Rise in Healthcare Statements over 30 Days (Left Chart)
Sentiment Analysis of Statements over Same 30 Days (Right Chart)
The chart on the left shows the percentage of healthcare statements in March. The chart on the right shows the percentage of sentiment distribution of the healthcare topic for this same time period.
The percent of statements on the issue of Healthcare increased from 0% to 22% in March, with the steepest increase of 20% occurring between March 17th and March 29th (See chart to the left below). Obama’s healthcare law being argued in the Supreme Court starting the week of March 26 caused a spillover into Election 2012 coverage. Both Obama and Romney received the brunt of negative coverage on this topic in equal parts as shown in the chart to the right below. The data shows Obama received 18.4% of the negative statements with Romney close behind at 17% of the statements. Romney received criticism for flip-flopping on the issue and formerly creating a healthcare law in Massachusetts similar in nature to Obama’s “Obamacare”.
