This thesis addresses the analytical deficiencies of the popular press in describing and elucidating Obama’s rhetoric during the 2008 Presidential Campaign by closely examining four speeches, their contexts within the campaign, and the commentary surrounding them to give a richer account of what exactly could be called Obama’s “rhetoric.” Moving from an Aristotelian reading of Obama’s Democratic National Convention Keynote Address to an examination of speeches that embody his racial identity, his religious identity, and his unique pop cultural appeal, the thesis suggests that a broad interpretation of rhetoric best elucidates Obama’s negotiation of his varying identities.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis addresses the analytical deficiencies of the popular press in describing and elucidating Obama’s rhetoric during the 2008 Presidential Campaign by closely examining four speeches, their contexts within the campaign, and the commentary surrounding them to give a richer account of what exactly could be called Obama’s “rhetoric.” Moving from an Aristotelian reading of Obama’s Democratic National Convention Keynote Address to an examination of speeches that embody his racial identity, his religious identity, and his unique pop cultural appeal, the thesis suggests that a broad interpretation of rhetoric best elucidates Obama’s negotiation of his varying identities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Binkley, Steve"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis - University Access Only","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michael Keller"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:29:00Z","subjects":["American Politics","English Language and Literature","Rhetoric and Composition"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright © 2012 Steve Binkley"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1342","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michael Keller"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Binkley, Steve"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-07-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - University Access Only"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American Politics","English Language and Literature","Rhetoric and Composition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright © 2012 Steve Binkley"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1342"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis addresses the analytical deficiencies of the popular press in describing and elucidating Obama’s rhetoric during the 2008 Presidential Campaign by closely examining four speeches, their contexts within the campaign, and the commentary surrounding them to give a richer account of what exactly could be called Obama’s “rhetoric.” Moving from an Aristotelian reading of Obama’s Democratic National Convention Keynote Address to an examination of speeches that embody his racial identity, his religious identity, and his unique pop cultural appeal, the thesis suggests that a broad interpretation of rhetoric best elucidates Obama’s negotiation of his varying identities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Rhetorical Examination of the Barack Obama Phenomenon in the 2008 Presidential Campaign"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michael Keller"],"dc:creator":["Binkley, Steve"],"dc:date.available":["2017-07-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis addresses the analytical deficiencies of the popular press in describing and elucidating Obama’s rhetoric during the 2008 Presidential Campaign by closely examining four speeches, their contexts within the campaign, and the commentary surrounding them to give a richer account of what exactly could be called Obama’s “rhetoric.” Moving from an Aristotelian reading of Obama’s Democratic National Convention Keynote Address to an examination of speeches that embody his racial identity, his religious identity, and his unique pop cultural appeal, the thesis suggests that a broad interpretation of rhetoric best elucidates Obama’s negotiation of his varying identities.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/1342"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright © 2012 Steve Binkley"],"dc:subject":["American Politics","English Language and Literature","Rhetoric and Composition"],"dc:title":["A Rhetorical Examination of the Barack Obama Phenomenon in the 2008 Presidential Campaign"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - University Access Only"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:29:00Z"}