VoteMatch for the 2012 Presidential Race

The chart below summarizes the presidential contenders' political orientation using a two-dimensional analysis (social scale and economic scale) instead of the usual mainstream media's one-dimensional analysis (right vs. left).

Presidential candidates: Rep. Michele Bachmann(R) is a Libertarian-Leaning Conservative V.P. Joe Biden(D) is a Populist-Leaning Liberal Rep. Newt Gingrich(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Gov. Jon Huntsman(R) is a Centrist Gov. Gary Johnson(L) is a Moderate Libertarian Pres. Barack Obama(D) is a Hard-Core Liberal Rep. Ron Paul(R) is a Conservative-Leaning Libertarian Gov. Rick Perry(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Gov. Buddy Roemer(R) is a Moderate Conservative Gov. Mitt Romney(R) is a Populist-Leaning Conservative Sen. Rick Santorum(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Jill Stein(G) is a Hard-Core Liberal

Withdrawn candidates: Herman Cain(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Secy. Hillary Clinton(D) is a Hard-Core Liberal Gov. Mike Huckabee(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Rep. Thad McCotter(R) is a Hard-Core Conservative Gov. Sarah Palin(R) is a Populist-Leaning Conservative Gov. Tim Pawlenty(R) is a Populist-Leaning Conservative

The VoteMatch quiz consists of 20 questions. The questions pertain to either economic issues (such as taxation and entitlements) or social issues (such as abortion and gay rights). Using the two-dimensional analysis differentiates five general classes of political beliefs: Libertarian: No government involvement in social issues No government involvement in economic issues Conservative: Government involvement in social issues No government involvement in economic issues Liberal: No government involvement in social issues Government involvement in economic issues Populist: Government involvement in social issues Government involvement in economic issues Centrist: Some government involvement in social issues Some government involvement in economic issues The chart above indicates the political beliefs of the major contenders in the 2012 presidential race. Every candidate -- every member of Congress, every Governor, every Supreme Court justice -- is scored using this same scale. You can answer the 20 questions yourself in our VoteMatch Quiz and compare your answers to the politicians'. We find this two-dimensional analysis to be more accurate in differentiating candidates than the traditional one-dimensional analysis. We don't claim that our method is perfect -- just superior to the simplistic "right-left" analysis by the mainstream media.