‘Freedom Count’ in Bush’s fifth State of the Union address: A fairly high 36

Occasionally, I check how frequently political figures refer to the concepts of freedom and democracy in their speeches and debates. The theory is, if you care about something, you talk about it.

Today’s Freedom Count examines how often President Bush spoke of freedom in his fifth State of the Union address last night:

Freedom: 21 times.
Liberty: 7.
Democracy: 8.

Total Freedom Count: 36.

That’s a fairly high Freedom Count, approaching the count last month in his second inaugural address, which might be the freedom speech of all time. (Note: Some consider this Bush’s fourth State of the Union message, because they don’t count the one Bush delivered Feb. 27, 2001, to Congress as a State of the Union speech.)

Here is the Freedom Count for Bush’s second inaugural address ("Ending tyranny in our world") last month:

Freedom: 27 times.
Liberty: 15.
Democracy: 1.

Total Freedom Count: 43.

Bush’s interest in freedom and democracy has grown. Take a look at the emphasis he gave to liberty in some of the major speeches of his first term.

Freedom Count for Bush’s address to the United Nations, Sept. 21 of last year:

Freedom: 2 times.
Liberty: 1.
Democracy: 3.

Total Freedom Count: 6.

Freedom Count for Bush’s fourth State of the Union address, Jan. 20 of last year:

Freedom: 8 times.
Liberty: 1.
Democracy: 4.

Total Freedom Count: 13.

Freedom Count for Bush’s speech to the American Enterprise Institute, Feb. 26, 2003:

Freedom: 8 times.
Liberty: 5.
Democracy: 3.

Total Freedom Count: 16.

Freedom Count for Bush’s third State of the Union address, Jan. 28, 2003:

Freedom: 4 times.
Liberty: 3.
Democracy: 1.

Total Freedom Count: 8.

Freedom Count for Bush’s address to the United Nations, Sept. 12, 2002:

Freedom: 2 times.
Liberty: 3.
Democracy: 0.

Total Freedom Count: 5.

Freedom Count for Bush’s second State of the Union address, Jan. 29, 2002:

Freedom: 10 times.
Liberty: 2.
Democracy: 0.

Total Freedom Count: 12.

Freedom Count for Bush’s first State of the Union address, Feb. 27, 2001:

Freedom: 7 times.
Liberty: 0.
Democracy: 0.

Total Freedom Count: 7.

Freedom Count for Bush’s first inaugural address, Jan. 20, 2001:

Freedom: 5 times.
Liberty: 1.
Democracy: 2.

Total Freedom Count: 8.

Bush’s attention to freedom has intensified. As each year passes, he seems to have found a better understanding of democray’s power to transform the world for the better.

As the march of freedom accelerates, the Freedom Count increases.

Frank Warner

SEE ALSO: Freedom Count in Bush’s sixth State of the Union address: 24.