Methodology

     The Business & Media Institute determined the five major “America 2012” economic policy issues – carbon cap-and-trade, earmarks, ethanol, health care and taxes – based on input from its Board of Advisers and other economists and experts. 

     BMI clarified the candidates’ positions on the chosen issues based on their campaign Web sites, public statements and voting history in the Senate. BMI looked at the broadcast networks’ – ABC, CBS and NBC – coverage of the five major issues between Jan. 1, 2008, and Sept. 31, 2008, including the end of the primary season through much of the general election campaign. Earlier media coverage was excluded from numerical analyses but referenced in some reports to provide historical context.  

     BMI sought input from several of its advisers for expert analysis of the candidates’ proposals, conducting telephone and in-person interviews covering all five topics. Policy experts included National Taxpayers Union President Duane Parde and Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner. Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and Dr. Donald Boudreaux, a professor of economics at George Mason University, contributed to the report.