Women for Obama: A metaphor criticism of political Facebook use

The political rhetoric of U.S. Presidential Elections has been studied for years, but not significantly through the lens of social media. While the statistical relevance of social media as a political communication tool is not yet widespread, the numbers have grown drastically since 2008. This increase in usage prompted the author to determine how rhetoric is most effectively communicated over social media to key audiences. This study is a metaphor criticism of the Women for Obama Facebook page as it appeared during the final 90 days prior to the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. Four metaphors are used to describe the superior positioning of campaign rhetoric on the Women for Obama page to target female voters. The Genderlect theory of Deborah Tannen is used to substantiate the assertions of effectiveness made within the metaphors. Through these assertions, Women for Obama is shown as a prime example of how to successfully target female voters over social media.