Rhetoric analyzed: Obama vs McCain

With the help of a supercomputer, two Zurich linguists examine the rhetoric of the two candidates for the US presidency. Barack Obama places the change they both invoke in a much more global context than his rival John McCain. Barack Obama has left his mark on the American election campaign with his change rhetoric. In line with his political agenda, Obama used the word eight times more often than his rival John McCain in the early stages of the campaign. A year and a half later, McCain has caught up considerably: he now uses the word almost as often as Obama. The buzzword "change" has met with such a broad public response that McCain obviously could not avoid appropriating the term as well. Occupying terms.