Big boys don't cry: The values constraint in apologia

Apologia theory thus far includes definitions, strategies, explorations of motivations, and boundaries. If apologies are made to satisfy a hierarchy of needs, they are also constrained by a complex hierarchy of cultural and personal values. This essay provides a case study of Governor Ray Blanton's apologia by applying Bitzer's concept of functional communication, and extends Jamieson's concept of the constraint of antecedent genre upon the rhetorical situation by an examination of the impact of a speaker's antecedent rhetorical style upon later apologetic efforts.