Mrs. Clinton, of New York, speaks farther from her audience than Mr. Obama does, but also spends more time gripping, grinning and posing afterward. Mrs. Clinton has a tendency to use the “when I’m president” construction, as opposed to “if I’m elected.” She prefers the pronouns “I” and “me,” whereas Mr. Obama is more prone to use “we” or “us” and Mr. Edwards “them.”

In a sense, the candidates’ chosen pronouns reflect their varied messages. Mrs. Clinton’s “I” is a proxy for her message of experience. She is thorough in conveying her litany of accomplishments — all the things “I’ve worked for” — even smaller-bore issues, like helping victims of traumatic brain injuries, broadening access to mental health care and helping apple farmers in New York, one of whom, Mark Nicholson, introduced her in Guthrie Center.
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Mr. Obama’s “us’” and “we” reflect his unity campaign, the so-called new kind of politics. His “we” constitutes a prospective coalition of anyone bent on changing the political system — as opposed to “playing the game” within it, a tacit reference to the Clintons and their political mastery.

“Instead of sending someone to Washington to play the game, we need someone to change the game plan,” Mr. Obama said. “We are not a nation divided as our politics suggests.”
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Mr. Edwards vows to forge a winning, bipartisan coalition united against the evil forces of “them”: purveyors of “corporate greed,” “Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs,” and big bonus-reaping executives from “oil companies, drug companies and insurance companies.”