CNN: Biden Spoke at Lower Level than Palin
According to quite a fascinating report at CNN, Sarah Palin spoke at a higher level during Thursday’s debates between the vice presidential candidates than her Democratic counterpart Joe Biden.
Palin spoke at the level of a 10th grader, Biden at that of an 8th grader.
One of the things the expert asked by CNN noted was that Palin used the ‘passive voice’ more than Biden. The passive voice is meant to deflect responsibility. The reason for this stat – Palin used it in 8%, Biden in 5% – is that Biden constantly tried to pin the Bush’s administration’s policies and decisions on Palin. Since Palin did not have responsibility for the Bush administration, she obviously used the passive voice often.
The two candidates used roughly the same anount of words. This stands in stark contrast with the debate between the presidential candidates: McCain spoke little more than 7,000 words, Obama more than 8,000.
Some stats: Grade level: Biden, 7.8; Palin, 9.5 (Newspapers are typically written to a sixth-grade reading level.)
Sentences per paragraph: statistically tied at 2.7 for Biden and 2.6 for Palin.
Letters per word: tied at 4.4.
Ease of reading: Biden, 66.7 (with 100 being the easiest to read or hear), versus 62.4 for Palin.
During his seven debates in 1858 against incumbent Stephen A. Douglas in their race for a Senate seat from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln spoke on the level of an 11th grader.
Interesting about the stats above is that CNN points out that newspapers are indeed ‘typically written to a sixth-grade reading level.’ This should counter all those who say that politicians try to oversimplify matters. If you can accuse politicians of treating voters like little children, what about newspapers?
The research should, of course, eliminate the accusation that Palin is not intelligent enough to be vice president. She is intelligent, and she is able to express herself rather well.
One wonders whether Palin hurts herself by speaking on a 10th grade level. After all, there is a reason newspapers are written in language 6th graders can understand; the public likes it that way.
"One wonders whether Palin hurts herself by speaking on a 10th grade level. After all, there is a reason newspapers are written in language 6th graders can understand; the public likes it that way."
Now that’s just elitist (kidding).
But isn’t it strange how some (I’m not pointing the finger at this blog) right-wing commentators are rapidly switching from saying people are just too ground-level and honest to find favors with the eloquent, global-minded and patronizing democrats to saying the people isn’t educated and knowledgeable enough to understand how important it is to rally to a strong leader? Mark Steyn does this regularly and I expect many morons like him will do the same after reading about this analysis.
“But a higher grade level doesn’t mean what you’re saying is understandable. CNN brings up a Palin sentence toward the end of the debate.
“What I would do, also, if that were ever to happen, though, is to continue the good work he is so committed to of putting government back on the side of the people and get rid of the greed and corruption on Wall Street and in Washington,” Palin said.
The firm grades that sentence at a super doctorate level giving it an 18.3 grade.
“When she said it, it sounded good, but on paper it’s a completely different animal,” said the President of the Global Language Monitor. “It’s like, what is that?”
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/10/04/palin-speaks-at-higher-grade-level-than-biden/