Few events are more thoroughly parsed for what is said and not said than the President’s annual State of the Union speech, and last night’s speech was no exception.

The advent of Twitter and a variety of technologies and analytic tools, however, have made it easier than ever to track the president’s every word — and the reactions of the public listening to them. Two good examples come to mind.

The first is a graphic prepared by the National Post, published by Canada.com, which takes the most frequently mentioned words in the president’s speech and adds a visual dimension to them.

The full graphic (cropped above), prepared by Richard Johnson, provides a level of perspective that would easily allude even the most astute analysts, by showing which words were mentioned most, not only by President Obama this year, but compared to his past speeches, and those of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

In last night’s speech, it was evident that jobs/employment and taxes were the two most prominent themes, followed by energy and houses. What’s striking is how much more President Bush’s speeches focused on Iraq, freedom, and terrorism.

Indeed, the word tallies appear to confirm what some critics observed: that ongoing national security concerns, and notably the growing concern surrounding national cyber threats, received scant attention from the President, who chose instead to serve up a speech primarily packed with domestic issues and election year rhetoric.

A full view of the National Post’s chart, and a PDF version of the chart, can be found here.

The second graphic maps out the relentless flurry of tweets on Twitter during the President’s speech.

The graphic was prepared by Twitter and featured on a Twitter site that provided users a guide on how to use Twitter to follow the State of the Union speech.

Having personally followed the #SOTU Twitter feed first hand last night, it was fascinating to watch both how quickly President Obama’s words richochetted into the blogosphere, drawing all kinds of comments–some astute, many inane–as well watching the sheer volume of comments that spewed forth on Twitter.

What the analytic tools showed, however, was that the themes Twitter followers say they heard were often different in priority than what the President actually said. Education and energy for instance, appeared to be the most frequently mentioned themes among those tapping away on Twitter last night, in contrast to the chart capturing his actual words.

If there was perhaps one universal conclusion among more seasoned analysts–and Obama’s opponents alike–it was that what the president says in his State of the Union speech still matters less than what the president and his administration have actually done.

Obama, for instance, highlighted several proposals that make for good politics but stand next to no chance of moving in Congress.

Among them: a call for action on comprehensive immigration reform and a request that the Senate pass a rule that all of his nominees receive a straight up-or-down vote within 90 days of being submitted by the White House.

And with the gridlock that has gripped a highly polarized Congress, few expect the year ahead to be marked by presidential accomplishments.

That sentiment was reinforced by members of Congress and by Obama’s Republican opponents in the upcoming elections:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said: “The President tonight outlined a laundry list of popular programs without regard to what they cost and his own record in office.”

Mitt Romney said: “This is a president with a gap between what he says and what he does so enormous, sometimes you just… shake your head in amazement.”

Newt Gingrich said: “We have a crisis of work in this country and tonight President Obama proposed nothing in the way of policy changes that will get us to robust job creation and dramatic economic growth.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said: “We need to reduce the constant threat of taxes, overreach and red tape that are plaguing small businesses and hardworking taxpayers. Small businesses need to know that America is open for business and that Washington won’t make it harder for them to succeed.


Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) ” Time and time again we hear about President Obama’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on foreign oil, yet right now we haven’t made any significant strides to make it happen – that has to change.”

President Obama’s actual speech is available here.