Chart of the Day

Obama's Speech vs. Inaugural Addresses of the Past, by the Keywords

Esther Zuckerman 862 Views Jan 21, 2013

You've watched it, you've read it, you've analyzed it — everybody has. Now, compare the words Obama used in his speech today to other inaugural addresses. In this graphic from The Wall Street Journal you can compare the number of times different presidents used presidential keywords in their inaugural addresses. The most immediate comparison, of course, is Obama's 2013 speech versus his 2009 speech: 

(Note that Obama's speech as given actually clocked in a little over 2,100 words— the Journal graphic is based on the prepared remarks.)

But perhaps a more interesting comparison might be looking at how Obama's second inaugural speech matches up with George W. Bush's second inaugural speech. Note how many more times Bush used "free/freedom."

Or, since Lincoln comparisons have been frequent, check out Obama's speech today lined up with Lincoln's second inaugural: 

Go ahead. Spend more of your afternoon with this thing.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ezuckerman at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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