"OFTEN- REPEATED"???

You may recall that GOP Sen. Thad Cochran said of a McCain presidency, "the thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine." That was in late January and Elisabeth Bumiller of the NY Times (5/8/2008) writes:

But the man plunged forward, sharing Mr. Cochran’s often-repeated words about Mr. McCain — “the thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine”

I didn't think this phrase has been often-repeated at all, at least not in the Press, and I checked Lexis-Nexis for that phrase in US Newspapers and Wires, last 6 months. Here are all 11 hits.:

Raising (Mc)Cain: Just how bad is the senator's temper, anyway?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 10, 2008 Sunday, @ISSUE; Pg. 1C, 267 words, Staff

Can McCain Control His Temper?
Investor's Business Daily, January 29, 2008 Tuesday, ISSUES & INSIGHTS; EDITORIALS; Pg. A12, 673 words

McCain not a favorite of all: Cochran: 'He's a friend' but not suited for presidency
The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), February 6, 2008 Wednesday, STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS, 731 words, Maria Recio, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Famed McCain temper is tamed Calmer side now on display
The Boston Globe, January 27, 2008 Sunday, NATIONAL; Pg. A14, 1186 words, Michael Kranish Globe Staff - Sasha Issenberg of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Cochran: McCain remarks 'ill-advised'
The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), March 8, 2008 Saturday, STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS, 460 words, Anita Lee, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Republican divisiveness could help Democrats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 7, 2008 Thursday, EDITORIAL; Pg. 22A, 667 words, JAY BOOKMAN; Staff

GOP Senators Reassess Views About McCain; His Old Foes Still Wary Of His Pugnacious Style
The Washington Post, February 4, 2008 Monday, A-SECTION; Pg. A01, 1390 words, Paul Kane; Washington Post Staff Writer

McCain Pushes Priorities That Resonate on the Right
The New York Times, May 8, 2008 Thursday, Section A; Column 0; National Desk; Pg. 34, 680 words, By ELISABETH BUMILLER

The Decisive Winner, by a Nose
The Washington Post, February 13, 2008 Wednesday, A-SECTION; Pg. A27, 916 words

BEYOND IDEOLOGY; Straight Talk About Candidate McCain & the Hard Right
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia), February 10, 2008 Sunday, EDITORIAL; Pg. F-3, 1007 words, Ross MacKenzie

MCCAIN; AND THEN THERE WERE TWO
THE HOTLINE, February 8, 2008 Friday, WHITE HOUSE 2008 -- THE REPUBLICANS, 2462 words

The point I'm trying to make is that Bumilller mis-reported the frequency with which that phrase has been repeated. As a comparison, I looked at how many times "bitter" and "Obama" appeared in the last 6 months. Lexis-Nexis returned exactly 1000 results.

Searching for "Wright" and "Obama" over the same time period, there were more than 3000 results, so many that Lexis-Nexis did not list them all and recommended that I narrow the search or look at what it considered the most relevant results. There were 995 in the latter category.