His Incredible India campaign: Used the i word 19 times

During his two days in Mumbai,Obama used the 10-letter word seven times each,starting with his very first public comments at the Taj Mahal Palace. Talking about the 26/11 terrorist attack on the city,he called Mumbai a symbol of the incredible energy and optimism that defines India in the 21st century,setting the stage for the rest of his high-voltage trip.

Hours later,when he sat down with business leaders from the two countries for a closed-door meeting,he once again could not avoid gushing about the energy of Indias financial capital. Obviously anybody who comes to Mumbai is struck by the incredible energy and drive and entrepreneurial spirit that exists here… And it is so important for not just US companies but US workers to recognise these incredible opportunities and hopefully for Indian workers and Indian companies to recognise the opportunities for them as well, Obama said.

He then went on to thank the Indian government and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma,who was present at the meeting,for the incredible hospitality that had already been shown to him in his few hours in India. At his next stop at the business conference organised by the US-India Business Council,Obama once again thanked the people of Mumbai and India for their incredible hospitality.

It was striking talking to some of the American CEOs who are here,whove come frequently over decades and seen the incredible progress thats been made, he said. And as he urged the business communities of the two countries to push their partnership to a new level,his favourite adjective on the trip returned: These are steps we can take together to strengthen the economic ties between our nations ties that hold incredible promise for our people and our future.

At the town hall style meeting at St Xaviers College on day two,easily the big highlight of the Mumbai leg of his visit,Obama was casual and informal but that did not stop him from peppering his 50-minute interaction with students with some more incredibles.

There were seven of them through his opening remarks and in his answers to the questions the students posed: India has this incredible history; like America,it has this incredible entrepreneurial talent; because of the incredible rise of India and China and Brazil and other countries theres real competition for the US; at a time when youre starting to succeed in incredible ways on the global economic stage; some of the incredible work that I saw being done in the agricultural sector in India; theres such incredible potential and promise for you to start pointing in new directions.

The seventh was used for his own country: Im positive we can compete because weve got the most open,most dynamic entrepreneurial culture; weve got some of the finest universities in the world; incredible research and technology.

Moving on to Delhi,the US President,after he was given the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan,said he and Michelle came to India to strengthen what is already an incredible friendship between the United States and India. In his opening remarks at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Obama spoke about the incredible warmth and incredible hospitality with which he had been received in India. And in reply to a question,he said the partnership between the two countries was incredibly important,and the new ties that could be forged can be incredibly powerful,incredibly important.

But incredibly,the word did not find a single mention in Obamas 35-minute speech to Parliament even though he gave MPs several other occasions to cheer him.

Commentators and political analysts in the US who have tracked Obama have analysed his preference for words and phrases in the past. One analysis by the Silicon Valley Mercury News before Obama was sworn into office,in January 2009,went through five of the most important speeches of his political career and found that his favourite word,change,did not make it to the top of the list of words he had used.

Another analysis by ABC News in October 2009 found that let me be clear was his favourite phrase across subjects,be it healthcare,gay rights or foreign affairs. But it also found that the phrase was his emphatic windup for almost everything,including when he left state lawmakers laughing when he said the massive taxpayer-financed stimulus plan wouldnt be spent on frivolous projects such as dog parks. Now,let me be clear, Obama said. I dont have anything against dog parks.

To Incredible India though,Obama may have given more reason to smile than laugh.