How have courts interpreted the meaning of political speech?

The subjective intent of the speaker cannot alone be determinative. Words derive their meaning from what the speaker intends and what the reader understands. A speaker may expressly advocate regardless of his intention, and our attempts to fathom his mental state would distract us unnecessarily from the speech itself. Interpreting political speech in this context is not the same as interpreting a contract, where subjective intent underlies the formation and construction of the contract and would be the explicit focus of interpretation were it not for the greater reliability of the objective terms. The intent behind political speech is less important than its effect for the purposes of this inquiry. But see Thomas v. Collins, 323 U.S. 516, 535, 65 S.Ct. 315, 325, 89 L.Ed. 430 (1945), quoted in Buckley, 424 U.S. at 43, 96 S.Ct. at 646.