One Nation (Pretty Darn) Divisible: National Identity in the 2004 Conventions

Abstract

This essay reads the oratory and policy platforms presented at the 2004 presidential nominating conventions as markers of U.S. national identity. The analysis reveals that Democrats present a complicated, nuanced vision of U.S. national identity, a vision premised upon the toleration and celebration of difference and a value of equality. Republicans, conversely, articulated a more straightforward sense of national identity that was convinced of American superiority, suspicious of government involvement in economic matters, and ultimately guided by a responsibility to protect long-standing values. The essay concludes with a call to reexamine even the most banal and mundane campaign discourse for its capacity to express national values and a sense of U.S. national identity.