Candidate Messages and Terrorism in the U.S. 2004 Elections

Abstract

The threat of terrorism permeated the 2004 U.S. election. The events of 9/11 were, of course, still salient in the minds of U.S. citizens, and polls showed terrorism as a top issue for voters in the 2004 presidential election (National Annenberg Election Survey, 2004; Pew, 2004). Both major political parties and their candidates were aware of the importance of the issue. There were, however, major differences in the messages related to terrorism that were communicated by the Republican and Democratic candidates, by partisan and interest groups supporting and opposing them, as well as by the media coverage of the campaign. Research for this chapter, which includes an analysis of 351 political spots, suggests that while terrorism was an unusual issue for a U.S. presidential campaign, it dominated the messages communicated by both candidates in the 2004 campaign. Critically for the Republicans, the George W. Bush campaign appeared more effective at framing and presenting a message about terrorism that was designed to resonate effectively with U.S. voters in the political atmosphere of the first presidential elections after 9/11.