The magazine was published approximately eight times per year. In addition to the content published in its print version, the magazine's Web site included articles and opinion pieces published under the name TAE Daily.
Combining several American Enterprise Institute (AEI) publications, TAE was founded by Karlyn Bowman, then known as Karlyn Keene, in 1990. The AEI Economist became the new magazine's "The Washington Economist" column, written by Herbert Stein. Bowman and Everett Carll Ladd compiled "Public Opinion and Demographic Report," a twenty-four page selection of polling data that offered a condensed version of Public Opinion. TAE's second editor, from 1995 to 2006, was Karl Zinsmeister. When he left to join the Bush White House, the magazine was shuttered. It was replaced in 2006 by a new publication, The American.