HEALTH CARE

Barack Obama

• Would create a subsidized, voluntary National Health Plan for those without employer-based or existing coverage and are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP.
• Create the National Health Insurance Exchange to serve as a watchdog, mandating that applicants are not denied because of pre-existing conditions and that the benefits of the private plan are at least as generous as those of his new public plan.
• Proposal for a $6 billion in annual tax credits for small businesses that offer health insurance plans
• Obama also plans to invest $50 billion in information technology systems that, he says, will lower costs in the long-term, allow doctors to coordinate care, reduce medical errors, and better measure the quality of care.

John McCain

• All citizens would receive a flat tax credit ($5,000 for families, $2500 for individuals) and would be free to buy insurance from the provider they liked best, including from employers.
• By removing the tax break on employer-paid premiums, McCain would discourage people from receiving coverage through their employers -how most Americans currently get health insurance
• McCain has proposed working with state governments to develop a plan for covering most at risk patients, who number around 56 million, and who are often called "uninsurables"

IRAQ

Barack Obama

• Plans to begin the withdrawal of combat brigades from Iraq within the first 16 months. He would leave a residual force to protect diplomats, but it would not be permanent and does not want to establish a permanent base in Iraq. He also wants to spend $2 million in aid to Iraqi refugees and move more troops to Afghanistan.

John McCain

• opposes any timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, arguing that we must achieve victory. McCain says that he would not withdraw until Iraq is a stable democracy, implying that he would support U.S. engagement beyond then if violence continued. McCain would also support a permanent non-combat U.S. troop presence in Iraq, as long as Americans are not being injured or killed. But he has said that if the sovereign government of Iraq asks us to leave, we will leave.

ECONOMY

Barack Obama

• Obama plans to provide a tax cut for 150 million Americans and a tax credit for those making under $250,000. To jumpstart the economy Obama wants to enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills.
• The Obama-Biden relief plan will also include $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school re¬pair - all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.

John McCain

• Believes tax cuts will best strengthen the economy and wants tax cuts for businesses. McCain's economic stimulus proposal would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25% and give businesses tax cuts for research and development.
• McCain's main short-term economic proposal is to suspend the federal gas tax for the summer. He says that this would help give Americans some relief from gas prices and economic pressure.
• For unemployed workers over 55 years old who take new lower-paying jobs, McCain would offer benefits covering $10,000 of the gap between their new and old earnings

IMMIGRATION

Barack Obama

• Supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

John McCain

• Co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

FOREIGN POLICY

Barack Obama

• Opposed going to war in 2002. Supports timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Proposes to withdraw all combat brigades within his first sixteen months.
• Says he would send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan and would seek greater contributions -- with fewer restrictions -- from NATO allies. Proposes an additional $1 billion in nonmilitary assistance each year.
• Obama is willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe.
• Plans to work with Israelis and Palestinians to achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.
• Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran (who break the rules) will automatically face strong international sanctions.
• The international community must, over the Sudanese regime’s protests, deploy a large, capable, UN-led and UN-funded force with a robust enforcement mandate to stop the killings in Darfur.
• Proposes an increase in US involvement in the UN and NATO.

John McCain

• Supported going to war in 2002. Does not believe there should be a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
• Would send three additional brigades to Afghanistan and double the size of the Afghan army to 160,000 troops. Would apply the counter-insurgency technique being employed in Iraq to the Afghanistan conflict.
• Supports the use of pressure -- not talks -- to deal with the leaders of unfriendly nations.
• Supports the development and deployment of theater and national missile defense to reduce the possibility of strategic blackmail by rogue regimes and to secure our homeland from the prospect of missile attack by present or future adversaries.
• Believes we must enlarge the size of our armed forces to meet new challenges to our security.
• Says military action is an option in regards to Iran but would consult with congressional leaders before taking action. Supports economic sanctions on Iran.

ENERGY and the ENVIRONMENT

Barack Obama

• Plans to suspend purchasing oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and advocates a windfall profits tax on oil companies.Previously was against lifting federal government restrictions on offshore drilling, but appeared to modify his position in an August 1 statement that supported a bipartisan legislative effort that would expand offshore oil drilling. Part of the statement read: "I remain skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short-term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long-term, though I do welcome the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact.". Obama also opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Would consider constructing new nuclear plants.
• Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade plan.
• Supports subsidizing corn ethanol, clean coal research and renewable energy research.

John McCain

• Advocates suspending the purchase of foreign oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during periods of high prices to reduce demand.
• Believes the federal government should lift restrictions on offshore drilling and provide incentives to states permitting offshore exploration. McCain also opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Calls for building 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 with the goal of eventually constructing 100 plants.
• Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 60% below 1990 levels by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade plan.
• Proposed a $300 million dollar award for “the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.”

ABORTION/GAY MARRIAGE/STEM CELL RESEARCH

Barack Obama

• Preserve women’s rights under Roe v. Wade will be a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in that case.
• Supports pregnancy prevention through contraceptives and sexual education.
• Opposes constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and supports civil unions.
• Supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

John McCain

• Believes Roe v. Wade must be overturned.
• Believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman, and but opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He says individual states should decide the issue, and supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
• Supports pregnancy prevention through adoption and abstinence-only sexual education
• Supports federal funding for embryonic stem cell research on embryos that would otherwise be discarded or perpetually frozen.

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SOURCES: Vote Gopher, Barack Obama Campaign Website, John McCain Campaign Website