--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've seen it in the last U.S…" description: "\"We've seen it in the last U.S. presidential campaign 2016: both sides were trading graphs and circulating data visualizations to make their point. So t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/david-mccandless-19293_graph_we-ve-seen-it-in-the-last-u-s-presidenti_2635582.jpg" --- # We've seen it in the last U.S. presidential campaign 2016… ![“We've seen it in the last U.S. presidential campaign 2016: both sides were trading graphs and circulating data visualizations to make their point. So the political establishment is waking up to the power of a good graph as well.” quote by David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/david-mccandless-19293_graph_we-ve-seen-it-in-the-last-u-s-presidenti_2635582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/david-mccandless-19293_graph_we-ve-seen-it-in-the-last-u-s-presidenti_2635582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/david-mccandless-19293_graph_we-ve-seen-it-in-the-last-u-s-presidenti_2635582.jpg) > “We've seen it in the last U.S. presidential campaign 2016: both sides were trading graphs and circulating data visualizations to make their point. So the political establishment is waking up to the power of a good graph as well.” [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political campaigns now use data visualizations to persuade, showing graphs’ growing influence. **In simple terms:** Graphs shape political persuasion. Key Takeaway Leverage visual data. Themes politics visualization communication Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical educational When to use this quote - campaign strategy - public policy - education Key Concepts data design cognitive bias media strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can you critically assess political graphs? - What ethical rules should guide data use? A Different Perspective Graphs can mislead if data is biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data Visualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data-visualization-222689/) [Good Graph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-graph-2224932/) [Graph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graph/) [Graphs Circulating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphs-circulating-2224931/) [Point Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-political-1816050/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Presidential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidential/) [Presidential campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidential-campaign/) [Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading/) [Trading Graphs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading-graphs-2224933/) [Visualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visualization/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) ## Related quotes > [PowerPoint presentations, the cesspool of data visualization that Microsoft has visited upon the earth. PowerPoint, indeed, is a cautionary tale in our emerging data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/powerpoint-presentations-the-cesspool-of-data-visualization-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We do a lot of "capital I" important stories, but one I'd highlight is the work we've done on guns, not only for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-jeffery/we-do-a-lot-of-capital-i-important-stories-but-one-i-d-highlight-is/) [Clara Jeffery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-jeffery/) > [I think that one of the questions that I asked of myself in later years was to this point of the political directive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-that-one-of-the-questions-that-i-asked-of-myself-in-later/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There is a point where political correctness becomes an acid that erodes freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/there-is-a-point-where-political-correctness-becomes-an-acid-that/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The point of a political party is to attract a broad base of members and activists and lots of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cleverly/the-point-of-a-political-party-is-to-attract-a-broad-base-of-members/) [James Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cleverly/) > [The general point that a political theory is, among other things, a partisan intervention, is well taken. So question about the actual political implication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-geuss/the-general-point-that-a-political-theory-is-among-other-things-a/) [Raymond Geuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-geuss/) > [The essential thing is the formation of the political will of the nation: that is the starting point for political action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-essential-thing-is-the-formation-of-the-political-will-of-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [In a long story format, you have to set a graph for your role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-grover/in-a-long-story-format-you-have-to-set-a-graph-for-your-role/) [Sunil Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-grover/) > [“The biggest shift was from a bar graph to a line graph. As we’ve discussed, line graphs typically make it easier to see trends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-nussbaumer-knaflic/the-biggest-shift-was-from-a-bar-graph-to-a-line-graph-as-we-ve/) [Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-nussbaumer-knaflic/) > [As an actor, you want to do different things. You don't want to do same kind of stuff. I like the characters I play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waheeda-rehman/as-an-actor-you-want-to-do-different-things-you-don-t-want-to-do-same/) [Waheeda Rehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waheeda-rehman/) > [Google created the intent graph. Facebook created the social graph. We are creating the emotional graph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-tewari/google-created-the-intent-graph-facebook-created-the-social-graph-we/) [Naveen Tewari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-tewari/) > [“The graph to success is not always straight ; it has curves and intersections .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osunsakin-adewale/the-graph-to-success-is-not-always-straight-it-has-curves-and/) [Osunsakin Adewale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osunsakin-adewale/) > [Facebook is the social graph with the organizing principle around your friends and your social life. LinkedIn is the professional graph, organized around you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rosensweig/facebook-is-the-social-graph-with-the-organizing-principle-around/) [Dan Rosensweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rosensweig/) > [You have to write your own story, your own graph and rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chunky-pandey/you-have-to-write-your-own-story-your-own-graph-and-rhythm/) [Chunky Pandey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chunky-pandey/) > [The origins of graph theory are humble, even frivolous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-l-biggs/the-origins-of-graph-theory-are-humble-even-frivolous/) [Norman L. Biggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-l-biggs/) ## More by David Mccandless > [Simplification seems to be the removal of objects for the goal of making a graphic as clean and uncluttered as possible. Whereas, with optimization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/simplification-seems-to-be-the-removal-of-objects-for-the-goal-of/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I have a computational quality to my mind, I suppose. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with video games. I reprogrammed games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-have-a-computational-quality-to-my-mind-i-suppose-when-i-was-a-kid/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I started moving into online work, and that exposed me to design and the impact it has on the flow, shape, and narrative of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-started-moving-into-online-work-and-that-exposed-me-to-design-and/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Personally, I find visualisations great for helping me understand the world and for sifting the huge amounts of information that deluge me every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/personally-i-find-visualisations-great-for-helping-me-understand-the/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [For years I thought I was just a writer, but when I sat down to design and started playing around with it, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/for-years-i-thought-i-was-just-a-writer-but-when-i-sat-down-to-design/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I love information. I want to stay current. I don't want to be under-informed. But I'm busy. Sometimes, I need an instant overview of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-love-information-i-want-to-stay-current-i-don-t-want-to-be-under/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Information design has been around since the 1970s. Pioneers like Yale University design guru Edward Tufte and design agency Pentagram have long known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/information-design-has-been-around-since-the-1970s-pioneers-like-yale/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Visualizing information is a form of knowledge compression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/visualizing-information-is-a-form-of-knowledge-compression/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I'm doing a lot of cognitive processing. I'm gathering research. I'm processing it. I'm arranging the data. I'm sorting out the narrative. I'm designing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-m-doing-a-lot-of-cognitive-processing-i-m-gathering-research-i-m/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Some of the commercial work I do is helping people to improve their presentations and add some design thinking. There are so many amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/some-of-the-commercial-work-i-do-is-helping-people-to-improve-their/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Over the years, online, we've laid down a huge amount of information and data, and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/over-the-years-online-we-ve-laid-down-a-huge-amount-of-information/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I've been working on a graphic about carbon emissions. It's an incredibly simple graphic - a bunch of blocks and a table below it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-ve-been-working-on-a-graphic-about-carbon-emissions-it-s-an/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I remember researching a really complicated article and having trouble keeping track of all the different perspectives. I ended up drawing a diagram to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-remember-researching-a-really-complicated-article-and-having/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [The classic one for me is one of my favorite images - left-versus-right political-spectrum image. I was trying to visualize the concepts on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/the-classic-one-for-me-is-one-of-my-favorite-images-left-versus-right/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [By visualizing information, we turn it into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes: a sort of information map. And when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/by-visualizing-information-we-turn-it-into-a-landscape-that-you-can/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) [Explore all 33 David Mccandless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) ## More Graph quotes > [You have to write your own story, your own graph and rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chunky-pandey/you-have-to-write-your-own-story-your-own-graph-and-rhythm/) [Chunky Pandey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chunky-pandey/) > [Facebook is the social graph with the organizing principle around your friends and your social life. LinkedIn is the professional graph, organized around you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rosensweig/facebook-is-the-social-graph-with-the-organizing-principle-around/) [Dan Rosensweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rosensweig/) > [“The graph to success is not always straight ; it has curves and intersections .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osunsakin-adewale/the-graph-to-success-is-not-always-straight-it-has-curves-and/) [Osunsakin Adewale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osunsakin-adewale/) > [“The biggest shift was from a bar graph to a line graph. As we’ve discussed, line graphs typically make it easier to see trends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-nussbaumer-knaflic/the-biggest-shift-was-from-a-bar-graph-to-a-line-graph-as-we-ve/) [Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-nussbaumer-knaflic/) > [In a long story format, you have to set a graph for your role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-grover/in-a-long-story-format-you-have-to-set-a-graph-for-your-role/) [Sunil Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-grover/) > [The origins of graph theory are humble, even frivolous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-l-biggs/the-origins-of-graph-theory-are-humble-even-frivolous/) [Norman L. Biggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-l-biggs/) > [As an actor, you want to do different things. You don't want to do same kind of stuff. I like the characters I play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waheeda-rehman/as-an-actor-you-want-to-do-different-things-you-don-t-want-to-do-same/) [Waheeda Rehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waheeda-rehman/) > [Google created the intent graph. Facebook created the social graph. We are creating the emotional graph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-tewari/google-created-the-intent-graph-facebook-created-the-social-graph-we/) [Naveen Tewari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-tewari/) > [Dad loved computer games, and I would sit beside him for hours with graph paper, drawing out plans to try and forecast the moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/dad-loved-computer-games-and-i-would-sit-beside-him-for-hours-with/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [The important graphs are the ones where some things are not connected to some other things. When the unenlightened ones try to be profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-important-graphs-are-the-ones-where-some-things-are-not-connected/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The most beautiful curve is a rising sales graph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-loewy/the-most-beautiful-curve-is-a-rising-sales-graph/) [Raymond Loewy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-loewy/) > [If you look at my career graph, I have always chosen roles that are performance-oriented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-pandit/if-you-look-at-my-career-graph-i-have-always-chosen-roles-that-are/) [Radhika Pandit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-pandit/) > [One third of the economy goes through 'QuickBooks' in terms of businesses invoicing other businesses. Each invoice contains a connection between vendors, suppliers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-patzer/one-third-of-the-economy-goes-through-quickbooks-in-terms-of/) [Aaron Patzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-patzer/) > [Mankind invented a system to cope with the fact that we are so intrinsically lousy at manipulating numbers. It's called the graph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/mankind-invented-a-system-to-cope-with-the-fact-that-we-are-so/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Data-intensive graph problems abound in the Life Science drug discovery and development process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/data-intensive-graph-problems-abound-in-the-life-science-drug/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) [Browse all 31 Graph quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graph/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We've seen it in the last U.S. presidential campaign 2016: both sides were trading graphs and circulating data visualizations to make their point. 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