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Looking Back to Look Forward
Political Rhetoric
President John F. Kennedy speaking at the University of Washington, 1961.
Seattle P-I collection, MOHAI Seattle |
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An examination of how the political rhetoric of
presidential candidates has changed and evolved over the past several decades.
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Reporter's Notebook
Austin Jenkins
 I went into this story expecting that voters would yearn for the days of ole when candidates were “more statesmanlike” and there was less spin and pandering. But that wasn’t the reaction. Instead the voters I talked to – both Democrats and Republicans – seem to like the less formal, more intimate approach and style of the modern candidates. To be sure, a good argument can be made that political rhetoric has devolved since the days of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. But perhaps the way in which voters relate to the candidates has evolved . What do you think? Is there a case to be made that modern candidates are better communicators? Or do you long for the statesmen of the past?
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McCain Speeches
