Colin Powell's 2000 keynote address: Compassionate conservatism in an age of cynicism

Colin Powell faced significant rhetorical challenges when he delivered his keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, including the existing political atmosphere and public sentiment, the political implications of a Republican victory, the influence of technology on campaign rhetoric, and audience attitude toward him. Despite rhetorical identification as a significant part of our national conversation and one of the few convention events receiving significant media coverage, little analysis has been generated on the keynote address. This study attempts to fill a gap and influence future research on a communicative act that has undergone, and may continue to undergo, significant changes. Bitzer's notion of rhetorical situation is the underlying theory guiding this study. Within the context of the 2000 presidential campaign, the constituents of exigence, audience, and constraints are defined. Those key to General Powell's keynote address are identified.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

2004

Author dc:creator

• Thomas, Kehrin Kercher

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Henry

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/1701

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-2700