Politico: Obama SOTU Speech 'Registers at 8th Grade Reading Level'
Although the media would love to present Barack Obama as seven times brainier than George W. Bush, Byron Tau of Politico reports "President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address again rated at an 8th grade comprehension level on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test — the third lowest score of any State of the Union address since 1934."
Eric Ostermeier of the University of Minnesota's Smart Politics initiative conducted an analysis on the last 70 State of the Union addresses and found that President Obama's three addresses have the lowest grade average of any modern president. (Obama came in 13th out of 13; George W. Bush was at number eight.)
Ostermeier reports "each of Obama's three addresses are among only seven of 70 in the modern era that were written shy of a 9th grade level, and among the six that have averaged less than 17 words per sentence. Obama's 2012 and 2010 addresses averaged 16.6 words per sentence with his 2011 address coming in at 16.8."
He said "The Flesch-Kincaid test is designed to assess the readability level of written text, with a formula that translates the score to a U.S. grade level. Longer sentences and sentences utilizing words with more syllables produce higher scores. Shorter sentences and sentences incorporating more monosyllabic words yield lower scores,"
Tau added:
"Obama's average grade-level score of 8.4 is more than two grades lower than the 10.7 grade average for the other 67 addresses written by his 12 predecessors," they conclude...
Obama's use of simple language is in part a reflection of his audience: the American voter in an election year. And it's part of a larger trend in simpler State of the Union language as the speech as transitioned from a simple address to Congress into a prime-time televised event.
Knowing our media elite, they would process this information and then praise Obama for talking down to the people, just as Time's Michael Kramer did for Bill Clinton in 1992: Clinton seemed instinctively to know how to put the hay down where the goats were."
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Comments
It's at that level because...
Submitted by MichiganMan on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:37pm.
he needed it to be understood by the other Democratic members of Congress.
lol, and the libs at home.
Submitted by VBaxter on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:39pm.
lol, and the libs at home.
Ron Paul 2012
he was right on target
Submitted by vrwc13 on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:51pm.
I think he was trying to reach the 18 to 25 year old voter base...
v
The burden of life is from ourselves, its lightness from the grace of Christ and the love of God. - William Bernard Ullanthorne
Well it's only natrual...
Submitted by c5then on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:42pm.
You can't use big words or too complex a sentence structure when you are trying to say a whole bunch of things without really saying them.
Economic fairness, equality of outcome, getting the "rich" to do their fair share...It is really hard to talk around the issue of implementing socialism without actually using that word.
Not only that, but you are addressing an audience who has not been educated to an 8th grade level on purpose, so that you can impress them by promising them free stuff and a better piece of the pie, without them wondering where their extra stuff or larger piece is going to come from.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
It's just more or his
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:48pm.
It's just more or his arrogant condescension; he thinks he has to talk down to us.
That plus it's more of a publicity event than a report
Submitted by Rover on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 6:12pm.
Moreso than previous presidents, this one thinks he's the smartest one in the room, and that he and his little circle of progressive friends are the only ones really smart enough to understand his ideas. The rest of us are just cattle, and he thinks that he needs to use small words and short sentences if he's going to get through to us. Or at least to the people he'needs to mobilize in order to get reelected.
Plus, moreso than previous presidents, he's using this as a free opportunity to give a widely-broadcast re-election speech, rather than to provide the status report on the nation, to the legislators with authority to oversee the administration, that was intended by the Constitution.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 3:53pm.
Obama knows his constituents.....
Know Thine Enemy
Submitted by IrateNate on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:40pm.
If he were appealing to his followers, you would think he would have found a way to work a "fo-shizzle" or two in there....what?
Because...?
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 11:10pm.
Because...?
Rule #1 of public speaking:
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 4:16pm.
Know your audience.
Bingo!
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 4:48pm.
"And it's part of a larger trend in simpler State of the Union language as the speech as transitioned from a simple address to Congress into a prime-time televised event."
Bingo! The SOTU address used to be given to Congress, now they just merely attend, where they do nothing more than shower the President with admiration for everything he says, not matter if they agree with him or not.
Before the advent of instantaneous television broadcasts, it was less of a speech and more of a report, a report not on the President, but on the Union itself, just as it was supposed to be. Now it is a made-for-tv political "presentation," one that only the President gets to have, and Congress has become nothing more than a "live studio audience." They have become props, designed to make the President look universally admired and respected. The only thing missing are the "applaud" signs. It's gone so far now tghat the President makes personal invitations for the members of the Supreme Court to attend just so they can be seen, nationwide, worldwide, applauding him!
The worst part is, Obama knows just how much of a prop for the President that Congress has become. He even included in his "address" his intentions to ignore Congress and "do it myself" if he doesn't get what he wants, like raising taxes, or spending hundreds of billions of dollars on his pet projects. He stood in front of Congress itself and told them, flat out, that he thinks they are no longer relevant, that he, and only he, is the government, that he, and only he, has the power, that he, and only he, counts. And for this he was applauded.
Nixon once said that the Law doesn't apply to the President, and Congress was appalled. They were so appalled that they began impeachment proceedings against him, which forced him to resign. Within a single lifetime of most of the members of Congress, including those who were there when Nixon made that famous statement, Obama says he IS the law, and Congress applauds. It looks like Lucas was right: this IS how freedom is lost: with thunderous applause!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I noticed after all Obama
Submitted by jkwtrading on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:59pm.
I noticed after all Obama gibberish Boehner was there to shake his hand..
So, this means...
Submitted by retrocon on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 4:45pm.
So, this just means that most of the people who voted for him won't be able to read the transcript.
The 2 biggest mistakes in the U.S. Constitution
Submitted by ahusser on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:43pm.
Giving 18 year olds the vote and the lifetime appointment of federal judges. When the founding fathers did the judicial lifetime appointment thing most men probably didn't live much past their mid 60's if that long and of course women weren't even in the equation. The Vietnam War and the draft spawned the 18 year old vote fiasco. You know I cant vote but they can send me to war or I can go to war but can't buy a beer. What a windfall for the democratic party.
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
That's what you get when you hire a 27 yr old named Garth
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 4:55pm.
to write the speeches for a fake "Constitutional Law Professor."
At least someone had the sense to program TOTUS to delete all the "likes" and "awesomes."
And if it had registered
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:06pm.
And if it had registered higher, he'd be singled out by the right as an elitist not in touch with the common man.
No-win situation.
Correction: common teenagers, as in 13-14.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:31pm.
.
That's a mighty big "if", Bal
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:33pm.
That's a mighty big "if," Bal. Since when has ANY of Obama's speeches been more than sophomoric?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
he is an elitist
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:57pm.
What you don't like him being called out? Tough !!! What he really is is an empty suit. He can't even talk with out huh, huh, huh, huh, unless he is reading from his telepromter what some one else has written. He is a disgrace and not very smart either. If he is so intelligent why won't he release his college grades?
Barack Obama, worst president ever.
I don't mind him being called
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 7:49pm.
I don't mind him being called out. Just pointing out that he can't win no matter what he does.
⇒ Happy birthday, balboa
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 8:00pm.
And may I say your observation is every bit as cogent as any I've read from other 6 yr. olds.
Gosh, thanks mister! That
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 8:48pm.
Gosh, thanks mister! That means a lot coming from you!
⇒ Think nothing of it, birthday boy.
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 9:19pm.
And here, I thought liberals didn't understand condescension unless they're telling their charges how to think.
Can't win
Submitted by Agnostic on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:25pm.
Sounds like he is the POTUS (Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, etc went through the same things unless you are implying that the expectations should be lower for Obama - because you know what that is code for) - good now he can stop whining and start working on something will actually help people have greater freedom and the ability to provide for their families.
This fact was pointed out by
Submitted by mattm on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:24pm.
This fact was pointed out by a liberal from the Hubert Humphrey institute of public affairs at the University of Minnesota. Hardly an attack from the "right" Bal.
..and reported on here.
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:37pm.
..and reported on here.
Hay, bal...
Submitted by CobraMan on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:20pm.
Hay, bal, does that make it a repeated attack?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Dumbed-down SOTU, dumb voters
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:26pm.
This comes as no surprise, actually...The SOTU, which has becoming little more than an "Ears Wish List" of big-government, big-spending programs (at the taxpayers' expense, naturally), is a perfect match for the growing ignorance of too many American voters. If Ears is re-elected, my worst fears about voter idiocy will be confirmed *sigh*...
Which means he needs to bring
Submitted by okie-pastor on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:52pm.
Which means he needs to bring it down a notch if he wants his base to grasp the complexity of his genius.
8th grade, even 4 year olds
Submitted by jkwtrading on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 5:57pm.
8th grade, even 4 year olds know what baby babble sounds like..
The facts are so easily
Submitted by ray johnson on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 6:19pm.
The facts are so easily manipulated by the apparatchik and the lib media... if he's writing or speaking on an 8th grade level, then he's soooo smart that he's dumbing it down for the average 'Obievoter'....That the Bill Ayers book - sorry, Obama's book - was written on a very high level is just a sign that he's so smart - but, ya know?... all his other writings are not even a level near that.
uhhhh duuhhhh ugggg
Submitted by Salamander on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 6:54pm.
President has an 8th grade reading level, hhahahahahaha.
Or the president wrote a speech that would reach the masses. sssssssssssss
His watered down speech
Submitted by nolefan2 on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 7:50pm.
must be directed at his voting base. Sorry, but education in our public schools has been dumbed down since the mid 60's. We are lucky if our high school graduates can even read on an 8th grade level and they certainly can't speak without "like, you know, know what I'm sayin," etc. Our junior colleges are becoming more interested in "completers" (not kidding, their word) than well educated students. They offer so many remedial math classes that many students need before even starting college level classes. It is these students who were so enamored by this man and worked so hard to get him elected. We are now reaping what they sowed.
Show me an OBAMA bumper sticker and I'll show you someone wh
Submitted by thestalkinghorse on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 9:11pm.
"Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they're talking about."
"Anyone" is singular "they" Plural. He does this whenever he is off the teleprompter.
Many speak this way informally, but Harvard Law? Care to wager? I'd love to see his Verbal SAT. Must make the "Ivies" proud. Show me an OBAMA bumper sticker and I'll show you someone who gets a check from the government.
Mussolini for Morons bamboozles the kiddies
Submitted by lgeubank on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:10am.
He speaks on an 8th-grade level? I'm not surprised. Whenever I hear Obama speak, he sounds to me like a slightly dimwitted grifter trying to bamboozle a roomful of school kids. His calculated, manipulative rhetoric, couched in infantile simplicities, makes me wonder how anybody could ever be fooled by him. I guess you just have to be a willing sap to be taken in by Obama.
To me he always sounds like Mussolini's mentally-challenged younger brother, trying to talk a bunch of school kids out of their lollipops. Watch your suckers, suckers!
(And if I hear him refer to people as "folks" one more time, I'm gonna puke!)
Obama wanted to call us
Submitted by celator on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:26am.
Obama wanted to call us "comrades", but Axelrod decided it's too soon for that. Maybe next year. Then he thought he might call us "you peoples", but Mrs. Robinson's daughter told him that was only used inside the White House. "Youse workers" was thrown out after a focus group rejected it. So he was stuck with "folks".
I wonder if
Submitted by helomech on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:08am.
Comrade Obama would join the masses for the spring and summer harvests on the collective farms?
Naaaah, he probably would not
More like pre-school level...
Submitted by MightyMouth on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:11am.
Everything you wanted to know about Oil 'subsidies' but were afraid to ask...
probably..
Submitted by Dr. Ron on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:43am.
about 3 grade levels above the intelligence level of people who voted/will vote for him. "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Not his fans/believers/zealots! But then again, nowadays people mistake words for deeds/actions and have zero skills...or interest, in being logical. Time to tune into American Idol and time for mistaking feelings for thoughts ...and believing they are equally valid in making decisions/choices.
Obama's 8th grade level speech
Submitted by Steve Cakouros on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:47pm.
Obama is neither eloquent nor genuine. True eloquence requires depth of emotion and something that accompanies and goes beyond the words employed in a speech or sermon. This is why the ancient Greeks were at first averse to considering your opinion if they did not hear it expressed in person.
If Obama were truly eloquent he could communicate on an 8th grade level and still impress his audience.
I had the feeling during his speech that he knows that he has performed poorly. I also had the feeling that he would like to be doing something other than lead this nation.