"We Have a Longstanding Critical Problem…All Right?": The Promotion of Domestic Crisis in President Obama's Health Care Rhetoric

Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, President Barack Obama set to work on health care reform. Little more than a year later the President signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which achieved a goal of so many previous administrations, into law. In order to encourage the passage of health care reform, Obama promoted a health care crisis in America. This study examines the President's rhetoric surrounding the health care crisis in order to explore the characteristics of a potential sub-genre of presidential discourse—domestic promoted crisis. Textual analysis of the President's remarks on health care revealed five strategies used in order to promote this crisis to the American people and encourage legislation to resolve it. In addition to characteristics, the concept of promotion of crises is discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Communication Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Kostka, Phillip M. Jr.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Denton, Robert E. Jr.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Holloway, Rachel L.
• Waggenspack, Beth M.

• bully pulpit
• health care reform
• crisis
• Barack Obama
• promotion
• presidential rhetoric

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-05122011-124346

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32673