With the possibility of the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination coming to a head after next Tuesday's primaries, Northwestern professors have found plenty to comment on during a historic election.
"Both races in both parties are wide-open," said David Zarefsky, professor of Communication Studies and rhetoric expert who has studied the role of political discourse in public life.
"This is a path-breaking kind of campaign."
For one, it's very rare to have two candidates - Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - who are so popular that they divide voters within and among themselves, said David Kusnet, chief speechwriter for Bill Clinton from 1992 to 1994.
"The Democratic electorate likes both of them," said Kusnet, who is not affiliated with any of the presidential campaigns. "Both have favorability over 50 percent. Put them both on a stage and both will get a round of applause. Both are doing a very good job in presenting the best version of themselves."
The media scrutinizes Clinton more than Obama, said anthropology Prof. Shalini Shankar, who focuses on language, race and culture.
"This election provides an endless source of data on how language is racialized and gendered," Shankar said.
"I noted different standards on both attention and analysis of Hillary's speech and all of the other male candidates. There's a much higher degree of cynicism and criticism on what she says."
Citing examples of speeches during which Clinton affected a Southern accent when reading a Bible passage and Obama affected a Southern accent during an entire speech, Shankar said that Obama received a "much gentler critique."
Shankar attributes this scrutiny on Clinton to two factors: white liberal guilt, which is the fear of discriminating against a black candidate, and Americans being unfamiliar with how a female candidate should speak and act, she said.
"There is no prototype for (a woman in) this high of office in this country," she said. "Any time you have an entirely new situation, much of the standards get set through this process (of public scrutiny)."
2008 Woodie Awards
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