Reagan and Public Discourse in America
Edited by Michael Weiler and W. Barnett Pearce
University of Alabama Press
A critical assessment of the impact of the administration of President Ronald Reagan on public discourse in the United States
The authors show that more than any president since John F. Kennedy, Reagan’s influence flowed from his rhetorical practices. And he is remembered as having reversed certain trends and cast the U.S. on a new course. The contributors to this insightful collection of essays show that Reagan’s rhetorical tactics were matters of primary concern to his administration’s chief political strategists.
The authors show that more than any president since John F. Kennedy, Reagan’s influence flowed from his rhetorical practices. And he is remembered as having reversed certain trends and cast the U.S. on a new course. The contributors to this insightful collection of essays show that Reagan’s rhetorical tactics were matters of primary concern to his administration’s chief political strategists.
Reagan and Public Discourse in America offers a clear explanation of how President Reagan achieved popularity and policy success through rhetoric. Those who may never have understood Reagan's popularity will comprehend it after reading this collection.'
—Loyola Magazine
Michael Weiler is an associate professor in the department of communication studies at Emerson College. An expert in argument, rhetoric, and political communication, he is the author of research that has appeared in Argumentation and Advocacy, Informal Logic, and the Quarterly Journal of Speech. He is director of Emerson Community Debate, a program that promotes debating activities at Boston elementary and secondary schools.
