FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Communication researchers have demonstrated that during close presidential races, candidates tend to verbally attack their opponents rather than focus on policy issues. A new study of the 2004 presidential campaign by University of Arkansas researchers confirmed this phenomenon but revealed a critical difference in the way George W. Bush and John Kerry communicated their attacks. The researchers’ findings will be published soon in American Behavioral Scientist.

Robert Wicks, associate professor of communication and director of the UA Center for Communication and Media Research, and Boubacar Souley, a recent graduate of the UA public policy doctoral program, tracked the content of 686 online news releases from georgewbush.com and johnkerry.com between Sept. 4, 2004, and Election Day, Nov. 2, 2004, and found that Bush relied heavily on statements by third parties and campaign representatives to communicate his attacks on the challenger. The president also used many news clips -- pieces of various newspaper articles and television news transcripts assembled together and posted verbatim as news releases on a candidate’s Web site -- to attack Kerry. Although he used some news clips and surrogates in his attacks, Kerry, by contrast, criticized Bush’s record or questioned the president’s qualifications with his own statements.

“This difference is significant because candidates recognize the need to attack their opponent’s record or qualifications, but they don’t want voters to perceive them as negative,” Wicks said. “Bush let others attack for him, and in doing so, he appeared above the fray.”

Wicks and Souley found that 339 of Bush’s 435 online campaign news releases, or 78 percent, contained attacks. An overwhelming majority, 68 percent, of those news releases were categorized as “statements by a third party,” “statements by campaign representatives” or attacks in “news clips.”

A higher percentage, 84 percent, of Kerry’s 251 online news releases contained attacks. However, only 17 percent of the 212 releases attacking Bush were “statements by a third party,” “statements by campaign representatives” or attacks in “news clips.” Most of Kerry’s attacks were his own personal statements or were embedded in journalists’ reports about Bush and his campaign advertisements. Wicks and Souley believe that Kerry, as the challenger, was forced to both rebut claims and go on the offensive himself.

Building on a previous study, the researchers also found that the number of online news releases containing attacks increased overall from 2000 to 2004. In 2000, 72 percent of the releases contained attacks. In 2004, 80 percent contained attacks. Moreover, in the 2004 campaign, attacks were made in more types of online news releases. 

In the 2004 campaign, 69 of Kerry’s 251 releases were statements made by the candidate. Only six of Kerry’s online news releases were statements by a third party. Of Bush’s 435 online news releases, 23 were his own statements and 140 were statements by a third party.

The researchers’ analysis revealed other important findings. Political scientists know that during campaigns, presidential candidates have traditionally discussed issues “owned” by their respective parties. Democrats have focused on education, Social Security, welfare and health care; Republicans have discussed foreign policy, defense and military issues, and crime. Ownership of these issues is especially true during normal circumstances, such as during times of peace and relative economic prosperity. However, previous research has demonstrated that candidates of both parties will focus on the same issues during national crises, such as war, economic depression or terrorist attacks.

Wicks and Souley’s findings supported this phenomenon. They discovered that terrorism and the war in Iraq supplanted traditional campaign policy issues such as education, Social Security and the economy. In fact, only three of the 10 most popular topics addressed in 2000 appeared in the top 10 in 2004.

“On the whole, candidates don’t like to talk about things that make voters uneasy,” Wicks said. “They like to make safe statements such as, 'I’m the candidate who supports education’ or 'taxes will not go up if I’m elected.’ In the 2004 election, the candidates were confronted with a situation in which they had to talk about issues they didn’t want to discuss.”

The candidates’ 686 online news releases addressed 18 issues, from the economy and health care to taxes and the vice-presidential debates. But most of the releases were about terrorism or the war in Iraq. Bush issued 79 online news releases about terrorism and 28 about the war in Iraq. Kerry’s Web site issued 42 releases about terrorism and 56 about the war in Iraq. Kerry issued more than twice as many releases about the war in Iraq than he did on any other issue with the exception of terrorism. Interestingly, Bush issued 49 online news releases about the presidential debates. Kerry issued four.

Wicks said the findings suggest that campaign Web sites may be emerging as an important communication tool during elections. Similar to traditional media, such as print, radio and television, the Web provides an opportunity for candidates to emphasize their accomplishments and policies, contrast their positions against opponents and attack opposing candidates. Wicks said the research results also confirm that news releases are an important component of online communication strategies.