Epideictic Rhetoric in the Service of War: George W. Bush on Iraq and the 60th Anniversary of the Victory over Japan

Abstract

This essay explores the relationship between epideictic discourse and war through the analysis of George W. Bush's August 20, 2005, address at the Naval Air Station near San Diego, ostensibly to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan. The case also serves as an exemplar for how Bush routinely interwove epideictic appeals with collective memories of World War II in order to promote the Iraq war and deflect criticism of his policies there. Bush praised the greatest generation and linked it to the current generation; blamed and dehumanized enemies of the past and present; advocated for war based on “lessons” from the past; and reinforced a shared identity to instill both obligation and confidence.

Keywords:

• Epideictic Rhetoric
• Collective Memory
• George W. Bush
• Iraq
• World War II
• War

Acknowledgements

She wishes to thank David Henry, Craig R. Smith, and Martha Watson who provided feedback on an earlier version of this work, as well as the reviewers at Communication Monographs. She also would like to acknowledge Anna K. Hurley, Billy J. Raines II, and Lauren R. Camacci, who served as research assistants while students at the College of Wooster, and Jeffrey Gibson for the insights of his research and the serendipity that allowed our paths to cross.

Notes

1. Following a different vein, Vivian (2006) examined what he called “neoliberal epideictic” in the form of declamations of “canonical texts” by New York Governor George Pataki, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, followed by George W. Bush's public eulogy, which took place before the Iraq war to commemorate the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Vivian noted that neoliberal epideictic is “highly conducive to corporate media dissemination” and “extols the pursuits of private life, both social and economic, as ideal standards of citizenship” by avoiding any focus on deliberative consequences (pp. 4, 20).

2. See, e.g., Bush, 2002, 2004a, 2004b, 2004c, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c, 2005d, 2005e, 2005f, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2007a, 2007b, 2008a, 2008b.

3. This helps to explain, in large measure, Lincoln's high degree of restraint in depicting Confederate foes; his ultimate goal, after all, was the restoration of the Union.

4. My analysis throughout this essay is also based on a video recording of the President's speech, Bush (2005g).

5. The one exception to the White House's careful attention to visual detail ended up serving the rhetorical needs of those who criticized the President's handling of Katrina. In the days that followed, critics began circulating a photo of a smiling Bush strumming the guitar that country singer Mark Wills had given him backstage after the North Island speech, juxtaposed with photos of weeping citizens at the Superdome (e.g., “A Tale of Two Photos,” 2005; “Who Says Bush,” 2005).

6. For an analysis of rhetorical obstacles faced by two congressional war opponents, Sam Nunn and Robert Kennedy, see Murphy (1992).

7. Asked to comment briefly on the President's commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy for Connecticut's National Public Radio station in 2007, I listened over the phone to the station's broadcast of his entire performance, which garnered loud applause and praise from his immediate audience. A political scientist, asked on-air about a dimension of President Bush's policies, expressed surprise at the listeners’ responses, commenting that they must be hearing an entirely different speech.

8. My experiences with Eyes Wide Open, a project of the American Friends Service Committee, suggest one example. Eyes Wide Open uses epideictic rhetoric—verbal in its closing ceremony and visual in the form of empty combat boots, each paired with the name of a fallen US soldier, along with empty civilian shoes and slippers and photos of ordinary Iraqi people, as a way to humanize and individualize the impact of war. See http://afsc.org/campaign/eyes-wide-open

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Denise M. Bostdorff

Denise M. Bostdorff (PhD, Purdue) is Professor of Communication at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio