Changing Addresses: President Obama's
evolution through six State of the Union
addresses
SOTU Trends 2009-2014
Hamilton Place Strategies provides analysis, communications, and
advocacy solutions at the intersection of government, business, and
media.
Executive Summary
• We analyzed President Obama's six State of the Union addresses (2009-2014) to
discern trends and shifting policy priorities over time.
– Over all of his State of the Union Addresses, the President's most used two words
have been "more" and "now."
– While domestic policy issues have largely dominated his presidency, foreign policy has
been on the rise as a topic in recent years.
• Among domestic policy issues, the economy has dominated the speeches, though the
way he talks about the economy has changed.
– Early discussion about the crisis and the broader economy has given way to an
emphasis on wages and inequality in recent years.
– The debt and deficit, which was once a major area of discussion has almost
disappeared from the speech.
• Despite health care reform being one of his biggest legislative accomplishments, the
President has not made it a major focus of any Address.
• The President has changed how he addresses energy, with much more focus on oil and
gas than was the case in earlier addresses.
1
The President's Most Frequently Used Words Are
"More" and "Now"
Most Frequently Used Words (2009-2014)
more
now
new
jobs
people
america
american
years
work
americans
year
make
one
time
know
energy
help
right
congress
economy
tax
plan
153
147
141
138
256
173
158
118
113 116
110
108
103
100
99
87
84
84
82
81
77
40
0
30
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
60
90
120
150
Includes words used at least 20 times in at least one State of the Union address.
180
210
240
270
2
Domestic Policy Concerns Have Dominated The State
Of The Union Under President Obama
Share Of Speech By Policy Area
100%
6,119
7,229
6,834
7,022
6,799
6,980
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
General
comments
Foreign
policy
Domestic
policy
3
Among Domestic Policy Issues, The Economy Has
Dominated The State Of The Union
Share Of Domestic Policy Discussion By Number Of Words
100%
5,190
5,301
5,293
5,580
5,077
4,637
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Other
Energy
Health Care
Education
Budget
Economic
4
Over Time, The President Has Talked About The
Economy More In Terms Of Wages And Inequality
Share Of Economic Discussion By Key Words
100%
115
120
95
141
137
141
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Economy,
economic,
recovery,
crisis
Jobs, job,
work, workers
Debt, deficit,
spending
income, pay,
earn, earned,
wages, wage
Inequality, fair,
opportunity,
class
5
The President Has Spent Comparatively Little Time
Discussing Health Care, His Most Notable Legislation
Share Of Speech Devoted To Health Care Policy
100%
All other topics
Healthcare
6,119
7,229
6,834
7,022
6,799
6,980
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
6
The President Has Also Changed How He Talks About
Energy, With More Discussion Of Oil And Gas
Share Of Energy Discussion By Key Words
100%
9
19
9
30
17
12
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
clean
climate
gas
oil
7
In Summary, The State of the Union …
2009
"will emerge stronger"
2010
"is strong"
2011
"is strong"
2012
"is getting stronger"
2013
"is stronger"
2014
"strong"
2015
?
8