Robert Kraig, director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, has long been a fan of politics, as his poster and button collection in his Milwaukee office demonstrates.
His job description last fall included appearing at presidential campaign rallies in Wisconsin with a person dressed in a cow costume. The stunt was part of the “Got Health Care” campaign by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a grass-roots group that largely focuses on health care reform, labor unions and other organizations.
That the program director for Citizen Action would be attending rallies dressed as a cow isn’t surprising. Less expected is that Kraig also is the author of a book selected by The Wall Street Journal last month as the best study on presidential rhetoric.
The book, “Woodrow Wilson and the Lost World of the Oratorical Statesman,” was ranked first in a weekly feature that asks an expert to list the five best books on a topic.
The book was an outgrowth of Kraig’s dissertation for a doctorate in rhetoric from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the product of 10 years of work – the last four spent in libraries from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. doing original research. Kraig shares credit for the book with Stephen Lucas, his adviser at UW.