Communication in politics

Fashion is a form of rhetoric. It has the power to communicate whether intentionally or not. Jacqueline Kennedy utilized this form of communication to express herself to create a new image of the White House, and to educate the American public on nuances. To her, the various aspects of fashion were strategies that allowed her to create a rhetoric all her own and one that was widely esteemed and emulated. Her creative use of style helped fulfill the public's desire for change in the White House. Essentially, Jackie added an aura that completed the "New Frontier" administration her husband promised. She had set new standards. Her popular style was copied not only because it was aesthetically pleasing, but because it constructed a compelling mystique composed in part by her wealth coupled with her high social and political standing.

This thesis analyzes how the American political system presents specific rhetorical constraints for independent and third party candidates who are "othered" by the system. To better understand how independent candidates overcome these constraints, the rhetoric of two such recent candidates, Charlie Crist and Joe Lieberman, is analyzed using ideographic criticism. These two candidates were originally affiliated with one of the two major political parties, but changed their party affiliation to run as Independent candidates. To facilitate their transition to independent candidates, both politicians used popular American political ideographs such as "the people," "freedom," and "unity" to maintain their allegiance to America and their constituencies, while separating their political ideology from their prior party affiliation. The ideographic analysis reveals that independent candidates can create nuanced changes in the meanings of popular ideographs to transcend partisan interpretations and create a positive perception of political "otherness."