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election

OK, I have taken a long look at the words that each candidate used in last night's debate. Now, this study is anything BUT scientific, it probably has some margin of error (1-100%) and I doubt any valid conclusions can be drawn based on this (but I will draw some anyway).

I took the transcript from the debates and ran them through some very sophisticated computer programs (well, slightly more sophisticated than say a pen and paper) to determine the word frequency distribution from the candidates' speeches. Here's what I came up with:

Total Words Spoken:

Kerry: 7171 words spoken
Bush: 6399 words spoken

Conclusion: Kerry talks more, used his talking time more efficiently

 

Notable Words:

Bush:

I: 180
Iraq, Iraqi, Iraqis: 52
war: 24
hard: 20
Saddam: 16
America: 15
terrror:13
weapons: 11
intelligence: 10
Afghanistan:9
American: 9
freedom: 9
Korea: 9
Iraqi: 8
Jong: 7
terrorist(s): 7
Al Qaida: 6
destruction (as in WMDs): 6

Safer: 5
security: 5
nuclear: 4
September: 4
honor: 4
hardest: 3
Russia: 3
prayed, prayers: 2

God: 1

 

most used: "the": 333
 

Big Words:
COUNTERTERRORISM
TRANSFORMATIONAL

Kerry:

I: 196

war: 37
Iraq, Iraqi, Iraqis: 36

America: 29
weapon(s): 20
Korea: 15
American: 14
terrorist(s): 9
security: 6

Russia: 6
Afghanistan: 5
Americans: 3
intelligence: 3
Al Qaida: 2
Safer: 2
Koreans: 1
Jong: 1
September: 1
honors: 1
God: 1
pray: 0
terror: 0
hard: 0
hardest: 0

most used: "the": 466

Big Words:
ACKNOWLEDGING
STRENGTHENING
REPROGRAMMING

 

Conclusions:

  • Kerry is more "American" (46 references to Bush's 24)

  • Bush prays more (2 references to Kerry's 0)

  • Bush likes to stress "terror" (13 references to Kerry's 0)

  • Bush is "Safer" (5 references to Kerry's 2)

  • Bush is more concerned about Iraq (52 references to Kerry's 36)

  • Bush "uses" 9/11 more (4 mentions to Kerry's 1)

  • Kerry is more concerned with weapons (20 mentions to Bush's 11)

  • Bush finds things hard (23 mentions of hard, hardest to Kerry's 0)

  • They both like talking about themselves

Draw your own conclusions......

 

Update: Here's an online tool for analyzing the Debate words (thanks spinfire!)

 


Leave a Comment


codewolf Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 9:32 PM :
I used this transcript: http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html


NeoCon Man Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 11:05 PM :
People in the Red States don't care about who scores higher in Ivy League debates. They only care about who's going to defend the country and who wants to take their gun away. They already know the answer to both questions.


codewolf Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 11:11 PM :
assualt weapons? read: http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/sportsmen/



codewolf Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 11:12 PM :
Facts on Kerry defense record: http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=177


codewolf Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 11:12 PM :
keep trying


NeoCon Man Wrote the following on 10/01/2004 11:30 PM :
This race is over. Bush is already working on who he is going to put in his new cabinet. Kerry is only going to win California, New York, Mass, Connecticut and Illinois.



NeoCon Man Wrote the following on 10/02/2004 10:59 AM :
Forgot to add the states of Washington and Oregon for Kerry. Kerry will get all the votes in Seattle from the decendents of Communists that used to run the city in the 1930's. At that time a Communist Soviet ran the city government. To this day a statue of Lenin stands within the city limits.


CSW Wrote the following on 10/03/2004 8:02 PM :
I was on the fence with regards to Bush or Kerry but after watching the debat I came to the conclusion that George Bush is a cock-sucking weasel.


Nacirema Wrote the following on 10/03/2004 8:44 PM :
Those who are convinced that they know the truth and firmly adhere to it are considered unreliable from a democratic point of view, since they do not accept that truth is determined by the majority, or that it is subject to variation according to different political trends. ... (But)if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.



John Wrote the following on 10/04/2004 02:16 AM :
What's your point? Individuals cast votes based on a wide range of influences. People SHOULD cast their vote based on their values - whatever they might be. Nacirema - your statement indicates a perception based on "fuzzy thinking". If you were betting in Vegas, who would you put your money on this coming November?


Nacirema Wrote the following on 10/04/2004 06:31 AM :
Dear Mister John, It is obvious that you suffer from mental retardation. You should seek help.


John Wrote the following on 10/04/2004 3:03 PM :
Oh Great Wonder - thank you so much for your judgement of my comments. Clearly your intelligence is so far beyond mine, I can only hope to fathom the depth of your comments instead of asking questions and trying to understand them. You write a lot of words, but you don't say anything - you must be a college professor, a political scientist or both. Do me a favor and "dumb it down" for us stupid asses who don't understand (or disagree) with your presupposition of "if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity". If there is no "ulitmate truth to guide political activity" how do you study "political activity" in your cubical tucked away in the back corner of the basement where they keep you at whatever University happens to employ your eggheaded arrogant ass?



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