Slashdot Mirror


Software Spots Spin In Political Speeches

T.S. Ackerman writes "According to an article in NewScientist Tech, there is now software that can identify the amount of spin in a politician or candidate's speech. From the article, 'Blink and you would have missed it. The expression of disgust on former US president Bill Clinton's face during his speech to the Democratic National Convention as he says "Obama" lasts for just a fraction of a second. But to Paul Ekman it was glaringly obvious. "Given that he probably feels jilted that his wife Hillary didn't get the nomination, I would have to say that the entire speech was actually given very gracefully," says Ekman, who has studied people's facial expressions and how they relate to what they are thinking for over 40 years.' The article goes on to analyze the amount of spin in each of the candidates running for president, and the results are that Obama spins the most."

4 of 438 comments (clear)

  1. So what's new by m0s3m8n · · Score: 0, Troll

    "The article goes on to analyze the amount of spin in each of the candidates running for president, and the results are that Obama spins the most." I am shocked.

    --
    Conservative, mod down for violating /. political norms.
  2. Not a surprising result... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    given all of the things Obama and his media allies have been trying to keep a lid on - chiefly his ties to William Ayers and Saul Alinsky, but also details like his wife getting a huge pay bump at the hospital where she worked after hubby was elected to the Illinois Senate and started funneling money to said hospital.

  3. Re:Subject by letxa2000 · · Score: 0, Troll

    I believe in freedom of speech and the right to sell a product, but it should be a criminal act to offer up a steaming pile like this for sale to the public.

    If offering up a steaming pile for sale to the public was criminal, the Democratic party would cease to exist.

    :)

  4. Re:Obama spinning? by slashdotlurker · · Score: 0, Troll

    I am an independent, who was leaning towards Obama until he decided to gut the Bill of Rights by voting for the FISA bill. Obama is a gifted speaker, an articulate advocate of many things that I think are sorely needed for our country to survive, and his election will help put the darkest part of our history behind us (a country that rejects that ambulance chaser Jesse Jackson, but elects a self-made man like Obama is a country with its ideas about race finally straight).
    Further, I used to be a McCain diehard (in 2000, even voted for him in the primaries and sent money to his campaign, and thought for about 2-3 years after that America had missed an opportunity to put a man better than Bush or Gore in office).
    However, the idea that Obama spins more than McCain of vintage 2008 is so absurd that I had to read the summary twice to make sure. With the world in turmoil and our economy on the bronk of total collapse, Sen. McCain talks about pigs with lipsticks and supporting a 25% share of world's oil consumption (today) with 3% of the world's reserves of oil (available 10 years from now). Further, he insistently lies about running mates who support bridges to nowhere before opposing them and cleaning up Wall Street greed when he and his economic soulmate, Phil Gramm, helped create this deregulation disaster that has wiped out 10% of our GDP in less than a week. Give me a break.
    Lying a proven falsehood into truthful existence after all the evidence to the contrary is in your face is a skill that not even that detestable Hillary Clinton quite mastered. What does is it say about McCain of honorable memory that he is even less trustworthy to a former supporter today than a widely reviled say-anything politician on the other side of the aisle ?
    Obama lost my vote and unless McCain exceeds his already impressive collection of unsuitable policies, lies, and calculated distractions and looks like winning (God knows how dumb some of our people are), he won't get it back. However, a claim that Obama spins more than McCain is proof positive that this software does not work.