This essay explains the vice‐presidential role and its rhetorical characteristics through an examination of public talk by and about those who run for the vice‐presidential office. More specifically, the essay argues that the vice presidency is a traditional female role in what Burke would describe as comedic drama, the symbolic form where protagonists are controlled by the situations around them, and that nominees must undergo a sublimation process during their candidacy. As part of this analysis, the essay also analyzes an apparent aberration in public talk about vice‐presidential candidates, the campaign of Geraldine Ferraro, and how the rhetorical “rules” of the vice presidency impacted upon her candidacy. Finally, the essay notes how the campaign of Dan Quayle paralleled, in many ways, that of Ferraro.
Vice‐presidential comedy and the traditional female role: An examination of the rhetorical characteristics of the vice presidency
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related Research Data
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.