Articulating Civic Virtue in the Second 1996 Presidential Debate

Abstract

Political theory literature has become increasingly interested in the concept of community, focusing particularly on the variable of civic virtue. Social constructionist theory suggests how civic virtue can be enacted and made symbolic for an audience. This article synthesizes communitarian political theory and social constructionist theory to help characterize how Bill Clinton and Bob Dole articulated a concept of the “good citizen” in their second presidential debate.