A critical analysis of the 1984 Democratic candidates' debate.

This thesis is an analysis of the effect of the format changes in the 1984 Democratic candidates' debates on the ability of the debates to fulfill the educational function of the debates. This is accomplished through a careful examination of the texts of the New Hampshire and New York primary debates. Additionally, the text of the first Reagan-Mondale debate is examined for the purpose of providing a basis for comparison between the traditional debate format used in the Reagan-Mondale debate and the modified formats used in the New Hampshire and New York debates. The evaluation of each of the debates is based on three tests: a test for the importance of the issues discussed, a test for the use of the evidence and reasoning, and a test for the dialectical quality of the debate. Chapter One discusses the importance of the study, reviews the literature written on presidential debates, and outlines a methodology. It analyzes the study's importance as a contribution to the study of the 1984 debates. The literature on presidential debates is evaluated based on its importance to the present analysis. Finally, the method of study, an analysis of the ability of the 1984 Democratic candidates' debates to fulfill their educational function, is outlined. Chapters Two, Three, and Four analyze the New Hampshire debate, the New York debate, and the first Reagan-Mondale debate, respectively. They include the tests for fulfillment of the educational function served by the debates. Each of these chapters ends with conclusions about how well that particular debate fulfilled the educational function of political debates. Chapter Five compares the debates and draws conclusions about the effect of the format changes on the degree to which the debates fulfilled the educational function. I conclude with a discussion of implications of this work for future study.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1985

Author dc:creator

• Garcia, Reynaldo R.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rowland, Robert C., 1954-

• Democratic Party (U.S.)
• Campaign debates.
• Rhetoric -- Political aspects -- United States.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14292

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14292