The role of metaphor in political discourse has received significant attention in
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Johnson (1980), scholars in the fields of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis
have examined politicians' use of metaphorical concepts to justify policies and
define events. The metaphors examined in these studies frequently have attained the
status of idioms; they consequently pass unnoticed while retaining their ability to
frame perspectives. However, political discourse does not limit itself to such
lexicalized metaphors, but makes use of new metaphors (or new uses of existing
metaphors) as well. Such uses are specifically designed to attract attention, which
may become problematic if the metaphor is rejected, resulting in a classic `failure
to launch'. This article examines such a case. Through an analysis of the metaphors
used to describe President Bush's military plan to increase US forces in Iraq, I
explore the mechanisms by which the meanings of novel metaphors are negotiated in
the political arena, and demonstrate that, although their vivid imagery can generate
persuasive force in political language, this effect may backfire when they encounter
resistance.
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