Communication Studies, Department of

 

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

9-2009

Citation

Communication Studies 60:4 (September–October 2009), pp. 376–391.

doi: 10.1080/10510970903109979

Comments

Copyright © 2009 Central States Communication Association; published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis. Used by permission.

Abstract

Bill Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro were accused of “playing the race card” during the 2008 contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. This essay explores the different forms race cards may assume and the dangers each poses to the public dialogue. Moving away from the traditional focus on persuasive effects, the Clinton and Ferraro utterances are analyzed as argumentative discourses. Then, critical standards are promulgated for evaluating their reasonableness.

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