Persuasive Attacks and the Use of Humor

In light of Hillary Clinton's recent and dramatic increase in negative attacks (NY Times), I want to illustrate the importance of humor in attacking political opponents (a lesson I do not believe Hillary has learned). Perhaps nobody in recent history is better at this than George W. Bush. As some of you may know, this blog has a somewhat (emphasis on somewhat) academic focus. In other words, I aim to develop cogent and well-sourced observations. In this post, I want to examine George Bush's use of humor in attacks. Let's consider the stump speech he used during the closing days of the 2004 election. (note: all of Bush's speeches during October 2004 are available here). Notice how many times (Laughter.) appears in the transcript. This is an indication of the attitude and demeanor with which George Bush delivered the attack lines. Also, a majority of the speech is focused on attacking. (So much for the mantra that "negative" politics do not work).

October 31, 2004 - Cincinnati, OH (8pm EST) (text here)

• "I'm proud of my running mate, Dick Cheney. I admit it, he does not have the waviest hair in the race. (Laughter.) You all will be happy to know I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his judgment, his experience. He's getting the job done for the American people. (Applause.)"
• Attack: John Kerry choose John Edwards because of shallow reasons such as his good looks.
• "But all the time, whether you agree with me or not, you know where I stand, what I believe, and where I'm going to lead.... You cannot say that about my opponent.... I think it's fair to say that consistency is not his strong suit. (Laughter.)"
• Attack: John Kerry is a flip-flopper.
• "I've traveled your state a lot. I know that in certain areas of this state, people are struggling. But we're making progress. Ohio added 5,500 new jobs last month. Your unemployment rate has gone from 6.3 percent to 6 percent in one month. This economy is strong, and it is getting stronger. (Applause.)

  My opponent has an economic plan, too. He voted to increase taxes 98 times in the 20 years he's been in the United States Senate.

  AUDIENCE: Boo!

  THE PRESIDENT: That's five times every year he's been in the Senate. I would call that a leading indicator -- (laughter) -- a predictable pattern. Couple that with the fact that he's promised $2.2 trillion in new federal spending -- that's trillion with a "T." That's a lot -- (laughter) -- even for a senator from Massachusetts. (Laughter.)"

• Attack: John Kerry is a big-government liberal who will increase taxes.
• "As you can imagine, my opponent has a different approach [to health care]. He voted for the education reform, but now wants to weaken the accountability standards. He's proposing a big-government health care plan. I don't know if you remember the debate when they said, tell us about your health care plan. And one of the things he said was, the government doesn't have anything to do with it. I could barely contain myself. (Laughter.) The government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the people would end up on the government plan with his vision. And that is the wrong prescription for American families."
• Attack: John Kerry will create a big-government health care system.
• "On national TV, Senator Kerry said it would be irresponsible to vote against the troops. And then when the vote came around, he did the irresponsible thing and voted against the troops.

  AUDIENCE: Boo!

  THE PRESIDENT: And then he entered the flip-flop hall of fame by saying this -- (laughter) -- "I actually did vote for the $87 billion right before I voted against it."

• Attack: John Kerry is a flip-flop who cannot be trusted on national security.
• "Only a year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the Senator proposed massive cuts in America's intelligence, cuts so extreme that his fellow Massachusetts Senator opposed them. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong -- and we've got to be fair -- Senator Kennedy was right. (Laughter.)"
• Attack: John Kerry is even more liberal than Senator Kennedy.
• "We have big differences about how to protect you, about how to protect America's families. In one of the debates, Senator Kerry said we must be subject to a global test before we commit troops.

  AUDIENCE: Boo!

  THE PRESIDENT: I'm not making that up. (Laughter.) He wasn't standing that far away from me when he said it. (Laughter.) The best I can tell, my opponent's global test means that America must get permission from foreign capitals before taking action to defend our country."

• Attack: John Kerry will not protect America.