Schnoebelen Dissertation-FULL VERSION
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Gendered Shackles of the Would-Be “Madame President”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Communication during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary BY ©2010 James M. Schnoebelen Submitted to the graduate degree program in Communication Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. __________________________________ Chairperson __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ Date Defended __________________________________ The Dissertation Committee for James M. Schnoebelen certifies That this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Gendered Shackles of the Would-Be “Madame President”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Communication during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary Committee: __________________________________ Chairperson __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ Date Defended __________________________________ 2 This work is dedicated to all of the daring women who have ever tried to break the highest and hardest glass ceiling in the United States (in chronological order): Victoria Woodhull (1872, 1892) Belva Lockwood (1884, 1888) Grace Allen (1940) Margaret Chase Smith (1964) Charlene Mitchell (1968) Shirley Chisholm (1972) Patsy Takemoto Mink (1972) Bella Abzug (1972) Linda Osteen Jenness (1972) Evelyn Reed (1972) Ellen McCormack (1976, 1980) Margaret Wright (1976) Deidre Griswold (1980) Maureen Smith (1980) Sonia Johnson (1984) Patricia Schroeder (1984, 1988) Gavrielle Holmes (1984) Isabelle Masters (1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004) Lenora Fulani (1988, 1992) Willa Kenoyer (1988) Gloria E. LaRiva (1992) Susan Block (1992) Helen Halyard (1992) Millie Howard (1992, 1996, 2000, 2008) Monica Moorehead (1996, 2000) Marsha Feinland (1996) Mary Cal Hollis (1996) Heather Anne Harder (1996) Elvena E. Lloyd-Duffie (1996) Georgina H. Doerschuck (1996) Susan Gail Ducey (1996) Ann Jennings (1996) Diane Beall Templin (1996) Joanne Jorgensen (1996) Elizabeth Dole (2000) Cathy Gordon Brown (2000) Carol Moseley Braun (2004) Hillary Rodham Clinton (2008) …from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable. –Hillary Rodham Clinton, June 7, 2008 3 Acknowledgements Diana Carlin, my mentor, advisor, and dissertation chair, has been fundamental to my success over the past fours years. She has allowed me to flourish as a scholar and become a better person along the way through her generosity, compassion, encouragement, and phenomenal sense of all things political and scholarly. I am grateful for our time together and look forward to many more years of collaboration and friendship. Also fundamental to my success, I must thank my committee members (Mary Banwart, Jay Childers, Scott Harris, and Alice Lieberman). I thank all of you for your intelligence, your patience, your thoughtfulness, and especially your interest in Hillary Clinton (even when some of you had to fake it…and yes, I could tell the difference). All of you encouraged and inspired me in your own ways, and I will forever be thankful for the time I got to spend with each of you. I must also acknowledge my partner in life, Jason Stephens, who understands better than anyone the sacrifices I had to make pursuing my Doctorate while also working a full-time job for the past four years. Thank you for understanding when I had to work late nights and most weekends, for encouraging me to keep going, and for constantly reminding me of the reasons why the process was worth it. My mother, Prudence Schnoebelen, has always been instrumental to my success. Looking back, I remember the road trip to Arkansas when she and I first discussed my eventual pursuit of the PhD. From the very beginning (of my PhD and of my life), my mother has always been my biggest source of encouragement and my best friend, and I could never have accomplished anything worth doing without her. I must also thank my amazing grandparents, Gene and Jamie Percell, for always loving me and being proud of me no matter what, and for being a constant source of support and encouragement throughout my graduate education and my life. I love you both more than I could ever express in words and always will. I have to also thank my father and stepmother, Mark and Kay Schnoebelen, for understanding when they didn’t get to see me for months at a time and for never once complaining about it! I also need to express my heartfelt gratitude to my friends at Washburn University who encouraged me often and gave me much advice along the way: Sarah Ubel, Tracy Routsong, Steve Doubledee, Mary Pilgram, and Leslie Reynard. Finally, I must thank the many friends I have made at KU who helped me thrive. I am gratified to note that there are too many to name them all, but I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically thank those who kept me sane, helped me get published, and made me laugh: Lindsey Shook, Kelly Winfrey, Ben Warner, Gini Jones, and Greta Wendolin. 4 Abstract This study analyzes Hillary Rodham Clinton’s key speeches and debate performances during the 2008 Democrat presidential primary. Specifically, a rhetorical criticism of Clinton’s discourse, utilizing Bitzer’s “rhetorical situation,” indicates that Clinton’s discourse was highly constrained by her gender, and supports the theory that women candidates experience tangible double binds. Specifically, Clinton’s rhetoric was hindered in terms of her audience because of her initial status as the frontrunner, the erosion of her female voting base, her lack of response to sexism, her use of negative campaigning, and her appeals to super delegates. The exigencies identified in Clinton’s discourse reflect tangible, gendered double binds as she approached the historic nature of her candidacy, universal health care, the war in Iraq, and her general election strategy. Finally, the analysis indicates her attempts to establish experience, her negative reputation, Obama’s key campaign strategies, and Bill Clinton’s presence on the trail created constraints. 5 Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction/Rationale/Review of Literature 8 Rationale One: Why Study Hillary Clinton? 12 Rationale Two: Artifacts 14 Review of Literature 16 The ‘Double Bind’ for Political Women 17 Gendered Traits of Male and Female Political Communicators 21 Gendered Issues for Male and Female Political Communicators 25 Gender and Voting Behavior in the United States 27 Media and Gender in Politics 31 Gender and Leadership in the Political, Public Sphere 35 Chapter Two: Methodology 48 The 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominating Race 54 Artifacts for Study 66 Chapter Three: Analysis of Clinton’s Audience 68 Perceptions Regarding Clinton’s Initial Status as the Frontrunner 71 The Erosion of Clinton’s Female Voting Base 81 Clinton’s Response to Sexism 85 Voters’ Perceptions of Clinton’s Use of Negative Campaigning 90 Clinton’s Appeals to Super Delegates 102 Chapter Summary 109 Chapter Four: Analysis of Clinton’s Exigencies 111 The Historic Nature of the Campaign as Exigence 113 Clinton’s Health Care Exigence as Double Bind 124 Clinton’s War in Iraq Exigence as Double Bind 131 Clinton’s General Election Strategy for the Primary Campaign as Exigence 143 Chapter Summary 154 Chapter Five: Analysis of Clinton’s Constraints 156 Experience as Constraint for Clinton’s Campaign Rhetoric 158 Experience as Constraint in Clinton’s Speeches 161 Experience as Constraint in Clinton’s Debate Performances 165 6 Perceptions of Clinton’s Reputation as Rhetorical Constraint 181 Reputation as Constraint in Clinton’s Speeches 189 Reputation as Constraint in Clinton’s Debate Performances 193 Obama’s Campaign Strategies as Constraints for Clinton’s Rhetoric 206 Obama’s Strategies as Constraint in Clinton’s Speeches 214 Obama’s Strategies as Constraint in Clinton’s Debate Performances 221 Bill Clinton as Constraint for Hillary Clinton’s Campaign 224 Bill Clinton as Constraint in Hillary Clinton’s Debate Performances 231 Chapter Summary 238 Chapter Six: Critical Conclusions 242 Clinton’s Inescapable Double Binds 244 Clinton’s Presentation of Male and Female Traits 249 Clinton’s Use of Masculine and Feminine Issues 252 Clinton’s Handling of Voter’s Gendered Expectations and Assumptions 253 Clinton and News Media: Implicit and Explicit Sexism 256 Hillary Clinton’s Leadership Style 258 Implications / Limitations / Suggestions for Future Research 260 References 266 7 Chapter One: Introduction/Rationale/Review of Literature Over seventy years ago when George Gallup first asked voters whether or not they would consider voting for a woman for president, an overwhelming majority (65%) said that they would not (Clift & Brazaitis, 2000). Now, as the first decade of the 21st century comes to an end, there are only a small percentage of voters who would be unwilling to accept the “fairer sex” in the role of commander in chief (Streb, et al., 2008). Unfortunately, women in America, as well as those in the vast majority of nations around the world, remain largely unrepresented or under- represented in high levels of political office. According to the UN 2000 report “The World’s Women 2000,” “women today are fewer than one-tenth