Change for Change’s Sake

Number of times each Democrat said “change” or “changes” during Saturday’s televised debates

Democrats

Hillary Rodham Clinton	25 times	“I embody change. I think having the first woman president is a huge change.”
John Edwards	14 times	” I believe deeply in change.”
Barack Obama	14 times .	“We’re going to bring about real change”
Bill Richardson	8 times	“I love change. We all are for change.

Source: USA TODAY

Is “change” going to be the buzzword of the 2008 US Elections, much as “working families” was here in Oz? It’s certainly just as empty a phrase.

“I embody change!” “I believe deeply in change!” “We are all for change!” “I love change!”

Change, change, change-y change-ness. Change-ified change-ocity.

Sorry to go off on a tangent there, but hearing Hillary repeat that word 25 times has affected me. Or maybe my problem was in trying to renovate the “Working Families” Drinking Game into the “Change-y Change-ness” Drinking Game.

Is this the best buzzword y’all could come up with? What’s the deal? Don’t you all have “Working Families” in America?

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UPDATE: I now have the transcript of the 5 January 2008 Democratic Debate. I count more than 90 utterances of “change” words. But is Hillary channelling Woody from “Cheers”? You be the judge:

“I want to make change, but I’ve already made change. I will continue to make change. I’m not just running on a promise of change. I’m running on 35 years of change. I’m running on having taken on the drug companies and the health insurance companies, taking on the oil companies. So, you know, I think it is clear that what we need is somebody who can deliver change. And we don’t need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered. The best way to know what change I will produce is to look at the changes that I’ve already made.”–Hillary Clinton, Jan. 5, 2008

Woody: “I believe I was elected to the city council as an agent of change, and I fully intend to live up to that pledge. I will make change.” Frasier: “No, change ‘change’ to ‘a change.’ ” Woody: “What?” Frasier: “No, see in here, you make change. There you make a change, so just make the change–change ‘make change’ to ‘make a change’–OH, JUST CHANGE IT!!” [storms out of the bar] Woody: “I think I see why Dr. Crane never cures anybody.”–dialogue from “Cheers,” May 20, 1993

–HT: opinionjournal.com for the Cheers ref.

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