Abstract

The process of “spin control” captured the attention of campaign staffs and the news media during the 1988 presidential election. However, communication scholars have yet to critically examine the practice. This article initially presents a taxonomy of such partisan commentary, then illustrates how the two campaigns used the process in relation to the first 1988 presidential debate. The article concludes that the Bush commentary was coordinated with the overall Republican campaign strategy. On the other hand, the Democratic commentary focused on the debate itself, ignoring the broader spectrum of the 1988 campaign.