This is the first in the Manhattan Institute's new "Issues 2012" series. Follow our Election 2012 issues analysis on Twitter @ManhattanInst #MIIssues2012

Robert Bryce, National Review Online, February 22, 2012
At the very same time that the shale revolution is saving the economy hundreds of millions of dollars per day, directly creating tens of thousands of jobs, decreasing the need for foreign oil, and spurring growth in manufacturing that will lead to billions of dollars of new investment and still more jobs, the president is bashing the oil-and-gas sector. . .

A study released last week from the Empire Center for New York State Policy, authored by senior fellow E.J. McMahon and Michael Quint, highlights a popular retirement plan first authorized almost 50 years ago. "Optimal Option," focuses on a plan currently used by employees of the State University of New York (SUNY). The study discusses how it can be a model for a defined-contribution option that would be offered to all new state and local employees under Governor Andrew Cuomo's Tier VI pension reform proposal. . .
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E.J. McMahon discussed "Optimal Option" on the following shows:

YNN's "Capital Tonight" on 2-21-12
NY1's "News at 10" on 2-17-12

E.J. McMahon discussed "Optimal Option" on WOR AM 710's "The Governor David Paterson Show" on 2-21-12.

MORE MEDIA COVERAGE

He discussed the potential economic impact of the Keystone XL pipeline project on 2-21-12.

He will discuss his WSJ op-ed, "Medical Innovation: How the U.S. Can Retain Its Lead" and his new role as Project FDA's chairman, today at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Steven Malanga, PublicSectorInc.org, February 21, 2012
Few cities have as little control over their pension systems as Houston. The state legislature dictates benefits, and the pension funds are administered by a board composed of public employees who benefit from the system. City officials are not allowed access to any of the financial data about the system which might give them insight into how well the system is run, how high the benefits are, and how much projected costs might rise. . .

Heather Mac Donald, NRO's The Corner, February 21, 2012
Katie Roiphe's full-throated defense of single parenthood should not really come as a surprise, given the iron-clad grip of feminism and the related prerogatives of the sexual revolution on the elite worldview. This proud single mother and NYU journalism professor, who is definitely not "too poor to marry," is insulted by a New York Times article on. . .

MindingTheCampus.com, February 20, 2012
It's called "the Bennett Hypothesis," and it explains--or tries to explain--why the cost of college lies so tantalizingly out of reach for so many. In 1987, then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett launched a quarter century of debate by saying, in effect, "Federal aid doesn't help; colleges and universities just cream off the extra money by raising tuition." Now Andrew Gillen, research director of CCAP--the Center for College Affordability and Productivity--has tweaked the data and produced a sophisticated "2.0" version of the hypothesis. It's filled with heavy math, game theory and terms like "inelastic fairly vertical curves." You probably won't read it. We know. But it's important. So here are some smart people who have read it, and have something to say: Peter Wood, Hans Bader, Richard Vedder, George Leef and Herbert London. . .

Andrew Klavan, Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2012
I never met baseball Hall of Famer Gary "Kid" Carter, but his death last week from brain cancer at age 57 moved me deeply. Some 25 years ago, his life and his style of play spoke to me and inspired me in a moment of terrible need. . .