From a study by the National Taxpayer's Union Foundation (anyone have an idea as to how credible these guys are?):

-- Candidates proposed 189 items that would increase federal spending, 24 items that would decrease it, and 238 items whose budgetary impacts are unknown -- in addition to dozens of sub-items further detailing program components. The four frontrunners (John McCain, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama), proposed fiscal policy agendas whose net effect would raise annual federal outlays between $6.9 billion and $287.0 billion.

-- The top-tier GOP candidates often portrayed as "conservative" (Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee) called for larger spending hikes ($19.5 billion and $54.2 billion, respectively), than the so-called "moderate conservative" (John McCain, $6.9 billion).

-- Among Democrats, Barack Obama, often described as ideologically more "moderate" than Hillary Clinton, has the larger agenda of the two ($287.0 billion vs. $218.2 billion).

-- Defense-related spending items received the highest proposed increases among Republican candidates. (Huckabee offered $67.2 billion and Romney $40.6 billion, for example.) Among Democrats, Clinton's biggest boost goes toward health care ($113.6 billion) and Obama's for economy, transportation, and infrastructure ($105.0 billion).

-- Two candidates proposed sufficient spending cuts that more than offset new spending plans: Rudy Giuliani (-$1.4 billion) and Ron Paul (-$150.1 billion).

http://www.sunherald.com/447/v-print/story/335420.html