Study Says State Of The Union Speech Written At An 8th-Grade Level And Used Recycled Lines

According to a University of Minnesota Smart Politics study, Obama is apparently trying to reach junior high school students.

The study examines each of the State Of The Union addresses, going back over the last 70 that have been given. According to the Flesch-Kinkaid test, the speech is assigned values based upon words, length of sentences, and how many syllables are contained in each word. According to results, Obama's speech was rated at an 8.4 grade level; and along with his other two Union addresses, are the lowest in Presidential history. Part of that is his attempt to reach American voters, and some stems from a growing trend of the speech moving away from just an address to Congress, but a major prime time event for the country. It was also noted in a video that was quickly released by the RNC (Republican National Committee) that Obama re-used directly or rehashed lines from his previous two addresses. The video sets up side by side comparisons showing how similar the speeches have been. The Associated Press went as far as to say Obama's speech "pushed policies that have flopped before." And finally, some critics have noted that less than three months after insinuating that "we have become lazy", he tried the pep talk approach as he spoke of America's greatness. That double standard has not been lost on many Americans.