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Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010 7:36 PM UTC

“America by Heart” by the numbers

Sarah Palin's new book name-checks Ronald Reagan 33 times, putting him second only to God (100 mentions)

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Topics: Sarah Palin, Ronald Reagan, War Room,

Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan

I’ve just finished Sarah Palin’s new book, “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag.” It offers very, very little about her substantive views (with a few exceptions). The book mostly amounts to a collection of bumper sticker slogans (“freedom isn’t free”) and inspirational quotes from members of the conservative pantheon (“morning in America”).

So perhaps as good a way as any to assess Palin’s book is by the numbers. By my count, the only character (who is not a member of Palin’s family) that is mentioned more times than Ronald Reagan is God.

Reagan gets 33 mentions, which Palin accomplishes by deploying his name at every possible opportunity (eg: ”Ronald Reagan once quoted Abraham Lincoln as saying … “). Here’s a look at some of the other common terms in the book, and let me know if I’m missing any:

God — 100 times

“freedom” — 100 times 

Ronald Reagan — 33 times

Barack Obama — 32 times

“abortion” — 28 times

“slavery“ — 25 times 

“feminism“ — 18 times

Iraq — 11 times

“flag” — 11 times

“mainstream media” — 10 times

John McCain — 9 times

Martin Luther King Jr. — 9 times

George W. Bush — 8 times

“Tea Party” — 8 times

Calvin Coolidge — 6 times (she calls him “one of our most overlooked presidents”)

John Kerry — 6 times

“city on a hill” — 6 times

Jesus — 5 times

“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” — 5 times

Hillary Clinton — 4 times

Afghanistan — 4 times

“freedom isn’t free” — 3 times

Booker T. Washington — 2 times

“lame stream media” — 1 time

Levi Johnston — 1 time

Katie Couric — 0 times

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More Justin Elliott.

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