We've Looked at Clouds From Both Sides Now

Wordle, a site that generates "word clouds" from a given text, helps us visualize some of the most pressing issues that the presidential candidates would like to imprint upon voters' minds these days. The size of the words indicates the frequency with which they appear. But which is which? Using text from John McCain's blog, one name really pops out, and it's not his: "Obama." And using Obama's blog, it's pretty much the same. His opponent's name doesn't show up at all -- eh, why even acknowledge the guy?

Take from this what you will. In any case, both candidates would do well to watch what they say on the Interwebs: Every word counts.

(LEFT: Word cloud created from Obama's campaign blog at my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog/ | RIGHT: Word cloud created from McCain's campaign blog at www.johnmccain.com/McCainReport/)

REPORTER: Laura Yao, The Washington Post - August 3, 2008

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