Universal values: McCain places emphasis on power in two ways—social power, that is, dominance and control over others, and the right to lead or command. Both are evident when he says, "I happened to have had a position of command in the late 1970s."
Handwriting: John McCain's signature is overall conventional and has no signs of pretension. Like Giuliani, he's comfortable with his current philosophies and the retraced upper loop on the "h" suggest that he isn't open to changing them." "The complete lack of vowels, including the communication letters o and a, show some impatience," adds Dresbold. "And the angular "M" in McCain point to McCain's strong analytical abilities."
Mitt Romney
Exemplary quote: "No nation gave more, shed more precious lives, and took less for itself than America... America's goodness and leadership in the world must be as bright and bold as our military might!"
Subtext: Romney's language is über-patriotic, which usually signals a person without a platform.
Rhetorical style: Romney's hortatory gusto—his use of adjectives, religious imagery, patriotic language, and references to voters—embodies old-fashioned, all-American, Fourth of July kind of language. It's most often used by someone without a platform because it gives them something to talk about.
Body language: "Romney uses his hands primarily in the palms-up position, which is perceived as open and nonthreatening," says Pease. "But on TV, he restrains his hands—probably from some well-intended advice—which forces him to use his face to show meaning and expression. This is a bad move, since his face is lopsided. He repetitively shrugs his shoulders, implying he doesn't necessarily believe or feel strongly about what he's saying." Like John McCain, Romney has a tendency to use "masking," a tense fake smile to cover his displeasure, says Wood.
Self-definition: Romney wants you to know about his family. He introduces his wife as his sweetheart, he stresses his relationship with his father, and talks about his children.
Emotional tone: Romney's linguistic style is formal and distant. He uses few first-person pronouns and a lot of big words. He also tends to focus on the past and the future rather than the here and now, which may make him come off as even more detached. Whereas most candidates are self-focused when they give interviews, Romney—known for using PowerPoint presentations at campaign rallies—focuses on very broad themes in an analytic way. Nonetheless, Romney's positive emotions convey warmth.
Political values: Mitt Romney's speeches portray a compassionate conservative. Romney's two signature talking points are freedom and marriage, but he also refers to equality keywords far more than his Republican challengers. Romney appeals to freedom more than twice as often as his Republican challengers and more than three times as often as the Democrats.
Universal values: Romney's speech is dominated by a single value: universalism. He focuses on the beauty of nature and the arts, as when he says, "The state... has fabulous culture, great architecture. The ocean is gorgeous." He is the only candidate who talks this way.
Handwriting: Mitt Romney's letter forms are highly original and written with speed, revealing a fast, creative thinker," says Lowe. "He's highly intuitive and is able to pick up the mood of a room the instant he walks in. The long, simplified downstroke on the y says he doesn't like to waste time on non-essential details."
How They Did It
PT compiled verbatim speech from each candidate: Since speeches are often ghostwritten, we included samples of extemporaneous speech like interviews and press conferences. Every researcher was given the same set of materials, with the exception of the body language experts, who scrutinized the candidates' own videos on YouTube, and the handwriting experts, who examined the candidates' signatures.
The Categories
Rhetorical style: including certainty (how assured the statements are), realism (how concrete vs. abstract the statements are), optimism (vs. pessimism), how active their language is (as opposed to passive), and commonality (how group-oriented the language is, as opposed to individualistic). Computed using Diction 5.0, a content analysis program. By Roderick P. Hart of the University of Texas at Austin.
Body language: PT spoke to Allan Pease (coauthor of The Definitive Book of Body Language), Patti Ann Wood, and Janine Driver—each working independently—about the candidates' gestures and facial expressions.
Self-definition: what the candidates want the public to know. Determined by looking at their recurrent messages. By Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg School For Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Emotional tone: This includes positivity, negativity, machismo (using concrete examples and failing to consider other people's perspectives—both typical of men), and immediacy (a personal style marked by living in the moment). Computed by measuring candidates' use of "junk" words, including pronouns (I, you, they), articles (a, the), and prepositions (about, to, for). By Richard B. Slatcher and James W. Pennebaker of the University of Texas at Austin.
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