The Rise and Fall of the Preemptive Presidency: The Great Recession and Barack Obama
Open Access
- Author:
- Fraimow, Marisa Cara
- Area of Honors:
- Communication Arts and Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Kirtley Hasketh Wilson, Thesis Supervisor
Lori Ann Bedell, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Preemptive Presidency
Presidential Ethos
2008 Economic Crisis
Great Recession
Narratives
Crisis Management - Abstract:
- The 2008 presidential election and Barack Obama’s first presidential victory coincided with the second most devastating economic decline in the history of the United States. The conditions of the Great Recession provided a unique rhetorical opportunity for both presidential candidates but Barack Obama’s rhetoric stands apart for its presidential tone. The purpose of my thesis is to analyze candidate Obama within the scope of a “preemptive presidency,” including his rise to power and arguable decline in public opinion after the 2008 presidential election. My secondary layer of research considers the crisis management tactics available to the president during periods of national crisis, with specific emphasis on the narrative form. The result is the integration of three components of organizational literature—crisis, narratives, and power. In the final chapter of my thesis, I consider the potentially negative consequences of the narrative form and explore the notion that poor management, or the perceived poor management of an ongoing crisis impacts the presidential ethos. This is especially relevant during prolonged crises in public confidence. This honors thesis contributes to three different areas: 1) the circumstances that provide presidential candidates access to a presidential ethos, 2) the rhetorical tactics presidents and presidential candidates use to respond to crisis, and 3) how presidents deal with the inevitable failure to meet expectations of the populace once they become president.