Palin Spoke At A 10th Grade Level At Debate

  •  October 4, 2008

But before you liberals out there get on your “Palin is a stupid bimbo” soapboxes, consider that Biden spoke at seventh grade level.

(CNN) — An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night’s debate between the vice presidential candidates.

You gotta love that wording, no? Palin spoke at “more than a ninth-grade level.” Which means tenth grade.
Biden spoke at “a nearly eighth-grade level.” Which means seventh grade.
See how they did that? They took Sarah down a notch while boosting Biden up a notch. Making it seem closer than it really was. Now that’s some fair and objective reporting.
Not that it really matters. Politicians dumb down their speeches and statements because we’re living in an age of sound bite politics. Journalists (up to and including debate moderators) don’t give you a lot of time to talk. If you go on longer than they want, they start to interrupt you.
And if you get caught trying to make a statement that’s a bit too complex you run the risk of your words being taken out of context and used against you.
So politicians talk down to us, because the media has dumbed down politics in general. It’s unfortunate, but perhaps even more so because dumbed-down news seems to be exactly what a lot of the public wants.

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  • http://Array Hannitized

    You see bias in the media against Palin, even though it was in Palin’s favor.

    Here are the numbers!!

    Grade level: Biden, 7.8; Palin, 9.5 (Newspapers are typically written to a sixth-grade reading level.)

    Idiot!!!!!!

  • Hannitized

    HG,

    You aren’t very bright man. Do you have the reference to the video or the quote where he said it before? Yes or no? No.

    So all we have is the video clip provided by Bullshinkle. The only source you provided were instances where Obama is speaking to his revised position of talking to leaders.

    At what point in time Obama moved his position, well, it could have been several months back during the primaries or before that. Who knows?

    But you never provided any evidence of the distinct delineation of the two. You merely showed examples of his revised position. That shows you were not comprehending his nuanced stance at the time he said it.

  • HG

    Reporter: Senator you’ve said before you’d meet with president Ahmadinejad…

    Obama (nodding): Uh Huh

    Reporter: … would you still meet with him today?

    Obama: Nothing’s changed with respect to my belief that strong countries and strong presidents talk to their enemies and talk to their adversaries.

    That whole “instance” crap wasn’t even a good try H. C’mon, you’re more crafty than that.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/white_folks_greed_runs_a_world_in_ Joel

    Truth be told, her vocabulary is extremely limited, she speaks in broken sentences, her grammar is terrible, she continually strays off point to inconsequential tangents and often conflates unrelated topics and issues.

  • Hannitized

    God. The stupidity of the right is beyond comprehension.

    You see bias when it is not in Palins favor, even when it is in her favor. YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT!!

    Here is the title of the story:

    Debate analysis: Palin spoke at 10th-grade level, Biden at eighth

    So, they give Sarah a higher than earned grade. 9.5 = 10???? Dont think so! 9.8 is closer to ten. But Sarah didn’t get that. They rounded up for both candidates, but spoke more honestly in the thread.

    Exmple:

    Math is math is math.

    7.8 = More than 7 if you round up. (But still not 7)

    9.5 = It’s a Nine in any accounting course! (But still not a 10)

    Now, let’s try it another way.

    7.8 = Less than 8 (But still an 8 in any accounting course).

    9.5 = Less than 10 (is always a 9 in any accounting course)

    I am sure that when Rob got home from school he told his mom he got a B when he really got C. And when he got a B+ he told his mom he got a C. Right?

    Lastly, Biden was encouraged to dumb down his intellect so that the average American can relate to him, while the advise for Sarah Palin was to put a coherent sentence together.

  • Eneils Bailey

    I keep hearing these arguments that Palin is not qualified to ascend to the office of the Presidency of The United States.

    Oh, please tell me then why we should elect Oboomer to the office of President since his experience does not compare to Palin’s.

    Someone, please tell me what qualifies him over Palin.

    The New York Times, Keith Olbermann, Gwen Ifill, and the MSM saying Oboomer is more qualified does not count.

  • pparets

    Hannitized:

    his campaign people put out was that he would meet with the leadership, and they specifically said that it did not mean Ahmadinejad specifically.

    In politics, that’s called “covering your ass…”

  • pparets

    hannitized:

    But since then, he refers to leaders when he answers the question.

    …. not because he means it, but because he was advised by his handlers not to use Ahmadidijan’s name again… sorta like how you hid behind the ‘supreme ruler’ smoke screen – when, in fact, you knew all along that it was the president of Iran that Obama meant.

    But, since you couldn’t find any damning video, you assumed no one else would either.

  • HG

    Also, don’t take credit for other peoples work HG. You never had the example Bullshtinkle had to dig up. You kept pointing to the instances when Obama was talking about the Leadership.

    Don’t need to. It was obvious to many of us. You were the one without the critical thinking skills to recognize it.

    You idiot. The proof Bullwinkle posted proves the context of the instances you refer to.

    Back at eh? Have fun.

  • Neiman

    Truth be told, her vocabulary is extremely limited, she speaks in broken sentences, her grammar is terrible, she continually strays off point to inconsequential tangents and often conflates unrelated topics and issues.

    In this generation most periodicals are only written at about the 7th grade level, because people demand a Reader’s Digest version of life. It is a positive advantage for politicians to talk to the level of the common man. It is McCain, Biden and others that speak above their audience and they are not very popular compared to the direct, simple speaker. Avoiding issues is the bread and butter of the politicians in the Clinton era.

  • Hannitized

    Math is math is math.

    7.8 = More than 7 if you round up. (But still not 8)
    9.5 = It’s a Nine in any accounting course! (But still not a 10)

    Now, let’s try it another way.

    7.8 = Less than 8 (But still an 8 in any accounting course).

    9.5 = Less than 10 (is always a 9 in any accounting course)

  • Hannitized

    You mean like when you also said McCain would not meet with Ahmadinejad, but he said he would? That sort of smart?

    Also, don’t take credit for other peoples work HG. You never had the example Bullshtinkle had to dig up. You kept pointing to the instances when Obama was talking about the Leadership.

    His position today is that he would talk to the leadership, just as McCains position has changed to he would never meet with Ahmadinejad at the presidential level, even though he said he would previously.

    So what. They both spin.

  • Hawk

    If you actually bothered to read the article, having a higher grade isn’t necessarily better. It means you obfuscated more. It means you did not speak directly.

  • Hannitized

    Speak English HG. What are you trying to say? Back at eh?

    Don’t need to. It was obvious to many of us.

    Attempting to ride his coattails does not make you accurate on your argument. Obama moved his position just as McCain has.

    The only thing you proved was at one time he probably said it. But since then, he refers to leaders when he answers the question.

    Bullshinking has merely pointed to a point in time reference, not the stance of the Obama campaign today. Both McCain and Obama have changed their stance on this issue.

  • Hannitized

    You raise a good catch Hawk. But after looking into it further, you see that it means that the lower grade level you speak at, the easier it is that you can be understood, or read.

    Good catch. Don’t expect the friends on the right to admit you caught them looking stupid. They aren’t reading the news, they are feeling it with their sensitive and emotional hearts.

    (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.

    The analysis said Abraham Lincoln spoke at an 11th-grade level during his seven debates in 1858 against incumbent Stephen A. Douglas in their race for a Senate seat from Illinois.

    But higher grade level doesn’t necessarily mean better sentence, Payack said. He pointed to Palin’s second-to-last sentence in the debate, which the formula put at a grade level of 18.3:

  • Hannitized

    And when you refuse to start acting like an adult. Why don’t you see if you can get Rob to admit he made a mistake. Not only did he want Palin scored higher, he also wanted Biden scored lower.

    Further, he didn’t bother to see Biden scored a 7.8, while Palin scored a 9.5. So in accounting terms, Biden scored closer to an 8, while Palin scored closer to a 9.

    Putting all of that aside. It wan’t very smart, was it?

  • Eneils Bailey

    (CNN)–An analysis carried out by a language monitoring service said Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at a more than ninth-grade level and Sen. Joseph Biden spoke at a nearly eighth-grade level in Thursday night’s debate between the vice presidential candidates.

    She was wonderful, speaking to the everyday concerns of average American as they understand them.

    He was somewhat less than that, emphasizes that living in the world of detached reality(Washington) could help him guide Hope and Change.

    The average American could give a cold cup of coffee and a hole in a donut as to what Washington insiders think.

  • richNJ

    Not sure if the public wants dumb down news but that is about all you get from any MSM outlet. Yet the Sunday talk show programs that do go in to depth on issues do not have high ratings. So your on the right track. Then again, you can always go to the NY Times for their in-depth understanding of the issues. LOL…or maybe dailyKos for more substance and a thorugh analysis of an issue.

  • HG

    one time

    Hey idiot, can you read? “You said before” to which Obama responded nodding in agreement, “Uh huh”.

  • Hannitized

    …sorta like how you hid behind the ‘supreme ruler’ smoke screen - when, in fact, you knew all along that it was the president of Iran that Obama meant.

    But, since you couldn’t find any damning video, you assumed no one else would either.

    Sort of like how there was never any quotes of Obama stating he would personally meet with Ahmadinejad. The evidence that was readily available and that his campaign people put out was that he would meet with the leadership, and they specifically said that it did not mean Ahmadinejad specifically.

  • http://www.valleydeals.com/cgi-bin/board2/YaBB.pl Kevin

    That’s an improvement for Biden.

    Obama’s Acceptance Speech at 9th Grade Level News 0016
    Politics: Obama’s Acceptance Speech at 9th Grade Level

    Barak Obama\’s Acceptance Speech Delivered at 9th Grade LevelDelivered in more accessible language than past efforts

    Austin, Texas, USA. September 3, 2008. In an exclusive analysis of the speeches made at the recently concluded Democratic National Convention, the Global Language Monitor found that Barak Obama’s widely viewed (and acclaimed) acceptance speech was delivered in language that reflected a ninth grade (9.3) ‘reading level’. “This is significant,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of GLM, “because Obama was attempting to communicate to an audience estimated at over 38 million viewers in easier to understand language than typical of his past efforts. He is widely viewed as having succeeded.”

    Other speeches delivered during the convention ranged from grade levels of 10.5 to 6.4:

    * 10.5 (Al Gore),
    * 10.3 (Bill Clinton),
    * 8.7 (Hillary Clinton)
    * 8.0 (Michelle Obama)
    * 6.4 (Joe Biden)

    Two of the most important and popular speeches in American history, The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech also registered at ninth grade levels (9.1 and 8.8 respectively).

    Speeches by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan often registered at the 12th grade level.

    The analysis was performed by the Global Language Monitor (www.LanguageMonitor.com), the media analysis and analytics agency. GLM used a modified Flesch-Kincaid formula for its analysis, which measures factors such as number of words in a sentence, number of letters in a word, the percentage of sentences in passive voice, and other indicators of ‘readability’.

    http://tinyurl.com/48scne

  • Hannitized

    OK, I apologize. Now what? Are you going to start behaving Proof?

  • Hannitized

    Well, you haven’t been paying attention, Beardsley the ostentatious merkin, because did yesterday. That would be (3) times in a month I think.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    That would be (3) times in a month I think.

    It’s true Rodney! I believe Han has apologized three times since he’s been here that I know of. Unfortunately, he’s been here many months, and at least two of those apologies were dripping with insincerity, coupled with an insult in the same breath!

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    Hannitized’s first comment on the thread:

    God. The stupidity of the right is beyond comprehension.
    You see bias when it is not in Palins favor, even when it is in her favor. YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT!!

    So, Mr. “I’m the only one big enough to apologize and I never attack unless attacked first”: Who attacked you that you felt you needed to respond with cursing insults?

    And please don’t give us that same crap about “This site is so blah, blah, blah that of course I had to blah, blah, blah before anyone attacked me.”

    Are you going to apologize now for constantly lying about how you never attack unless attacked first? Just wondering…

  • http://vdvfamily.com/ Sphagnum

    I’m sure “You bechtcha” and “You’re Darn right!” helped boost that number a bit, haha!

    Man, I just love the way that woman speaks……. so awesome, and it pisses urban liberals off to no end!

  • http://www.fairandunbalanced.com/ BurrDeming

    Well, they were both understandable.

    Governor Palin did very well for herself.

    Joe Biden merely did well for Obama.

    But I have not yet heard anyone from any side express any concern about the most dangerous possibility if Governor Palin is elected to national office.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    BTW, I’d feel better if instead of your insincere apologies, you’d just cut out all the crap you claim not to do. That would make life so much easier.

    Why don’t you see if you can get Rob to admit he made a mistake.

    Maybe you could do that if YOU acted like an adult for a change and didn’t call people “fucking idiots” every time you disagree with them?

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    With the Dem vote assured, he was reaching out to the nutters among us.

    Eighth grade education? That would be the liberal “intelligentsia”. (So called.)

  • http://www.dartemis.net/blog/ sayanything-42

    eunuchized the beardless catamite informs us:

    Rob has a 99.9% track record of not correcting a post when he has been proven wrong.

    That puts him at least a full percentage point ahead of eunuchized, who could not and would not admit error if his life depended on it.

  • Eddie_the_Hated

    I’m curious to see where GW fits in on that list.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive
    I, rbb, will refrain from preemptive personal attacks from this day forward.
    I reserve the right to return fire if attacked.

    Who else here will take this pledge?

    Im in. Define “attacked”.
    Hannitized on April 16, 2008 at 10:19 pm

    I guess your word at “being in” is not dependent on your own character but defined wholly by the actions of others?

    Someone calls you on this nearly every day. It’s getting quite tiresome.

    Get off your fat ass, Han. You aren’t fit to ride that high. Heh.

  • http://www.dartemis.net/blog/ sayanything-42

    eunuchized the beardless catamite states:

    …because [sic I] did yesterday. That would be (3) times in a month[sic ,] I think.

    Given eunuchized’s “strained” relationship with the truth, I’ll believe that he has admitted error when someone provides a link via which I can verify it for myself.

  • Old Retired Petty Officer

    Well if you include the huffs that joe shitstain used after hearing Sarah Palin’s responses to the moonbat moderator. You know, the same ones your mom used to express disgust with us in mixed company. I give him about a third grade level. My wife said he was like an old rest home resident that couldn’t get anyone to pay attention to him. Hmmmmmmm. And his head was down and eyes on the moderator and not looking at the camera. Sarah Palin was looking right at me. Part of public speaking is also in what you do. joe shitstain couldn’t didn’t do jack.
    Oh yes, for you left-tards out there, the Retired Petty Officer is ALLOWED to dress down any member of the Congress he deems it necessary to receive the said dressing down. I don’t work for them anymore.

  • http://www.dartemis.net/blog/ sayanything-42

    Oh,

    And eunuchized is wrong on math as well: 1.0-1.499 rounds down to 1. 1.5-1.999 rounds up to 2. I don’t recommend anyone hold their breath waiting for that admission of error…

  • Hannitized

    Rob has a 99.9% track record of not correcting a post when he has been proven wrong.

    Get off your high horse Poof, you aren’t fit to ride that high.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/realitybasedbob/ realitybasedbob

    Biden spoke at “a nearly eighth-grade level.” Which means seventh grade.

    With the Dem vote assured, he was reaching out to the nutters among us.

    Clever tactic if you ask me.

  • HG

    God. The stupidity of the right is beyond comprehension.

    Yeah, kinda like when we thought Obama said he would meet witn Ahmadinejad. Boy were we stupid, eh Hannitized? Remember how stupid we all were?

    Stupid.

  • HG

    H, you madcap.

  • http://insanereindeer.blogspot.com/ Kenny

    Exmple:
    Math is math is math.
    In accounting…

    While I have never taken an accounting class, I have dealt with actual accounting since I was 9. My mother is an accountant who was determined to turn me into one when I was little.

    In real accounting, real numbers are the norm. If you spend 9.5 dollars on something, you didn’t spend 9 or 10…you spent 9.5. When you round, like in math, 9.5 is a 10. In all math, .1-.4 gets rounded down while .5 and above is rounded up.

    If we wish to look at it from a schooling standpoint, there are no decimal places, and we always round down. You either read at a 9th grade level or you don’t. Being a little more than half way there (by golly) just aint good enough. You are rounded down. So Paling spoke at a 9th grade level while Joe spoke at a 7th grade level.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    Math is math is math.

    All single syllables…third grade reading level, maybe?

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    It means that you spoke, but said nothing.

    If you really believed that, you wouldn’t have used the word “obfuscated” just now, would you?
    Or were you just trying to say “nothing”?

  • Palinisabimbo

    Here are some leftist liberal pollster data summing up the BIMBO effect (spread by which Obama is leading nationally):
    DATE
    POLLSTER Sat. 4 Fri 3 Thu 2 (pre-debate)

    Rasmussen 7 6 7
    DailyKos 12 12 11
    Gallup coming 8 7
    Hotline coming 7 6

    Not even a blip in the charts after Palin so clearly articulated at a higher grade level. Rove (spit) just gave Obama 273 EC votes in his daily chart. The goose, ladies and gentlemen, is cooked.

    Carry on

  • Eneils Bailey

    I think Rob hates me… I mean, just look at the pic he took of me!

    Replace the squirt gun with a 1911 Colt 45 ACP and have Rob take that picture of you.

    I love squirt guns, got one a-hanging; but my official portrait does not allow me to show any lethal weapon, unless approved by the NRA.

  • Hawk

    You guys are just precious. It is better to speak at a lower grade level because it means you spoke directly. The higher grade level means you obfuscated. It means that you spoke, but said nothing.

  • http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

    OK, I apologize. Now what? Are you going to start behaving Proof?

    Class! He apologizes, but throws in a false accusation for good measure. Am I not behaving? What are you implying???

  • http://bullwinkleblog.com/ Bullwinkle

    Palin obviously wanted Libtards to be able to understand her too.

  • http://www.rabidamerican.net/ Rabid American

    Headline should read:

    “Biden Lies At A 5th Grade Level At Debate”

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