Antonio de Velasco is assistant professor of rhetoric in the department of communication at the University of Memphis.

Focused on the centrist rhetoric of President Bill Clinton, Centrist Rhetoric explores questions about the basic nature and function of pleas to transcend partisan division. Using close textual analysis in the context of a broader theoretical argument about rhetoric, democracy, and transcendence, this book promises a fresh approach to dealing with the contradictions inherent to using the center as a political metaphor.

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Chapter 1. New Democrat Strategy: Crafting a Vital Center for the 1992 Presidential Campaign Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Centrist Rhetoric, Whiteness, and the Ambiguities of the "Sister Souljah Moment" Chapter 4 Chapter 3. "The Audience for This Is Huge": Oklahoma City and the Wages of Transcendence Chapter 5 Chapter 4. The Pliability of Community: Rhetorical Idealism and Transcending the "era of big government" Chapter 6 Conclusion