Every occasion in which the President speaks directly to his people is an occasion to be remembered, as it is these moments that define the rhetoric of the presidency. It is difficult to articulate the power of presidential rhetoric, and the subsequent impact that discourse can have on effective presidential leadership. However, the title of Campbell and Jamieson’s book, “Presidents Creating the Presidency: Deeds Done in Words,” offers some meaningful insight into the power of presidential discourse. Accordingly, this paper will attempt to use the presidential inaugural address as a concrete example firstly, of how a president uses words to create his presidency, and secondly, of how instrumental those words can be in determining the success or failure of a president. More specifically, this paper will examine the rhetoric of President Jimmy Carter, and the effect his discourse ultimately had on his time in the White House. The historical backdrop of Carter’s presidency is of course instrumental in understanding his rhetoric. However, before examining the speech within the context of history, this paper offers an alternative analysis of his inaugural address. THE GENERIC INAUGURAL: The content of all presidential speeches, inaugural addresses in particular, are inherently subject to the politics that govern the moments in which they are given. These particularities have resulted in much variability in the content of these speeches, and thus make generalizations about them difficult. Kenneth Thompson articulates this challenge: It would be false…to suggest that the role of inaugural addresses by Presidents is
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