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obscure the reality of a convention that did not include a serious debate of the issues of
the day, the articled declared.
The Optimistic Simpatico Frame
The third and final frame is labeled the Optimistic Simpatico frame after the
typically positive coverage that the 2000 GOP convention received from the Spanish
language media. One of the articles that fell in this category was published in the
Houston, Texas daily La Voz de Houston on August 9, 2000. The headline for this story
read “Bush Comes Out Strong from Republican Convention” (p. 1) The story was based
on results from a Vote.com opinion poll that showed Bush ahead of Gore by more than
10 points as he came out of the GOP convention. This story links Bush’s lead in the poll
to the strategic decision to offer a “new” and “inclusive” Republican Party. The lead
paragraph describes the perceived impact of the convention activities on delegates:
With new fervor and convinced that the Bush-Cheney ticket will give
them the White House, Republicans go out with more than a 10 pt. lead
over Democrat Al Gore, to recover the presidency of the United States”
(p. 1)
The article quotes George W. Bush as saying, “we came out of Philly stronger…I know
it’ll be a strong campaign ... our mission is to bring honor back to the White House.”
Dick Cheney stated, “this is a crusade to bring honor to the White House”, and Karen
Hughes said, “the electorate will see an inclusive Party.”
Another article that augments this frame is one by el Nuevo Herald, a Miami,
Florida Spanish language newspaper. The story was published on the first day of the
convention, July 31
st
, 2000, and is titled “Florida will be heard in the Republican
Convention”. The article includes positive evaluations of the Floridian delegation and
Convention