Franklin Roosevelt instinctively understood that a politician unable to control his own body would be perceived as unable to control the body politic. He took care to hide his polio-induced lameness both visually and verbally. Through his speeches--and his physical bearing when delivering them--he tried to project robust health for himself while imputing disability, weakness, and even disease onto his political opponents and their policies. In "FDR's Body Politics: ""The"" Rhetoric of Disability, " Davis W. Houck and Amos Kiewe analyze the silences surrounding Roosevelt's disability, the...
Franklin Roosevelt instinctively understood that a politician unable to control his own body would be perceived as unable to control the body politic....
The rise of the media presidency through radio and television broadcasts has heightened the visibility and importance of presidential speeches in determining the effectiveness and popularity of the President of the United States. Not surprisingly, this development has also witnessed the rise of professional speechwriters to craft the words the chief executive would address to the nation. Yet, as this volume of expert analyses graphically demonstrates, the reliance of individual presidents on their speechwriters has varied with the rhetorical skill of the officeholder himself, his managerial...
The rise of the media presidency through radio and television broadcasts has heightened the visibility and importance of presidential speeches in dete...