State of the Union Speeches Through Time

By tradition, each year I do a "State of the Union by the Numbers" post, tracking the various themes in the speech (and the obvious exlusions). I'll no doubt have another version up tomorrow, so, in anticipation, here is a comparitive look back, at speeches given in '03, '04, and '06 (I was on my year-long sabbatical in '05).

Word Use

___________________2003____2004____2006
"Saddam Hussein"____19_______5_______0
Iraq_______________ 22______24______16
"Osama bin Laden"____0_______0_______2
Afghanistan_________ 3_______6_______2
Iran________________ 1_______1_______6
tax(es)____________ 13______21______10
job(s)______________ 4______13_______7
kill(ing) (ers)_____ 5______11_______4
murder______________ 2_______1_______4
terror(ism)(ist)____22______20______10
God_________________ 4_______3_______2

Percent of Speech Devoted To

___________________2003____2004____2006
Iraq and Terror_____30%_____42%_____43%
Economy____________ 30%_____ 8%______9%
Taxes, tax cuts_____10%______4%______9%
Alternative energy___0%______0%______5%
gay marriage_________0%______4%______0%
hyrdrogen cars______ 3%______0%______0%
Aids in Africa______ 6%______0%______0%
health care_________ 6%_____10%______6%

See you tomorrow with our updated results.