Fact:

At each campaign stop, George Bush kissed an average of 4.1 babies, while John Kerry kissed only 1.2.

Comment:

Who the [mild expletive] counted up every time they kissed a baby? And why would you put this fact up? Who cares whether or not they kissed babies. Every politician kisses babies. What are they gonna do...throw the baby back to the mother.

Response:

The fact originated from a friend of mine who was working with a non-profit group that monitors US Presidential elections. She was tasked with reviewing every speech both Kerry and Bush gave during the election on live satellite feed and writing short synposes for the group's website and database.

Anyone familiar with modern day Presidential speeches would know that such a task would quickly get boring and repetitive because candidates use the nearly same stump speech almost every day. So, over time, my friend began compiliing several statistics about the candidates' behaviors at events.

Other statistics of interest:

Bush leaned into the podium an average of six times per speech.

Kerry did ten left arm chops per speech and fifteen right arm chops.

90 percent of Bush speeches west of the Mississippi contained Biblical language, while only 65 percent east of the Mississippi contained the same kind of rhetoric.

Bush talked about his family five times more often than Kerry.

Kerry and Bush had nearly the same proportion of flubs per speech: 1.3 for Kerry and 1.4 for Bush.

Kerry adjusted his hair an average of two times per speech.

As for implying anything - most people make their voting decisions based on personal qualities of their candidates. In modern elections, voters have consistently shown that they want a President who is a trusted crisis manager rather than a policy mover. This fact was chosen because the baby-kissing statistic encapsulated the more emotional, trusting reaction Bush supporters had at his rallies than Kerry did at his.