A Functional Analysis of 2008 General Election Debates

Abstract

This study employed content analysis based on Functional Theory to investigate the three general election debates featuring Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign. These debates were mostly positive (58% acclaims) with numerous attacks (35%) and some defenses or refutations of attacks (7%). There was no significant difference in the two candidates' use of acclaims and attach; however, Obama worked to link McCain with unpopular President Bush and a much higher percentage of Obama's discussion of past deeds were attacks (86%), compared with McCain (56%). The candidates stressed policy (70%) more than character (30%), with Democrat Barack Obama stressing policy more, and character less, than Republican John McCain. In this debate, both general goals and ideals were employed more often as the basis for acclaims than for attacks, consistent with previous research.