Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of Argumentation in Context
Vol. 5:3 (2016) ► pp.227–248

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Mitt Romney in Denver

“Obamacare” as ideological enthymeme

Published online: 27 January 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.5.3.01kir
This paper argues that surface-level analysis of political argument fails to explain the effectiveness of ideological enthymemes, particularly within the context of presidential debates. This paper uses the first presidential debate of the 2012 election as a case study for the use of “Obamacare” as an ideological enthymeme. The choice of a terminological system limits and shapes the argumentative choices afforded the candidate. Presidential debates provide a unique context within which to examine the interaction of ideological constraints and argument due to their relatively committed and ideologically homogenous audiences.
References (62)
Alter, Jonathan. 2013. “Obama’s Choke Revisited.” New Republic, May 29, 2013, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baker, Peter. 2012. “A Clash of Philosophies.” New York Times, October 4, 2012: A0.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Balz, Dan, and Philip Rucker. 2012. “Obama and Romney Campaigns Seek Breakthrough Strategy.” The Washington Post, September 8, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Benoit, William L., Glenn J. Hansen, and Rebecca M. Verser. 2003. “A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Viewing U.S. Presidential Debates.” Communication Monographs 70 (4): 335–350. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bitzer, Lloyd F. 1959. “Aristotle’s Enthymeme Revisited.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 45 (4): 399–408. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boydstun, Amber E., Rebecca A. Glazier, and Matthew T. Pietryka. 2013. “Playing to the Crowd: Agenda Control in Presidential Debates.” Political Communication 30 (2): 254–277. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bradberry, Leigh A., and Gary C. Jacobson. 2014. “The Tea Party and the 2012 Presidential Election.” In press at Electoral Studies, available online October 7, 2014, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burke, Kenneth. 1957. Counter-Statement. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1969. A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1974. The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ceccarelli, Leah. 1998. “Polysemy: Multiple Meanings in Rhetorical Criticism.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 84 (4): 395–415. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Conley, Thomas M. 1984. “The Enthymeme in Perspective.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 70 (2): 168–187. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cook, Ian P. 2012. Tuning the Dog Whistle. Preliminary paper draft, April 1, 2012, [URL]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013. Dog Whistling. Preliminary paper draft, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cox, Amanda, Alicia Desantis, Alicia Parlapiano, and Jeremy White. 2012. “Fighting to control the meaning of ‘Obamacare.’” The New York Times, March 26, 2012: A12.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Crummy, Karen E. 2012a. “President Obama, Mitt Romney Ready to Duel in Denver.” Denver Post, October 3, 2012: A2S.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012b. “Will the Debate be a Game Changer?” Denver Post, October 2, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Delia, Jesse G. 1970. “The Logic Fallacy, Cognitive Theory, and the Enthymeme: A Search for the Foundations of Reasoned Discourse.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 56 (2): 140–148. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dionne, E.J. 2012. “Romney’s Shifting Persona.” Washington Post, October 4, 2012: A23.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fallows, James. 2012. “Slugfest: Sizing up the Obama-Romney Debates.” National Journal, August 23, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, Thomas. 2012. “Debates Often Not ‘Game-Changers’ but that’s what Romney Needs.” The Seattle Times, September 29, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grant, David. 2012. “Hurricane Isaac Delays Start of Republican National Convention in Tampa.” Christian Science Monitor, August 25, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guzder, Deena. 2012. “Chaos on the Convention Floor as RNC Blocks Ron Paul Delegates, Alters Seating Rules.” Democracy Now! August 29, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haberman, Maggie. 2012. “5 takeaways from the Denver Debate.” Politico, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haney-López, Ian. 2014. Dog whistle politics: how coded racial appeals have reinvented racism and wrecked the middle class. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harnden, Toby. 2012. “Obama ‘believed he had BEATEN Romney’ in Denver debate - after ignoring advice of top aides on preparation.” The Daily Mail, October 9, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hiland, Al. 2015. “Polysemic argument: Mitt Romney in the 2012 Primary Debates.” In Disturbing Argument, ed. by Catherine H. Palczewski, 168–173. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holbrook, Thomas M. 1999. “Political Learning from Presidential Debates.” Political Behavior 21 (1): 67–89. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ingold, John. 2012. “Romney Repeatedly Batters Obama in Presidential Debate at DU.” The Denver Post, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jamieson, Kathleen Hall and David S. Birdsell. 1988. Presidential Debates: The Challenge of Creating an Informed Electorate. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
John F. Kennedy, School of Government. 2013. Campaign for President: The Managers Look at 2012. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Khimm, Suzy. 2012. “The truth about Romney’s ‘six studies.’” The Washington Post, October 16, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krebs, Justin. 2012. “Obama’s Flat, Romney Fibs: The First Debate that Wasn’t.” WNYC, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lanigan, Richard L. 1974. “Enthymeme: The Rhetorical Species of Aristotle’s Syllogism.” Southern Journal of Communication 39 (3):207–222. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, M.J. 2012. “Clint Eastwood Delivers Rambling RNC Speech.” Politico, August 30, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lenz, Gabriel S., and Chappell Lawson. 2011. “Looking the Part: Television Leads Less Informed Citizens to Vote Based on Candidates’ Appearance.” American Journal of Political Science 55 (3): 574–589. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levinson, Alexis. 2012. “Romney Tempers Debate Expectations.” Daily Caller, October 2, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacAskill, Ewen. 2012a. “Mitt Romney Comes Out on Top as Obama Stumbles in First Debate.” The Guardian, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
MacAskill, Ewan. 2012b. “Romney and Obama Curtail Debate Expectations Ahead of First Meeting.” The Guardian, September 30, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Madden, Edward H. 1952. “The Enthymeme: Crossroads of Logic, Rhetoric, and Metaphysics.” The Philosophical Review 61 (3):368–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marinucci, Carla, and Joe Garofoli. 2012. “Romney, Obama Square off in Polite Debate.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 3, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martin, Jonathan, and Maggie Haberman. 2012. “Denver Debate Do-or-Die for Mitt Romney.” Politico, September 27, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McBurney, James H. 1936. “The Place of the Enthymeme in Rhetorical Theory.” Communications Monographs 3 (1):49–74.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McGee, Michael C. 1980. “The ‘Ideograph’: A Link between Rhetoric and Ideology.” The Quarterly Journal of Speech 66 (1):1–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Medved, Michael. 2012. “Obama’s Big Whimper: Four Big Surprises from the Denver Debate.” The Daily Beast, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Metzler, Rebekah. 2012. “Obama, Romney Get Ready to Rumble in Denver.” US News and World Report, October 3, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McKinney, Mitchell S., and Benjamin R. Warner. 2013. “Do Presidential Debates Matter? Examining a Decade of Campaign Debate Effects.” Argumentation and Advocacy 49 (4): 238–258. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Milbank, Dana. 2012. “Romney Holds his Own – and then Some.” Washington Post, October 4, 2012: A02.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
National Public Radio. 2012. “Transcript and Audio: First Obama-Romney Debate.” Federal News Service, October 3, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
NBC News. 2012. “NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey.” Hart/McInturff Polling, September 19, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Brien, Matthew. 2012. “The 6 Studies Paul Ryan cited Prove Mitt Romney’s Tax Plan is Impossible.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rowland, Robert C. 2013. “The First 2012 Presidential Campaign Debate: The Decline of Reason in Presidential Debates.” Communication Studies 64 (5): 528–547. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rueckert, William H. 1982. Kenneth Burke and the Drama of Human Relations. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1994. Encounters with Kenneth Burke. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sarlin, Benjy. 2012. “Romney: Obama Puts us on Path to Europe – or California.” Talking Points Memo, September 21, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Robert. 2012. “Romney’s Tax Plan Doesn’t Obey the Laws of Mathematics.” US News and World Report, October 17, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stelter, Brian. 2012. “Not Waiting for Pundits’ Take, Web Audience Scores the Candidates in an Instant.” New York Times, October 4, 2012: A22.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Talev, Margaret, and Julianna Goldman. 2012. “Obama Dueling Romney with Europe Debt Crisis as the Foil.” Bloomberg, June 6, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tau, Byron. 2012. “Gore Blames Obama Debate Performance on Denver’s Altitude.” Politico, October 4, 2012, [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Whitley, Stephen. 2014. ‘Dog-whistle’ Rhetoric: Pedagogy and the Coded Language of Modern American Politics. Ph.D. dissertation, Texas A&M University-Commerce.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zarefsky, David. 2008. “Strategic Maneuvering in Political Argumentation.” Argumentation 22 (3):317–330. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2015. “What “Went Wrong” in the First Obama-Romney Debate.” In Disturbing Argument, ed. by Catherine H. Palczewski, 244–249. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Justice, Jacob W. & Brett J. Bricker
2019. Hacked: Defining the 2016 Presidential Election in the Liberal Media. Rhetoric and Public Affairs 22:3 ► pp. 389 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue