Every year around January/February, the President of the United States gives his State of the Union address. For the incumbent administration it serves as an opportunity to educate the rest of the world on what issues are going to be important in the coming year. Each year, the pundits are out in full force, raising much speculation on what the President’s focus will be and what policies will get the biggest props.
Last week George W. Bush gave his final State of the Union address. And while the patina of this year’s address was somewhat dulled by the hoopla surrounding the 2008 Primaries and Caucuses (which really is turning into CNN’s version of the Oscars sans Brangelina), for many viewers the landmark State of the Union event still brought much excitement and anticipation.
As such, I thought this might be a good time to look back and reflect on some of the key themes that marked President Bush’s eight years in office.
Big Up the Terror
Without a doubt, Terror has been the clear overarching theme of the George W. Bush presidency, followed by Health, and Freedom; both of which have been slipping since strong showings in 2005. The Economy and Education are tied for fourth place. This year, the Economy had a strong start during the speech (7 mentions before Freedom or Terror even got a word in edgewise); however, the clear winner once again was Terror, recording 23 total mentions. For Education, the President has taken an interesting approach, whereby he tips his hat to the education system once every four years, and then largely ignores it for several years in between.
Those pursuing regimes of Evil and Tyranny will be disappointed to hear that, although Freedom and God (that is America’s God) are down over previous years, the Big 3 foreign policy topics (Freedom, Liberty, and Democracy) will all continue to be clear strategic themes going forward. This was of course largely expected, given the recent “wins” in the war on terror over the past few years. For Liberty, this year marks its biggest hit count ever under President Bush (eight mentions), after first coming to prominence in 2005 with seven presidential mentions.
Who’s the Baddest Bad Guy?
Looking back over the years, it’s also relevant to reflect upon some of America’s worst enemies. Certainly, there were many. Who will ever forget characters like Saddam, or Osama? What about those pesky Taliban? Well as it turns out, over the course of the presidency, Al Qaeda wins the “baddest bad guy” award, but I will say; Iran had better watch itself, as it’s getting close to Al Qaeda levels in terms of presidential mentions. Iran has already surpassed Drugs, and as we know, there’s already a war against them.
An interesting note; in recent years, there seems to be less specific name calling. The enemy is getting more ambiguous and it’s safe to say there’s a distinct trend towards using the generic label “extremists” to define the adversaries of America. Let’s get one thing straight, America is nothing if not moderate. Snowboarders, BMXers, skateboarders, and fans of Gatorade, look out, you could be next.
For the Wikinomics fan, 2008 was also a big year with respect to the State of the Union. It appears as though President Bush (or his speech writer) have been reading Wikinomics, as evidenced by this quote from early on in his speech: “We believe that the most reliable guide for our country is the collective wisdom of ordinary citizens. And so in all we do, we must trust in the ability of free peoples to make wise decisions, and empower them to improve their lives for their futures.” Yeah, that’s right; America is down with mass collaboration!
To the President’s credit, House applause was at an all-time high this year, up 27% since last year with the applause meter tracking 81 applauding sessions this year, versus his presidential low 64 last year.
For those looking for more visualizations, check out some of the cool things the folks at Many Eyes are doing with past State of the Union addresses.
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At least we didn’t have to contend with the “Thousand points of light” silliness that his dad foisted on us.
I’ll miss his doofus-like anti-charm, however. It won’t be nearly as rewarding to poke fun at whoever succeeds him.
Comment by Carmi - February 5, 2008 5:58 pm
I was intrigued by the fact economy didn’t get more play… I wonder what might happen if you included (say) “job” and “housing” in the terms tied to it?
Comment by Denis - February 5, 2008 10:00 pm
Interesting breakdown. I wonder how these patterns (and the unofficial annual “On Notice” list) will change during the next presidency. Judging from both the current Dem. and Rep. campaigns, I’d expect to see the word “change” blowing up the charts in January 2009.
Comment by Jay - February 5, 2008 10:51 pm
I thought your comment regarding America’s enemies was interesting. Moving to a more generic label like ‘extremists’ seems to more out of necessity than anything else. Its clear Bush’s foreign policy has failed so miserably that he had no choice but to be generic as possible. He was wrong with Iraq, now with Iran. All thats left is the doing something no other president has done…peace in Palestine and Israel! Good God, November could not come sooner.
Comment by DanR - February 7, 2008 4:57 pm
I’ll bet themes within his normal speeches vary from region to region. Like mentions of “God” and “prayers” would be higher in the south (or bible belt) - where they wouldn’t hold much weight on the west coast. State of the Union is tough, since he has to reach out the all americans. I guess “terror” and “Saddam” was the way to do it…. and of course “Health” in 2001.
Comment by DanK - February 11, 2008 1:02 am