Hillary Rodham Clinton as “Madonna”: The Role of Metaphor and Oxymoron in Image Restoration

Abstract

In contemporary American politics, metaphors serve as media frames and rhetorical resources from which candidates can draw as they shape a public persona. In this essay, I examine the way in which First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton encompassed both traditional and radical versions of the Madonna persona following the defeat of healthcare reform, arguing that it enabled her to promote her own political agenda, respond to the Clinton sex scandals, and position herself as a credible candidate for the U.S. Senate.