Finding Her Voice: Hillary Clinton’s Rhetoric in the 2008 Presidential Campaign

Authors

Michelle C. Bligh, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Jennifer Merolla, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Jean Reith Schroedel, Claremont Graduate UniversityFollow
Randall Gonzalez, Claremont Graduate University

Student Co-author

CGU Graduate

Document Type

Article

Department

Behavioral and Organizational Sciences (CGU)

Publication Date

2010

Disciplines

Leadership Studies | Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

After her somewhat surprising third place finish in the 2008 Iowa Democratic caucus, the following week’s New Hampshire primary became an almost must win situation for Hillary Clinton. Rather than coasting to a series of easy primary wins, polls were showing Clinton in a dead heat or losing to Obama, with the momentum seemingly swinging toward the younger, less experienced first term senator from Illinois. In the context of Obama’s double-digit advantage in the polls leading up to the voting, Clinton entered a diner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where a middle-aged woman asked a seemingly innocuous question: “How did you get out the door every day? I mean, as a woman, I know how hard it is to get out of the house and get ready?”

Rights Information

© 2010 Taylor and Francis Group. LLC

DOI

10.1080/00497878.2010.513316

Recommended Citation

Bligh, M., Merolla, J., Schroedel, J. R., & Gonzalez, R. (2010). Finding Her Voice: Hillary Clinton's Rhetoric in the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Women's Studies, 39(8), 823-850.