Spouses' Convention Addresses

In recent years the candidates’ spouses have been given time to speak. As spouses, they know their husbands’ character (thus far, all nominees have been men and so all spouses have been women) very well. It is not surprising to see that spousal speeches tend to focus more on policy and character – and unlike Keynotes, these women rarely attack.

In 1996, Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton, the candidates’ spouses, gave speeches at their party’s convention.  Research on the spouses’ speeches from 1996-20004 found that they were mainly positive: 98% of the statements in these speeches were positive.  They also focused more on character than policy, with 73% of their remarks about character.  These two distinctive emphases – more positive and more about character than other types of convention speeches – surely are related to the public’s expectations about candidates’ spouses.

Conventions

Home

Acceptance Addresses

Keynote Addresses

Spouses' Addresses