While both US presidential candidates acknowledge that science and innovation are key factors in the US economy, "the 2012 campaign has not yet seen a serious conversation emerge regarding the policies sorely needed to revitalize US innovation-based economic competitiveness," says a report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank.
ITIF conducted a comparison of policies put forth by both President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney, and concludes that "neither candidate nor political party gets it entirely right," later adding that "unfortunately, Republicans are all too often focused on limiting or denying government's contributions to bolstering US economic competitiveness, while Democrats often seem more interested in shackling rather than harnessing the power of American enterprise."
The group doesn't say whether Obama or Romney would be better for US innovation, ScienceInsider adds. "Ideally, you'd want a merged candidate," said ITIF President Robert Atkinson during a conference call, according to ScienceInsider.