Visualizing Mitt Romney’s 2007 and 2011 Presidential Announcements

Here are two word clouds of Mitt Romney’s 2007 and 2011 presidential announcements (I used wordle.com).  The returns were limited to the 20 most frequently used words with “common” English words removed.  I also condensed “America” and “American.”  First,  Mitt’s 2007 announcement:

And now Mitt’s 2011 announcement:

So Romney uses the words “America” or “American” quite frequently (37 times in 2011 and and 50 times in 2007).  Not surprising.   Are there any interesting differences?  One obvious difference between ’07 and ’11 is that Romney invoked the “economy” much more often in ’11 than in ’07.  In fact, in ’07 the word economy didn’t crack the top-20.  “Business” also appears in the ’11 speech more often than in ’07 (and though “jobs” didn’t make the top-20 in either speech, it was used much more often in ’11 compared to ’07).  Obviously–and I realize you don’t need a visualization to reach this conclusion–Romney plans on hitting Obama on the economic front.  I also get the sense that he will invoke his business background frequently this time around.  For example, in his recent announcement: “Twenty-seven years ago, I left a steady job to join with some friends to start a business. ”  In 2007, by comparison, “business” only appeared twice, and one of those times was in reference to his father’s business background.

Another obvious differences is the use of “years” (used 16 times in 2011).  Romney used “years” in rapid succession as a rhetorical device to hit Obama’s presidency.  For example: “Three years later, over 16 million Americans are out of work or have just quit looking.”

I also get the sense that the ’07 speech was more abstract and positive in tone while the ’11 speech was more policy specific and neutral in tone (though this is a bit subjective).  For example, notice that in ’07 you see words like “freedom,” “believe,” “dream,” and “love,” whereas in ’11 you see words like “business,” “economy,” “taxes,” and “work.”

“Health care” was absent from the top-20 in either announcement.  However, the following appeared in 2007: “How is the American family made stronger? With marriage before children. With a mother and a father in the life of every child. With healthcare that is affordable and portable. ”  In 2011, by contrast, we get the following statement about health care: “Instead of recognizing the states rightful authority to solve problems, [Obama] seizes power from them and rams through a disastrous national health care plan.”

Anyway, nothing earth shattering, just a cool way to “visualize” and thus contrast two speeches.

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Topics: Parties, Campaigns, & Elections
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