ABSTRACT
Critics of the rhetorical presidency often assume that the office has been—or is teetering on the brink of—being reduced to public performance, for rhetoric is indeed the bridge between the presidency and the people. During his 1982 State of the Union Address, Ronald Reagan did something no president had ever done before; mention the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters. For the first time during a State of the Union Address, a president made use of a living example to underline an argument about the nature of American citizenship and American national identity. This chapter discusses the ceremonial and deliberative opportunities inherent in the presidency. It talks about the episodic events that provide rhetorical and political resources for presidents, focusing on crisis, press conferences, and major policy addresses. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the integral relationship between presidential rhetoric and presidential politics.
