Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-255) and index
Candidates in Conflict provides a new perspective for understanding presidential debates by analyzing the three televised debates in 1992 among candidates Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Ross Perot. Viewed by millions and now an expected part of presidential campaigns, the debates captured the attention of the nation. The authors show that presidential candidates, by using persuasive attack and defense strategies, are able either to undermine (in the case of their opponents) or to preserve (for themselves) the vital issues of personal credibility and policy matters. The book includes complete transcripts of the debates
pt. I. Analysis of the 1992 presidential debates -- Traditional approaches to presidential debates -- Investigating persuasive attack and defense -- Persuasive attack: Bush the primary target, Perot relatively unscathed -- Persuasive defense: Bush on the defensive -- Evaluation: how do the candidates stack up? -- pt. II. Transcripts of the 1992 presidential debates: Bush, Clinton, and Perot -- Debate one: October 11, 1992 -- Debate two: October 15, 1992 -- Debate three: October 19, 1992 -- Appendix 1: Procedures employed in the study -- Appendix 2: Sample coded transcript: excerpts from debate
