Denial and Deception

Abstract

Denial and Deception: A Study of the Bush Administration's Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq delivers a refreshingly objective snapshot of the relationship between President George W. Bush's misleading statements, public opinion, and the war in Iraq. Using statistical analysis, Alan Kennedy-Shaffer presents the first academic study of how President Bush bullied the nation into invading Iraq and why the White House no longer controls public opinion. By mapping the major rhetorical and military developments in the war in Iraq, Kennedy-Shaffer paints a contextual picture of the Administration's rhetoric and the impact of casualty rates on public opinion. This book is essential reading for every scholar of presidential rhetoric and public opinion in an era of denial and deception by the President of the United States.

About the Author

Alan Kennedy-Shaffer is a graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in political science. His letters and columns have appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Yale Daily News, the Yale Herald, and the Politic. He lives in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.