Verbal Certainty in American Politics: An Overview and Extension

Abstract

This article reexamines the first author's work over the last three decades in the area of presidential rhetoric, focusing particularly on verbal certainty—the extent to which a speaker depends on resolute and totalistic language. The study then explores the first three years of the George W. Bush presidency along this dimension. Although verbal certainty has declined across presidential administrations during the past 50 years, the Bush presidency has resurrected it, perhaps because of personal or philosophical reasons and perhaps because of the unique circumstances created by the war on terrorism.

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