Women and Politics II - Diane Sawyer's Blunder

For days, ABC's "Good Morning America" heavily promoted Diane Sawyer's interview with the so-called "Sweet Sixteen"--the 16 women in the U.S. Senate, which aired yesterday and will continue this morning. The interview did offer some interesting insights--especially the perceived need of many of these powerful women to emphasize their willingness to go to war, if circumstances warranted. Despite their increasing stature, these politicians still are required to prove that they are "tough enough" for the Oval Office.

The editing of individual comments was too abrupt at times and, for whatever reason, Democrats were given much more air time than the GOP women. My main complaint about the piece, however, occurred in its opening seconds and almost derailed the entire interview. Sawyer opened the segment by asking the women what they thought of Barrack Obama's movement toward a presidential run. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) tried to keep the focus on the potential history-making presidential candidate sitting next to her, Hillary Clinton, and Hillary herself appeared awkward. Sawyer couldn't resist trying to get some "news" out of the event. However, she already had a great story sitting right in front of her--the largest number of women ever serving at one time in the U.S. Senate.

To focus the first moments of the interview--when most viewers are paying closest attention--on a male politician was unnecessary and undermined the entire point of the piece. By going for a cheap scoop, Sawyer reinforced the notion of politics as, first and foremost, a man's game.

Thoughts on President Bush's Speech Announcing New Iraq Strategy

The build-up to President Bush's speech last night created a genuine sense of drama and significance surrounding this act of prime-time political communication. Just prior to and during the White House address, one could feel an inescapable gravity, a feeling that the entire Iraq situation was approaching a crucial moment. Much of the speech's substance had already been leaked, so the changes in policy announced were not surprising and had been debated throughout the day. This post will address two more peripheral, but telling, aspects of the speech.



I was surprised by the choice of White House venue--the first floor Library. As the setting for such a major address, the room was fairly nondescript and lacked the authority and comforting familiarity of the Oval Office. Bush stood somewhat stiffly in front of some bookshelves, near what looked like a cold fireplace, and delivered the speech from a podium. I'm not sure if the President was shooting for an FDR "fireside chat"-type vibe or even a Jimmy Carter "fireside chat"-type vibe (Carter actually delivered his chats from that very room). Bush's aides explained that the library would make the President appear serious yet conversational, but it came off looking more like he was pitching the latest Time-Life book series. Worse yet, it reminded me of Bill Clinton's choice of the random, nondescript Map Room to publicly admit his affair with Monica Lewinsky. I'm pretty sure that's the last thing Bush wanted people thinking about last night.

The line from the speech that was most interesting to me, but not overly-dissected in the post-speech analysis that I watched was the President's admission of responsibility: "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me." Although today's headlines have trumpeted this statement as Bush "taking blame" and admitting that he made mistakes, the indirectness and passivity of the specific language are noteworthy. Statements of apologia, or self-defense, especially in a political context, are carefully crafted in terms of language. So the way that sentence is constructed is very intentional and strategic. No mistakes had been identified at that point in the speech so the "admission," as heard by the public, was somewhat empty. Second, the phrase "the responsibility rests with me" is much less assertive and direct than a statement like "I take responsibility for...." Why does it matter? Because, in that brief but important moment, Bush's cultivated and appealing image as a plain-talking, straight shooter was subordinated to his unappealing disdain for admitting error. As a result, I predict that the passage will not have the public impact that the President hoped it would.

Women and Politics

With the ascension of Nancy Pelosi to Speaker of the House and third in line to the presidency, the election of many other women in the mid-term elections, and the highly -visible presence of Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton on the national political stage, there has been much discussion of the impact of the increasing prominence of women political leaders at all levels of government. One such impact appears to be stronger interest in politics in college-age women. I taught a course in Political Communication last semester at Saint Mary's College, a Catholic women's college, and the level of the students' interest and engagement about politics was impressive. Our class weblog demonstrates well this interest, along with some sharp critical insights about last fall's campaign and elections.