Before I get to the word count, let me share with you a few quotes from the VP debate last week.

My Favorite Quote of the Night
Taken out of context, of course......

In those arenas, John McCain has already tapped me and said, that's where I want you....
-Gov. Sara Palin (R-AK)

And then there is:
...back in the day..., Palin
I do respect your years in the U.S. Senate, but I think Americans are craving something new and different..., Palin (She and Obama agree on that!)
And how long have I been at this, like five weeks?, Palin (No need to remind us of that.)
...quote -- I'm paraphrasing..., Biden (Huh?)
...John McCain who knows how to win a war., Palin (Exactly which war did McCain win?)

Did you know that the word also was used a total of 53 times in Thursday VP debate? It's true! Here's a breakdown for that popular little adverb, along with a few other words.

ALSO
Gov. Palin: 48 (90%)
Sen. Biden: 03
Gwen Ifill: 02
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53

MAVERICK
Gov. Palin trotted out the now trite maverick to describe Sen. McCain and herself. Not to be outdone, Sen. Biden refused to let her win that word war. All nine of his shots were fired off in one response. The first time Gov. Palin used the word maverick, Sen. Biden gave a laundry list of issues on which Sen. McCain was no maverick: budget; war; healthcare; education; and, in his words, critical issues that effect people's lives. He knew she'd use it, and he had his response prepared. Score Biden.

Sen. Biden: 09 (60%)
Gov. Palin: 06
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15

FIGHT
Gov. Palin is no coward! She's gonna fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight for you, because that is just what America needs.

Gov. Palin: 07 (70%)
Sen. Biden: 02
Gwen Ifill: 01
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10

TAX
Everyone loves taxes, or at least they love to talk about them. No candidate managed to get a monopoly on the word tax. The count also includes taxes and taxing. The phrase raise taxes was used thrice, all by Sen. Biden, while cut taxes was used only once, by Gov. Palin.
Sen. Biden: 38 (49%)
Gov. Palin: 35
Gwen Ifill: 04
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77

IRAQ
The war in Iraq has been replaced by the economy as the No. 1 issue about which the American people are concerned. Neither candidate mentioned it any more than the other.

Sen. Biden: 14 (45%)
Gov. Palin: 14 (45%)
Gwen Ifill: 03
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31

WAR
Likewise, the Democratic and Republican candidate split the difference on war.
Sen. Biden: 13 (42%)
Gov. Palin: 13 (42%)
Gwen Ifill: 05
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31

MCCAIN vs OBAMA
The debate may have been between Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin, but they both talked an awful lot about John McCain. Obama wasn't mentioned nearly as much. By a margin of 3:2, McCain was the more talked about.

McCain
Sen. Biden: 56 (54%)
Gov. Palin: 38
Gwen Ifill: 10
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104

Obama
Sen. Biden: 36 (60%)
Gov. Palin: 21
Gwen Ifill: 03
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60

BUSH
Guess who Gov. Palin didn't want to talk about? The incumbent, George Bush.

Sen. Biden: 12 (67%)
Gov. Palin: 05
Gwen Ifill: 01
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18

FACT
Sen. Biden was all about the facts Thurday night, or at least he mentioned the word a lot. Two of every three mentions of fact came from his mouth.

Sen. Biden: 17 (68%)
Gov. Palin: 07
Gwen Ifill: 01
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25

ENERGY
Governor Palin seemed comfortable discussing only one issue during the debate, and that is energy. She even talked about energy when the question was unrelated. She wins this one by a 3:1 margin.

Gov. Palin: 29 (74%)
Sen. Biden: 09
Gwen Ifill: 01
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