Presidential Debate

By: Jeff Clark    Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2008

I have added the Presidential debate on Oct 7 to the interactive transcript analyzer. The static image shown below is a bit blurry but gives an idea of what was discussed. I've kept in the word counts on the right this time since many people find that the most interesting part.

static image only - click to use the interactive application

A few simple observations:

  • It looks like a fairly balanced debate in terms of who spoke the most and length of speeches.
  • The primary initial topic was the 'economy' and 'jobs'.
  • Next was discussion about 'health' and 'energy' prompted by a question that linked them together.
  • More talk about 'tax' and 'jobs'
  • 'health' and 'insurance'
  • 'Iraq', 'war', and 'Pakistan'
  • 'Russia', 'war', 'Iran'
  • 'country', 'honor'
  • Obama uses 'help' 15 times - McCain 1 time only
  • 'honor' - McCain 4 times, Obama 1 time
  • 'energy' - Obama 20 times, McCain 6 times
  • 'change' - Obama 12 times, McCain 4 times
Try out the interactive version to see all the details for yourself. As always, feedback is welcome.

 


US VP Debate
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