"Frames are mental structures that shape the way we see the
world. . . . When you hear a word, its frame is activated in your
brain. . . . In politics our frames shape our social policies. . .
. Because language activates frames, new language is required for
new frames."-George Lakoff
For decades, the powerful communications machine of the
conservative movement has controlled our national political
discourse. One of the biggest obstacles to progressive victory has
been seeing what American political speech looks like when it is
not "framed" by the Republican noise machine.
Framing the Debate: Famous Presidential Speeches and How
Progressives Can Use Them to Change the Conversation (and Win
Elections) is about unleashing the power of communication in
contemporary progressive politics. The book presents fifteen key
speeches by American presidents-George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson,
Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F.
Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald
Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George Bush-in order to define the big
ideas and images-the "frames"-that each speech evokes to show how
those framing techniques can be applied to today''s political
debate in order promote a progressive perspective.
An essential book in today''s political climate, Framing the
Debate will be instrumental in helping to reshape progressive
political language and rhetoric.
An expert on speeches and messaging, Jeffrey
Feldman is the editor in chief of the influential
political blog Frameshop (www.frameshopisopen.com). He also has a
weekly segment on The Thom Hartmann Show on Air America,
and travels the country offering seminars on language and
progressive politics.