Outlines a framework which uses the rhetorical approach of generic criticism for the analysis of issues-management campaigns (instances of public relations discourse in which an organization makes explicit efforts to influence public policy). Outlines organizing principles, situational requirements, and substantive and stylistic characteristics.…

Examines Mario Cuomo's 1984 speech at Notre Dame University in which Cuomo explains the contradiction between his abortion policy and the teachings of the Catholic Church through an appeal to the separation between church and state. Evaluates his construction of the role of religious rhetoric in public policy. (SR)

Uses Kenneth Burke's writings on the negative in language to account for the rhetorical appeal of the Reagans'"just say no" rhetoric. Argues that this strategy advocates private solutions to public problems, reasserts the authority of the government to define both problems and solutions, and undermines the vitality of the public sphere.…