Ann Richards may have lost the recent election for governor of Texas, a race in which she was the incumbent, but she is clearly a political leader with strong persuasive powers. She has been an important figure in Texas politics for some time and rose to prominence on the national scene first when she became the first female governor of Texas in more than 50 years and later when she made a speech before the Democratic National Convention in 1988 making fun of fellow Texan and George Bush. An analysis of her style will center on a speech she delivered at the Democratic Issues conference sponsored by the National Legislative Education Foundation on January 30, 1992 at Piney Point, Maryland.
Ann Richards was born Dorothy Ann Willis on September 1, 1933 in Lakeview, Texas, a small town outside of Waco. Her father was a truckdriver for a pharmaceutical-supply company. Her grandparents on both sides were farmers. Her parents were middle class and had to work hard to make ends meet, but they made certain that Ann received piano and elocution lessons, and the latter certainly held her in good stead in the political world and contributed to her abilities as a communicator and persuader. During World War II the family lived for a time in San Diego. They returned to Lakeview after the war. She enrolled in high school as Ann Willis, dropping her first name so she would sound less "country" to her big-city classmates. She did well in English and speech but less well in mathematics and other subjects that bored her. She was selected to represent her school at Girls State, a mock government session sponsored by the Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion, and she was then chosen to represent Texas at the national event in Washington, D.C. ("Richards, Ann" 468-469).
Ann's persuasive powers at this age showed a certain duality. On the one hand, her speaking ability served her well on the podium, while on the other, it was not always...