This essay explores Barack Obama's invocation of the Exodus during his 2008 presidential campaign. It argues Obama's turn to Exodus, his rare embodiment of Joshua, and his renewal of the American covenant nicely addressed major rhetorical problems that he faced. Of equal importance, his campaign oratory opens an important line of inquiry into the…

Faced with a racialized political crisis that threatened to derail his campaign to become the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama delivered a speech on race titled "A More Perfect Union." He begins by portraying himself as an embodiment of double consciousness, but then invites his audience to share his…

This essay draws upon the work of Northrop Frye to show that stories enacting the American Dream contain elements associated with romance, and briefly traces how Ronald Reagan and conservatives utilized the romance of the American Dream to the point that many Americans associated it exclusively with conservatism. The essay then details how Barack…

This paper explores the formation of a political order, a constituency, during the 1938-1940 senatorial campaign of the "Partido Popular Democratico" in Puerto Rico. In particular it examines the constitutive force of the "Catecismo del Pueblo," a small booklet in the form of questions and answers regarding the party's basic assumptions and…

On June 11, 1962, President John F. Kennedy addressed the economy at Yale University. This essay explains the symbolic charge of his economic rhetoric, a persuasive campaign that enjoyed considerable success and marked the first time that a president took explicit responsibility for the nation's economic performance. I argue that the president…

Examines the legend Eugene Debs fostered, calling for a renewal of American virtue. Argues that a more sympathetic view of Debs' radicalism is achieved by looking at him against the Judeo-Christian tradition of Old Testament prophecy. (RAE)

Examines Korean president Roh Tae-woo's 1988 Inaugural Address. Focuses on audience expectations on this occasion, which include the influence of Confucianism and of Western political ideas, recent Korean political history, and the speech as an inaugural delivered at the end of an unusual and challenging campaign. (SR)