Words don't lie, part II: Perception Analyzer reveals no Jack Kennedys at vice presidential debate (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

So what did the Perception Analyzer do when Biden referred to residents
of Bosnia as "Bosniacs"?



> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society
> [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Dennis Baron
> Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 11:29 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Words don't lie, part II: Perception Analyzer
> reveals no Jack Kennedys at vice presidential debate
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dennis Baron <debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU>
> Subject:      Words don't lie, part II: Perception Analyzer
> reveals no Jack
>               Kennedys at vice presidential debate
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> There's a new post on the Web of Language:
>
> Words don't lie, part II: Perception Analyzer reveals no Jack
> Kennedys at vice presidential debate
>
> During the first presidential debate last week, CNN used a
> Perception Analyzer to track audience responses to the
> candidates. Members of a focus group in Columbus turned the
> analyzer's dial to the left when they didn't like what they
> heard, and to the right when they did, which presumes they
> prefer being right of center. Analysis of the results showed
> that most of the audience stayed awake for most of the
> 90-minute-long debate.
>
> The network deployed the Perception Analyzer again at the
> vice presidential debate last night at Washington University
> in St. Louis, only with a twist: CNN turned it into an IQ
> meter for Gov. Palin, and a foot-in-mouth detector for Sen. Biden.
>
> In the end, though, the technology didn't tell us any more
> than the candidates did. Palin showed no palpable IQ
> deficits, though she did once call her opponent Sen. Obiden
> and she mis-named the general commanding American forces in
> Afghanistan. Biden outscored her by showing more grasp of
> concrete detail, while keeping both feet planted firmly on
> the floor. . . .
>
> To no one's surprise, last night in St. Louis neither
> candidate proved to be Jack Kennedy. Neither even came close
> to channeling Lloyd Bentsen. Fortunately, neither of them
> looked to be the next Dick Cheney, either. And former Vice
> President Quayle held onto his title of "dumber than a sixth
> grader." . . .
>
> read the rest of this post and see pictures of the Perception
> Analyzer at work on the Web of Language
>
>
> ____________________
> Dennis Baron
> Professor of English and Linguistics
> Department of English
> University of Illinois
> 608 S. Wright St.
> Urbana, IL 61801
>
> office: 217-244-0568
> fax: 217-333-4321
>
> http://illinois.edu/goto/debaron
>
> read the Web of Language:
> http://illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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