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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush - Hardcover
Synopsis
Lim argues that the ever-increasing tendency for presidents to crowd out argument in presidential rhetoric with applause-rendering platitudes and partisan punch-lines was concertedly implemented by the modern White House. Through a series of interviews with former presidential speechwriters, he shows that the anti-intellectual stance was a deliberate choice rather than a reflection of presidents' intellectual limitations. Only the smart, he suggests, know how to "dumb down."
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About the Author
Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University.
Reviews
This slim, scathing book does not mince words about the current state of presidential rhetoric, frankly deploring its nosedive from our founding era. Drawing upon interviews with 42 presidential speech writers, Lim investigates what he sees as a particularly American phenomenon whereby most presidents have preferred to appear less, not more intellectually inclined than they actually were. He reveals the long institutional pedigree of anti-intellectualism in presidential addresses, from Harding to Eisenhower, Clinton (an intelligent but anti-intellectual president) to Bush, as presidents have positioned intellectuals as the piñatas of American politics. Lim builds his case systematically, introducing fascinating indices to measure oratorical sophistication or simplicity. A massive campaign of linguistic simplification is afoot, he argues, and he dissects inaugural addresses and presidential public papers, charting average sentence length, Flesch Readability and the preponderance of platitudes to evince a growing reification of style over substance. While his methodology is occasionally esoteric, Lim's presentation of the consequences of the manipulation of language in the political arena is clear and compelling, and will delight grammarians and political aficionados alike. (June)
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The Anti-Intellectual Presiden
Published by
Oxford University Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
Used
Hardcover
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Condition: Good. Good condition ex-library book with usual library markings and stickers. Seller Inventory # 00109661210
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
Oxford University Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
Used
Hardcover
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Condition: good. The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact, including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting, and there might be a "From the library of" label. Boxed set packaging, shrink wrap, or included media like CDs may be missing. Seller Inventory # BSM.1AZZJ
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
Oxford University Press Inc, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
Used
Hardcover
Seller: World of Books Inc, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
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Hardback. Condition: Good. Why has it been so long since an American president has effectively and consistently presented well-crafted, intellectually substantive arguments to the American public? Why have presidential utterances fallen from the rousing speeches of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and FDR to a series of robotic repetitions of talking points and sixty-second soundbites, largely designed to obfuscate rather than illuminate? In The Anti-Intellectual Presidency, Elvin Lim draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate the relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in the USA's presidents' ability to communicate with the public. Lim argues that the ever-increasing pressure for presidents to manage public opinion and perception has created a "pathology of vacuous rhetoric and imagery" where gesture and appearance matter more than accomplishment and fact. Lim tracks the campaign to simplify presidential discourse through presidential and speechwriting decisions made from the Truman to the present administration, explaining how and why presidents have embraced anti-intellectualism and vague platitudes as a public relations strategy. Lim sees this anti-intellectual stance as a deliberate choice rather than a reflection of presidents' intellectual limitations. Only the smart, he suggests, know how to dumb down. The result, he shows, is a dangerous debasement of the USA's political discourse and a quality of rhetoric which has been described, charitably, as "a linguistic struggle" and, perhaps more accurately, as "dogs barking idiotically through endless nights." Sharply written and incisively argued, The Anti-Intellectual Presidency sheds new light on the murky depths of presidential oratory, illuminating both the causes and consequences of this substantive impoverishment. Seller Inventory # CIN019534264XG
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency : The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
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ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency : The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
Used
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
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ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
Oxford University Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
Published by
Oxford University Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
Used
Hardcover
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
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ISBN 10: 019534264X
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The Anti-Intellectual Presidency: The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush
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Oxford University Press June 2008, 2008
ISBN 10: 019534264X
ISBN 13: 9780195342642
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