Presidential Rhetoric on Foreign Crises: George W. Bush on Georgia and Barack Obama on Ukraine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/AdAmericam.22.2021.22.05Keywords:
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, 2014 Russia- Ukraine conflict, rhetoric of foreign crisisAbstract
This article offers a critique of the rhetorical responses of President George W. Bush to the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict and of President Barack Obama to the 2014 Russia-Ukraine conflict. Its central objective is to identify parallels and differences between the situations calling for presidential rhetoric on the crises in Georgia and Ukraine and determine how the president’s reactions to the conflicts were similar or different, judging the responses against Theodore Otto Windt, Jr.’s analytical framework for foreign crisis rhetoric.
PlumX Metrics of this article
References
“Americans support Ukraine sanctions, split on Obama performance.” Washington Post, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2014/03/11/National-Politics/Polling/release_304.xml?tid=a_mcntx, last accessed 15 April 2019.
“China Olympics Attract Considerable Public Attention.” Pew Research Center, 2008, http://www.people-press.org/2008/08/14/china-olympics-attract-considerable-public-attention/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
“CNN Poll: 59% approve of sanctions against Russia.” CNN, 2014, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/10/cnn-poll-59-approve-of-sanctions-against-russia/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
“Most Say U.S. Should ‘Not Get Too Involved’ in Ukraine Situation.” Pew Research Center, 2014, http://www.people-press.org/2014/03/11/most-say-u-s-should-not-get-too-involved-in-ukraine-situation/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
“National Security Strategy.” National Security Strategy Archive, 2010, http://nssarchive.us/national-security-strategy-2010/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
“The National Security Strategy of the United States of America.” National Security Strategy Archive, 2002, http://nssarchive.us/national-security-strategy-2010/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Barnard, Mason. “A New World Order.” Harvard International Review, 36 (4), 2015, pp. 18-19.
Bush, George. “Remarks on the Situation in Georgia. August 11, 2008.” The American Presidency Project, 2008, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=78058&st=&st1=, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Cherwitz, Richard. A. and Zagacki, Kenneth S. “Consummatory versus Justificatory Crisis Rhetoric.” Western Journal of Speech Communication, 50 (4), 1986, pp. 307-324, https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318609374240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318609374240
Cooper, Helene. “Russia Steps Up Its Push; West Faces Tough Choices.” New York Times, 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/world/europe/12diplo.html?ref=todayspaper, last accessed 15 April 2019.
DeYoung, Karen. “Bush Questions Moscow’s Motives.” Washington Post, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081100752.html?hpid=topnews, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Dow, Bonnie. J. “The Function of Epideictic and Deliberative Strategies in Presidential Crisis Rhetoric.” Western Journal of Speech Communication, 53 (3), 1989, pp. 294-310, https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374308. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10570318909374308
Editorial Board. “Condemnation isn’t enough for Russian actions in Crimea.” Washington Post, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/condemnation-isnt-enoughfor-russian-actions-in-crimea/2014/02/28/7b93b7c0a09d-11e3-9ba6-800d1192d08b_story.html?utm_term=.43b841448019, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Finn, Peter. “Georgia Retreats, Pleads for Truce; U.S. Condemns Russian Onslaught.” Washington Post, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/10/AR2008081000267.html, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Froomkin, Dam. “Bush’s Georgian Betrayal.” Washington Post, 2008, http://busharchive.froomkin.com/BL2008081101093_pf.htm, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Gearan, Anne. “US seems unable to stop Russia.” Associated Press, 2008, http://archive.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/08/12/us_seems_unable_to_stop_russia/, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Herszenhorn, David M., Landler, Mark, Smale, Alison. “With Military Moves Seen in Ukraine, Obama Warns Russia.” New York Times, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/world/europe/ukraine.html, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Hess, Gary R. “Presidents and the Congressional War Resolutions of 1991 and 2002.” Political Science Quarterly, 121 (1), 2006, pp. 93-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2006.tb00566.x
Obama, Barack. “Remarks on the Situation in Ukraine. February 28, 2014.” The American Presidency Project, 2014, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=104756&st=&st1=, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Rubin, Jennifer. “Who lost Ukraine?” Washington Post, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/02/28/who-lost-ukraine/?utm_term=.255ecd3cc61d, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Solomon, Jay. “Bush’s Waning Term Gives Adversaries Time to Maneuver.” The Wall Street Journal, 2008, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121842560025829095?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Solomon, Jay. “Obama Has Few Options to Challenge Russia on Ukraine.” The Wall Street Journal, 2014, https://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-has-few-options-to-challenge-russia-on-ukraine-1393632653?tesla=y, last accessed 15 April 2019.
Windt, Theodore Otto, Jr. Presidents and Protesters: Political Rhetoric in the 1960s. University of Alabama Press, 1990.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
