It's the height of the presidential election season, that happy time for rhetoric and writing teachers that comes every fourth fall semester. It's a time of rhetoric, both visual and spoken, of ads and slogans, of sound bites and images. A cynic might say that all this politicking, punditry, and presidential posing is just so much hot air, hardly the kind of enlightened discourse our nation's founders had in mind. But the words and images, as poll-driven and focus group-tested as they might be, still have import. They shape the mandate of the person we choose to lead us, the same person who will select Supreme Court judges and will define the government's administrative tone--which laws get enforced more actively, which ignored; which polices get championed, which set aside.'Tis the Time of Political
Spin, er, Persuasion
So it's no small matter to pay attention to the words and images from this campaign, as it unfolds. And for the writing teacher, the communications teacher, the media teacher, the journalism teacher, and the rhetoric teacher, the Internet offers a wealth of sources. Here are some of the best.
Howard Kurtz, Media Critic of the Washington Post and for CNN. His Media Notes column offers regular online exclusives that track the major candidates' campaign themes, how the media is covering the campaigns, and the strategies each candidate employs for influencing and spinning the media. You can also check out the schedule for regular online chats with Kurtz.
Questions to Consider . . .
Kurtz analyzes how the media covers the election and helps to frame the story and perceptions we have of the candidates. He often describes "pack journalism," where numerous articles and opinion pieces, from a variety of different news papers and political leanings, come to the same opinion or right the same story with the same angle. Why is that? Why do stories seem to run in cycles? Are reporters and pundits creatures of habit?
As you click around the sites, look for places where you can sign up to receive campaign email notifications. For example, the
Republican Party's Get Involved page lets you sign up to receive a number of different messages from the GOP, including an activist's email letter. The Democratic Party's Action Center Page offers similar features and services for those who want to be active.Questions to Consider . . .
As you look at the first page of any of the Web sites above, what do you see first? How are links worded? Does the site try to draw you to information about the candidate and his position, about the party? Or does it draw you to criticism of the opponent? What is the nature of the criticism? Is it personal (attacking the man or his character) or programmatic (criticizing a position or an idea)?
New York Times Political Points
Political Site
of the Day from About Politics