2012 Presidential Candidate Position Chart

NOTE: SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR MORE CHARTS With the 2012 election rearing it's head, it won't be long before we start to see the candidates out and about trying to court your vote. It can be difficult access a candidate's position before they even announce to run , but with the 24 hour news media and constant internet access, it is now possible to weed through countless pages of information to determine some of the positions of the front runners.

In an attempt to get some early prospective, we have spent the last week looking at information and produced the following charts.

Methodology

This a confusing method of visualization. The issues and ratings should be consistent so that all of one kind of symbol means that a candidate is for or against the issue - like all green or all red.

Numbers work for this - negative numbers denoting opposition, positive numbers = support. Bigger numbers denote stronger support, e.g. sponsoring legislation gets a bigger number than just being in favor of something.

No, I complied to ratings as part of my thesis. I consider my self to be conservative.

Obama is a strong supporter of pro-choice, but he has not shown any signs of attempting to increase the scope of abortion. That is why is gets an “OK.” Please see the entire rating system and it is pretty explanatory.

Haha, If you like a decisive person haha. The intent of the project was not to make indecisive candidates look bad, but I guess that is one way of looking at it. But the blue does not have to be all bad, it means that the candidate is more likely to oppose the policy rather than support.

I dont understand your graph except that the BLUE triangle
with the "i" seems to mean the candidate is INSANE.
Obama, Romney and Paul are INSANE. Hmmmm.

BTW, you need a row for .... DOG and ANIMAL ABUSE.

"But the details of the event are more than unseemly — they may, in fact, be illegal.
Massachusetts's animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone
from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel
or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the
animal carried thereon." An officer for the Massachusetts Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to a description of the situation
saying "it's definitely something I'd want to check out." The officer,
Nadia Branca, declined to give a definitive opinion on whether Romney broke the law
but did note that it's against state law to have a dog in an open bed of a pick-up truck,
and "if the dog was being carried in a way that endangers it, that would be illegal."

"Dog on Roof? What Was It Like for Romney's Pooch?
Scientists Say Dog Likely Experienced Wind-Whipped, Uncomfortable Trip
"Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter,
in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack.
e'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog," read the article.
Jordan Kaplan, the owner of Petaholics, a dog walking service in New York City,
and a lifelong dog owner and dog lover, said Romney's actions were uncalled for.
....What Happens to a Dog on a Roof Traveling 50 MPH?"

"Romney's dog - This is a distinction Mitt Romney probably could do without, but he is surely
the first presidential candidate to be attacked for putting a dog with diarrhea
in a carrier and tying it to the top of a station wagon.
Romney's defense: Seamus liked it. "He scrambled up there every time we went on trips,"
the Republican said during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "He got in all by himself and enjoyed it."

"As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon,
keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble.
''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the back window,
payback from an Irish setter who'd been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.
As the rest of the boys joined in the howls of disgust,
Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station.
There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car,
then hopped back onto the highway."

"Story about dog on car roof comes back to bite Romney
Critics, jokesters make issue of tale
TIME.com's Swampland blog has been flooded with more than 200 comments
from readers complaining of animal cruelty"

Romney's bad behavior Exposed by Seamus

"Romney Loses Nomination Over Dog Abuse?
Romney was traveling that summer with his wife, five sons, and Seamus to his parent's cottage on Lake Huron.
But hours into the ride, Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea,
which ran down the back window of the car. Romney's sons, all under 13, howled in disgust.
Romney pulled off the road into a service station.
There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, and they drove on to Ontario.
.....David Kravitz wrote on BlueMassGroup, a liberal blog.
"It also strikes me as classic Romney: it solves a problem efficiently,
in a business-like manner, and with no regard whatsoever
for the suffering that the solution may cause."

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