How the 2008 Obama-Biden and Mccain-Palin Campaigns and Web
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Political Campaigning 2.0: How the 2008 Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin Campaigns and Web Users Framed Race, Gender, and Age A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Erin H. Armstrong December 2013 © 2013 Erin H. Armstrong. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Political Campaigning 2.0: How the 2008 Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin Campaigns and Web Users Framed Race, Gender, and Age by ERIN H. ARMSTRONG has been approved for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication by Bernhard S. Debatin Professor of Journalism Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract ARMSTRONG, ERIN H., Ph.D., December 2013, Journalism Political Campaigning 2.0: How the Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin Campaigns and Web Users Framed Race, Gender, and Age Director of Dissertation: Bernhard S. Debatin This qualitative study explores the impact of new media, specifically social media and campaign websites with greater direct user participation and involvement. With the historic election of the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the candidacy of the first Republican woman nominated for vice-president, Sarah Palin, the 2008 presidential and vice-presidential campaigns remain important for study. “Political Campaigning 2.0” analyzes campaign and user-generated web content covering a wide array of new media: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter, and campaign websites. The study is based on Erving Goffman’s theories of Framing and Impression Management and complemented with James Grunig’s Situational Theory of Publics. In contrast to other studies, this research includes the issue of age and explores the intersectionality of race, gender, and age. It uses a multi-method approach, combining textual analysis with in-depth interviews, focus groups, and self-reports made up of 66 Ohio University undergraduate student participants. Findings reveal that a majority of web users interpreted and represented the Democratic candidates in the same way as the campaign framed them, indicating convergent and successful representation in terms of race, gender, and age. The Obama- Biden campaign was able to take advantage of Obama’s race as a historic milestone and Biden’s age as a sign of experience. In contrast, most web users interpreted and iii represented Republican candidates differently than intended by the McCain-Palin campaign, indicating a divergence in framing. A majority of users framed McCain as old, rather than experienced, and Palin as inexperienced, rather than a “maverick.” The McCain-Palin campaign worked to represent Palin as a candidate who would appeal to women, but her representation in terms of gender did not resonate with a majority of web users. Emphasizing the importance of new media technology, this study shows how the 2008 campaigns traversed racial tolerance, gendered roles, and an increasing generational gap. It proposes lessons in political campaigning, particularly for future presidential and vice-presidential candidates, not only with regard to the appropriate use of social media, but also in view of a clear understanding of the socio-demographic composition of the targeted audiences. iv Acknowledgments The author wishes to acknowledge her dissertation committee members Dr. Bernhard Debatin and Dr. Joseph Bernt of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Dr. Duncan Brown of the School of Media Arts and Studies, and Dr. DeLysa Burnier of the Department of Political Science, at Ohio University. Their time and insightful feedback were invaluable to this study. Additional appreciation is extended to Dr. Joseph Bernt, Professor Emeritus, for his guidance as Director of Graduate Studies during the author’s doctoral coursework. Most of all, the author is grateful to Dr. Bernhard Debatin for his exceptional patience and mentorship in his role as dissertation advisor. v Table of Contents Page Abstract......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................v List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..ix List of Figures.................................................................................................................x Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................6 2.1: Issues of Race.......................................................................................................6 2.2: Issues of Gender...................................................................................................9 2.3: Issues of Age......................................................................................................13 2.4: “New” Media .....................................................................................................15 2.5: Framing..............................................................................................................19 2.6: Situational Theory of Publics..............................................................................24 2.7: Research Questions ............................................................................................25 Chapter 3: Methodology................................................................................................27 3.1: Textual Analysis.................................................................................................27 3.2: In-depth Interviews……………………………………………………………….34 3.3: Focus Groups……………………………………………………………………..36 3.4: Self-reports……………………………………………………………………….38 Chapter 4: Findings………………………………………………………………………40 4.1: Overview............................................................................................................40 4.2: Race ...................................................................................................................45 4.2.1: Campaign Themes .......................................................................................45 4.2.1.1: Campaign Theme 1: Obama’s Balance Between Black and White.........45 4.2.1.2: Campaign Theme 2: McCain, Palin, the Republican Party and Race.....50 4.2.2: User Themes................................................................................................53 4.2.2.1: User Theme 1: Racism in 2008..............................................................53 4.2.2.2: User Theme 2: Historic Significance .....................................................54 4.3: Gender................................................................................................................55 4.3.1: Campaign Themes .......................................................................................55 vi 4.3.1.1: Campaign Theme 1: Wooing Hillary Supporters ...................................55 4.3.1.2: Campaign Theme 2: Campaign Emphasis of the Candidates’ Spouses...62 4.3.1.3: Campaign Theme 3: Presidential Masculinity........................................68 4.3.2: User Themes................................................................................................75 4.3.2.1: User Theme 1: Unrestrained Sexism......................................................75 4.3.2.2: User Theme 2: “Camelot” in 2008.........................................................82 4.3.2.3: User Theme 3: “Macho Man”................................................................85 4.4: Age.....................................................................................................................90 4.4.1: Campaign Themes .......................................................................................90 4.4.1.1: Campaign Theme 1: Age vs. Experience ...............................................90 4.4.1.2: Campaign Theme 2: The “Cool” Candidate...........................................95 4.4.2: User Themes................................................................................................97 4.4.2.1: User Theme 1: “Rock Star” Appeal.......................................................97 4.4.2.2: User Theme 2: The “Grumpy Old Man”................................................99 Chapter 5: Discussion..................................................................................................104 5.1: Framing of the 2008 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates ..................105 5.1.1: Barack Obama ...........................................................................................106 5.1.2: John McCain..............................................................................................120 5.1.3: Joe Biden ...................................................................................................129 5.1.4: Sarah Palin.................................................................................................137 5.2: The Effects of New Media on Representation and Interpretation of the Candidates...............................................................................................................150 5.2.1: Comparing Campaign Content ...................................................................151 5.2.1.1: Amount and Frequency of Content......................................................154