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Conciliatory aggression and the rhetoric of public apologies: A rhetorical analysis
- Source: Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, Volume 10, Issue 2, Nov 2019, p. 191 - 204
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- 01 Nov 2019
Abstract
Abstract
This article provides a rhetorical analysis of a public apology that was issued by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in response to criticism of on-air comments that he made in February 2012. I argue that Limbaugh deployed his apology as a plea for moral exoneration, not as a formal admission of misconduct. Hence his apology was meant to absolve Limbaugh from blame by offsetting acknowledgements of wrongdoing (along with expressions of remorse) with an appeal to truth as a force for exculpation.
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