CHART OF THE DAY: JUST WORDS EDITION.

Rob Goodspeed had the smart idea to do a textual analysis of how many words Obama and McCain's issues page devoted to each topic are. The results are actually quite telling (click to enlarge):

I wouldn't take small differences as particularly indicative. For instance, I'd argue for Obama's superiority on economic issues, but the difference isn't to be found in a slight variation in word count. What is interesting are the areas where Obama actually has a position, or has felt the need to articulate a position, but McCain hasn't. They are: Civil rights, disabilities, faith issues, family issues (defined by his staff as work-life balance, kid credits, education, and similarly oriented ideas), poverty reduction, rural concerns, seniors and Social Security, service, and technology. Similarly fascinating are the areas where McCain clearly felt the need to articulate a position, but from the word count, it's clear that he doesn't actually have one. This category includes education and the environment.

The issue here is not that John McCain, in any and all circumstances, would refuse to sign or support education legislation. It's that he appears to have no strong opinions on it, has not seen fit to really offer voters a guide to positions, and so will probably fall under the spell of whichever adviser is nearest. That's not really a good thing given that we don't yet know who would get which desk in a McCain White House. Similarly, McCain's total inattention to poverty issues is a pretty clear guide of how high a priority he'd place on poverty reduction, and the same goes for civil rights and disabilities concerns. Additionally, the fact that his tax and health care plans stand no earthly chance of passing suggest he's not terribly serious on either of those issues, either, and is using them as a form of political positioning rather than an accurate guide to his policy agenda. So his plans look pretty slim. In 2000, at least, he was running on a campaign finance tear. You'll notice that doesn't appear on his site now. Frankly, aside from start wars, it's a bit unclear what John McCain wants to do as president.