Studies of Communication in the 2012 Presidential Campaign.
Jenkins, Keith B.
Studies of Communication in the 2012 Presidential Campaign. Edited
by Robert E. Denton, Jr. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014. 239 pages.
How significant was the March 23, 2015, announcement by Senator Ted
Cruz that he was running for president of the United States--making him
the first candidate to formally enter the 2016 campaign? Judith S.
Trent, writing in Robert E. Denton Jr.'s Studies of Communication
in the 2012 Presidential Campaign, offers some perspective:
"Beginning in 1972, and with no exceptions thereafter, presidential
hopefuls who have gone on to become viable candidates for the nomination
of their parties are those who surfaced earlier than their
competition" (p. 4).
This intriguing insight, which would no doubt please Cruz's
advisors, is one of many in Denton's latest edited volume. In it,
Trent, Denton, and fourteen other scholars scrutinize "a wide range
of communication elements and themes" (p. ix) in the 2012
presidential campaign.
The volume offers a diverse number of ways to consider the
"role and function of communication" (p. ix) within the
various contexts of a political campaign. Even though the book limits
itself to the two major political parties (in the process, virtually
ignoring the marginalized voices of third-party and independent
candidates), its areas of focus are plentiful, including the surfacing
phase; Mitt Romney's nomination; candidate personae; first ladies
as campaigners and presidential advisors; the nomination acceptance
speeches of Romney and of Barack Obama; undecided voters; the role of
race, music, and social media; and Obama's second inaugural
address.
Trent's Chapter 1 explores the functions of candidate
surfacing (establishing first impressions, introducing the
candidate's administrative style, and articulating the themes and
issues the candidate hopes will resonate with voters) in relation to the
2012 candidates. Henry C. Kenski and Kate M. Kenski examine the 2012
Republican Party nomination of Romney in Chapter 2, providing a solid
overview of the political environment, the impact of Republican
nomination rule changes and fundraising, media coverage, and the ability
to maintain a strong positive message. In Chapter 3, Dennis D. Cali
examines the candidates' personae, beginning with a discussion of
personal attributes, manifestations, functions, and challenges. Of
particular note in this chapter is the critical framework that Cali
offers for assessing candidate persona.
Chapter 4 turns the focus to the male candidates' wives and
their roles during the campaign. Here, Theodore F. Sheckels discusses
the evolving role and expectations of first ladies, tracing campaigning
first ladies from the nineteenth century to 2004 and, finally,
considering the ways in which Michelle Obama adheres to the traditional
norms of first ladies in campaigns, namely, to target specific voting
groups or to be "used to say things the candidate cannot" (p.
76). Melody J. Lehn, in Chapter 5, continues by examining the backlash
that Hilary Rosen received when she criticized Ann Romney for having
"never worked a day in her life" (p. 96). These chapters
challenge readers to look at the evolving roles of first ladies who are
campaigners and mothers and who also have pre-White House careers and
advanced degrees. Although it would make for an interesting study, the
roles of male spouses--the husbands of Hillary Clinton and Michele
Bachman--remain unexplored here.
Brian Heslop and Patrick S. Loebs, in Chapter 6, examine the
nomination acceptance speeches of Romney and Obama from the perspective
of two narratives: "the story of Elijah in the Old Testament and
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress" (p. 113). In
Chapter 7, Rita Kirk and Dan Schill differentiate between decided and
undecided voters. After challenging the myth that undecided voters do
not care and are uninformed, they make recommendations to help move such
voters to a decision.
Chapters 8, 9, and 10 examine the roles of race, music, and social
media, respectively. Zoe Spencer examines how "Obama still managed
to secure the unyielding collective support of black voters across
demographic lines" (p. 152), even though his campaign "shifted
from a 'race neutral' campaign strategy in 2008 to ... a
'race neglectful' one in 2012" (p. 161). Although many
might agree with this sentiment, I wonder how many black voters also
agree with David Swerdlick, contributing editor to The Root, who
suggests saving criticism of Obama for policies impacting all Americans
("What's Obama Done for Black People? Nothing," The Root,
June 5, 2012 [http://www.theroot.
com/articles/politics/2012/06/what_has_obama_done_for_black_people_nothing. html]). Meanwhile, David R. Dewberry and Jonathan H. Millen, in
Chapter 9, provide a wonderful review of music in presidential campaigns
and analyze the music used by both the Romney and Obama operations.
Stephanie E. Bor, in Chapter 10, looks at "two candidates running
in a House of Representatives race in Utah during the 2012 U.S.
election" (p. 198). Bor's analysis of interactive digital
campaigning reveals that candidates "maintained, and perhaps
enhanced their control over their campaign content through their use of
social network sites" (p. 202). Chapters 9 and 10, in particular,
might challenge readers to explore even further the topics of
"censorship of citizens' comments (p. 202) and copyright law
related to music at political events.
The final chapter, by Joseph M. Valenzano III, offers criticism of
Obama's second inaugural address, explaining how it lacks the four
most common characteristics of such speeches: unifying the audience,
reiterating the nation's past communal values, setting forth the
new administration's guiding political principles, and showing that
the incoming president understands "both the requirements and
limits of their office" (p. 207). As productive as this discussion
is, however, it might have taken into account the partisan environment
in which Obama operated during his first term.
Overall, the scholars contributing to Studies of Communication in
the 2012 Presidential Campaign thoroughly examine each topic, providing
the reader with solid history, context, and analysis. Indeed,
nontraditional topics, such as campaigning and advising by first ladies,
political profiteering, and the skillful treatment of race in the 2012
Obama campaign, all entice the reader to delve deeper into the text.
Thus, this must-read text is insightful and challenges all readers to
consider carefully the impact of communication in political campaigns.
--Keith B. Jenkins
Rochester Institute of Technology
