Faculty Publications

Policy-Making Rhetoric And Youth Issues In The 2004 Presidential Campaign

Document Type

Article

Keywords

2004 Presidential election, Campaign rhetoric, Campaign speeches, Policy-making rhetoric, Youth issues

Journal/Book/Conference Title

American Behavioral Scientist

Volume

50

Issue

9

First Page

1264

Last Page

1272

Abstract

Campaigns make strategic decisions about appealing to various electoral groups. In 2004, both presidential campaigns did choose to appeal to those younger than 30 with their policy-making rhetoric. The authors find, however, that Bush and Kerry approached this demographic differently. Bush did not single out young adults to the extent Kerry did. Instead, Bush chose to treat young voters more as a part of the general electorate than a distinct group, appealing to their self-interest. Kerry was more attentive, directly targeting young citizens by focusing on issues of higher education and especially seeking to appeal to service-oriented young adults. © 2007 Sage Publications.

Department

Department of Political Science

Original Publication Date

5-1-2007

DOI of published version

10.1177/0002764207299365

Link to Full Text

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