ASSOCIATED PRESS
With the Democratic National Convention (DNC) completed, one thing is clear: Most Democratic leaders and even some Republicans believe Joe Biden is a decent man.
By now, voters likely have a sense of Biden’s character and his positions. Yet, many people watch the convention to obtain a broader view of the Democratic Party’s priorities. What are these priorities and what might Americans expect from Democratic leadership?
There is no better starting point to understand the party’s focus than from its leaders and their words. I analyzed all speeches from the four-night DNC — over 65,000 words — and the following figure represents the most popular words across speakers.
Word cloud of all terms from the Democratic National Convention. Larger words indicate more frequent ... [+]
Clearly, the party is focused on its candidate for president, but also on creating a sense of urgency in this election with high rates of words such as vote, time, now, better, and future. Democrats also focused on COVID-19 (virus), racial injustice (black, white), jobs, and the unrelenting climate crisis (clean, energy) suggesting these are crucial issues for the country and the electorate.
What were the most prevalent topics for top Democratic speakers?
The three most frequent content words for Biden included president, America, and people. Senator Harris emphasized Joe, family, and getting out the vote. President Obama talked about Joe, what it means to be an American, and restoring democracy most often in his speech, while Michelle Obama focused on people, Joe, and getting out the vote as well.
These analyses suggest what Democratic leaders want Americans to hear — or at least what they think Americans want to hear. For blue voters, the convention was likely a success because it returned iconic leaders to the public eye and reaffirmed Democratic values — family, democracy, and change — with the hope of a brighter future.
The words of our leaders matter because they describe a party’s trajectory forward and hold politicians accountable.
Next week, voters will have the opportunity to compare the Democrats’ vision for America to that of the Republicans’. After the conventions, it is important to internalize these data points and cast your ballot for the future of our country.
