Newswise — At this stage in the 2008 presidential campaigns, as the Democratic and Republican candidates are hitting the road to promote their respective platforms, Americans are poring over the phrases, speeches and quotes delivered by the frontrunners. Whether you read snippets of a speech in a newspaper article, watch a full debate on CNN, or catch one of the candidates offering an explanation of his or her healthcare plan on YouTube, their words are pervasive.
According to rhetorician Owen Gilman, Ph.D., professor of English at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, "America is all about words; we are a nation built upon words, so they really do matter."
However, Gilman notes that one candidate's rhetoric seems to undermine the power of language to move the American electorate.
"In her campaign, Sen. Clinton has noted a number of times that there is a big difference between delivering a good speech and delivering good results in terms of government action," he says. "That's a valid point, of course, but her presentation seriously undervalues the actual power of speech, the signal importance of language in getting things to happen."
Gilman also notes the recurring use of the word "change" by the three main hopefuls. "'Change' has become the dominant mantra of the moment," he says. "The problem I see with using 'change' is that it's an easy concept to promote, but one that's difficult to deliver."
So the question becomes: should the candidates continue to exploit the "change" message?
Though Gilman acknowledges the word's rhetorical use in Democratic campaign communications seems to have traction with voters for now, he is not convinced that Americans are really ready to change all that much.
"I think Americans might like to diminish some of the acerbic cross-party warfare and see some growth of bipartisan cooperation, which might be possible to develop given the right leadership initiatives," he says. "That might be enough to get a small snowball rolling down the hill " then more things might happen that could contribute to real change."
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