Matt Stiles // The Daily Viz

As everyone knows by now, the U.S. Supreme Court today essentially upheld the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. I created a word tree to find specific words in the document and see how they fit in context with those around them. Here are phrases that begin with “federal power”:

Here are phrases that end with “federal power”:

Phrases that begin with “cost”:

And, finally, “tax”:

The tool allows you to select words and change the view by drilling down:

Check out the interactive version, and try out your own phrases.

From Huffington Post: 

Reports about January’s fundraising numbers, released on February 20, have focused on two narratives: Mitt Romney’s limited fundraising and high burn rate and the role that super PACs are playing in an increasingly contested Republican primary. HuffPost decided to combine those narratives together to make a graphic of candidate and super PAC fundraising and spending in January.

More analysis from the speech from The Advisory Board Company: 

Obama’s speech included just 44 words on health reform, far fewer than in his previous addresses. He said that the makeup of the overhaul—which he noted relies on a “reformed private market, not a government program”—is a sign that he is willing to work with Republicans.

The Washington Post does a nice job comparing this year’s State of the Union to President Obama’s previous annual speeches: 

President Obama devoted nearly half of his fourth annual address to Congress to the economy. A breakdown of the State of the Union and a look back at his previous three speeches.

Tonight President Obama gives his third “State of the Union” speech, an address that dates back to George Washington. Over time, the length and format of the speech has changed, according to the The American Presidency Project. 

Bubbles in this view are sized the represent the number of speeches given by each president, with colors representing format (purple = oral; green = written).

This shows the total number of words used during each president’s tenure in both formats. Teddy Roosevelt needed 174,000 to deliver his thoughts, leading all presidents. 

A better view is to look at the average number of words used, given that presidents have had varying term lengths over time. Jimmy Carter led all presidents, with an average of 33,000 words, though that’s skewed by one long written address as he left office.

Bill Clinton had the longest average oral speeches since 1966, at 1 hour and 14 minutes. Richard Nixon gave the shortest speeches, averaging about 35 minutes. 

View interactive version | Download data

Better news for the president? Perhaps, according to USA Today: 

Obama’s approval ratings are higher than his disapproval ratings for the first time since July, according to the latest Gallup Poll. About 47% of Americans approve of the way he is doing his job, while 45% disapprove of his performance. The three-day tracking poll was conducted Dec. 21-23.

Interactive version | Download data

An cool timeline from ProPublica: 

The chart below shows pardons granted per year from 1900-2011. Click on a bar to see the number of pardons granted and by which president. The timeline below the chart shows notable pardons.

Built with Timeline Setter.

While in Europe I missed this excellent interactive graphic by Alicia Parlapiano and Amanda Cox of The New York Times. It plots 2008 presidential election results by state with adult residents’ higher education rates: 

Some Democrats believe Ohio may no longer be crucial to a 2012 election victory. Instead, states like Colorado and Virginia, with more highly educated voters, may be the Democrats’ must-win states.

I found the graphic, btw, while reading a post by Matthew Ericson — who works with Parlapiano and Cox — in which he argues that maps aren’t always the most effective method for displaying geographic information.

More bad news for President Obama, via CBS News: 

As concerns about the struggling U.S. economy grow, a new CBS News/New York poll finds that President Obama’s overall approval rating has dropped to 43 percent, the lowest so far of his presidency in CBS News polling. In addition, his disapproval rating has reached an all-time high of 50 percent.

Gallup now has a approval rating tracker that allows you to compare presidents. Here’s how George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, fared at this point in their respective presidencies. The elder Bush dropped into Obama’s range and ultimately lost his re-election. Obama’s predecessor in the White House never sunk this low in the polls during his first term: 

Here’s the younger Bush’s full term compared to Obama thus far:

Here’s a comparison with Bill Clinton. This must offer the White House some hope: 

This one, too, perhaps. It’s Ronald Reagan’s approval: 

And, finally, Harry Truman: 

See larger, interactive version