Believe Al Gore when he says he’ll run a different campaign in 2004. Don’t believe that his campaign will eschew campaign “tactics.” Gore says he will “spend more time speaking from the heart on a few occasions each week, addressing the major challenges of the country in-depth, and spend a lot less time going to media events and making tactical moves.” This is a tactic. No politician running for president in the age of television campaigns can or will avoid the tactical maneuvers of staged media events. It is simply impossible to run a campaign otherwise. What Gore means is that he will revamp his campaign tactics to create an impression in the media of a candidate speaking “from the heart.” I am not questioning his sincerity. I am questioning the mediated reality within which he must operate.
The Rhetorica Network
I offer commentary on the rhetoric of the American conversation, especially as it unfolds in documentary film, the news media, and politics. Check out my feeds on Twitter and Instagram. Also be sure to see my work at Carbon Trace Productions, a non-profit documentary film studio in Springfield, Missouri. I am a Professor of Media & Journalism at Missouri State University. I teach classes in mobile journalism and documentary filmmaking.
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