| Revision as of 15:26, 4 June 2008 editHaymaker (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers10,183 edits wow, who ever wrote this really did a disservice to neutrality← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:50, 4 June 2008 edit undoBerks911 (talk | contribs)131 edits →Foreign PolicyNext edit → | ||
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| |In a speech to ] on ], ], McCain said that "no American leader should be expected to sell a false peace to our ally, consider Israel's right to self-defense less legitimate than ours, or insist that Israel negotiate a political settlement while terrorism remains the Palestinians' preferred bargaining tool."<ref>John McCain, , ''The Wall Street Journal'', April 26, 2002</ref> | |In a speech to ] on ], ], McCain said that "no American leader should be expected to sell a false peace to our ally, consider Israel's right to self-defense less legitimate than ours, or insist that Israel negotiate a political settlement while terrorism remains the Palestinians' preferred bargaining tool."<ref>John McCain, , ''The Wall Street Journal'', April 26, 2002</ref> | ||
| |Referring to the ] in January 2006, Obama denounced ] while praising former Israeli Prime Minister ]. At a meeting with then Israeli Foreign Minister ] on the eve of ],<ref>BBC News. ], ]</ref> Obama stated that Sharon's role in the conflict had always been "absolutely important and constructive."<ref>Associated Press. ''Israel Insider'', ], ]</ref> | |Referring to the ] in January 2006, Obama denounced ] while praising former Israeli Prime Minister ]. At a meeting with then Israeli Foreign Minister ] on the eve of ],<ref>BBC News. ], ]</ref> Obama stated that Sharon's role in the conflict had always been "absolutely important and constructive."<ref>Associated Press. ''Israel Insider'', ], ]</ref> | ||
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| |McCain voted in favor of the ] in 1991.<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00274</ref> He voted to ratify the ] strategic arms limitation treaty in 1996.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=V788</ref> McCain voted against the ] in 1999.<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00325</ref> In March 2008, McCain said that United States should reduce its ] to encourage other nations to reduce their arsenals. | |McCain voted in favor of the ] in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|title=senate.gov|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00274}}</ref> He voted to ratify the ] strategic arms limitation treaty in 1996.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=V788</ref> McCain voted against the ] in 1999.<ref>http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00325</ref> In March 2008, McCain said that United States should reduce its ] to encourage other nations to reduce their arsenals. | ||
| |Obama has spoken out against ]. According to his campaign website, Obama will "crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the ]."<ref name="ObamaSiteNuclear">{{cite web |url=http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/#nuclear |title=Foreign Policy: Nuclear Weapons |accessdate=2008-05-24 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=BarackObama.com}}</ref> Obama has also vowed to stop the development of new American nuclear arms, pursuing an ultimate goal of "a world without nuclear weapons."<ref name="ObamaSiteNuclear"/> | |Obama has spoken out against ]. According to his campaign website, Obama will "crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the ]."<ref name="ObamaSiteNuclear">{{cite web |url=http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/#nuclear |title=Foreign Policy: Nuclear Weapons |accessdate=2008-05-24 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=BarackObama.com}}</ref> Obama has also vowed to stop the development of new American nuclear arms, pursuing an ultimate goal of "a world without nuclear weapons."<ref name="ObamaSiteNuclear"/> | ||
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Revision as of 17:50, 4 June 2008
This article compares the presidential candidates in the United States' 2008 presidential election. It does not cover previous elections.
The presumptive nominees of the 2008 election for the two major United States political parites are John McCain, the candidate supported by the Republican Party and Barack Obama, the candidate supported by the Democratic Party. In addition there are three minor party candidates.
Major Party Candidates
For detailed description of both of the candidates individual stances, visit the respective candidates articles: John McCain's political positions and Barack Obama's political positions.
Biographical Data
| John McCain | Barack Obama | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | Male |
| Age | 71 | 46 |
| Profession | US Senator, Naval aviator | US Senator, Attorney |
| Undergraduate education | United States Naval Academy | B.A. Occidental College/Columbia University (Political Science, International Relations) 1983 |
| Graduate education | J.D. Harvard Law (1991) | |
| States/Countries lived in | Arizona, Florida, Panama Canal Zone, Washington, DC | California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indonesia, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, DC |
| Last political office | Senate career of John McCain, 2001–present | US Senator (2005-present) |
| Senate committee memberships | Armed Services Committee, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Indian Affairs Committee | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Foreign Relations; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Veterans' Affairs |
| Other political experience | Congressman (1982-1986) | Illinois State Senator (1996-2004) |
| Management/Corporate experience | Business International Corporation in New York, NY (1984-1985); Community Organizer in Chicago, IL (1985-1988); Attorney at Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland (1993-2002) | |
| Teaching experience | Lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School (1993-2004) | |
| Armed Forces experience | None | |
| Net worth (with spouse) | $23–36 million (USD) | 1-3 million |
| Spouse | Cindy Hensley McCain (m. 1980) | Michelle Obama (married since 1992) |
| Spouse’s undergraduate education | University of Southern California | Princeton University |
| Spouse's graduate education | Harvard Law School | |
| Spouse’s profession | Philanthropist and Businessperson | Attorney, Executive |
Economic Issues
| John McCain | Barack Obama | |
|---|---|---|
| Free Trade | McCain is a strong proponent of free trade. He supports the NAFTA agreement, the existing GATT agreements, and U.S. participation in the World Trade Organization. He opposes tacking on labor and environmental conditions to trade agreements. | |
| Health Care | McCain is against publicly-funded health care, universal health care, or health coverage mandates, instead favoring tax credits of up to $5,000 for families that get health insurance. | Obama's health care plan includes implementing guaranteed eligibility for affordable health care for all Americans. He would provide mandatory health care insurance for children. |
| NASA | "The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years.""As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform Crew Exploration Vehicle to ensure that the United States' reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period." | |
| Taxation and Budget Deficit | While McCain has historically opposed tax cuts in favor of deficit reduction, he now favors tax cuts. He says that he would reduce government spending to make up for the tax cuts, but analysts say that his numbers don't add up and that the deficit would grow under his proposal. | Obama advocates responding to the "precarious budget situation" by eliminating "tax credits that have outlived their usefulness", closing corporate tax loopholes, and restoring the PAYGO policy that prohibits increases in federal spending without a way to compensate for the lost revenue. According to the National Taxpayers Union, Obama's proposed budget is estimated to increase spending by over $300 billion. |
| Social Security | In June 1999, McCain said "The only way to increase the yield on Social Security dollars is by allowing workers to make investment decisions for themselves; by empowering American families to invest, in most robust portfolios, a portion of their earnings for Social Security that they would otherwise pay in taxes to Social Security." In January 2000, he repeated his strong support for creating private Social Security accounts. | |
| Network Neutrality | McCain is against government regulation of network neutrality unless evidence of abuse exists. He is quoted as saying "let's see how this thing all turns out, rather than anticipate a problem that so far has not arisen in any significant way." Until such a time, he supports allowing network owners to control what sites consumers view, saying, in May 2007, "When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment". | |
| Lobbying | Obama has spoken out numerous times against the influence of lobbying in the United States.According to his website, if elected president, Obama would create an online database of lobbying reports, campaign finance filings and ethics records, and would create an independent watchdog agency to oversee congressional ethical violations. | |
| Transportation | McCain is opposed to federal funding of Amtrak. He considers it to be a "pork barrel project", particularly as far as longer distance trains are concerned.
He has also argued for more stringent safety standards with respect to cars. |
Foreign Policy
| John McCain | Barack Obama | |
|---|---|---|
| Arab-Israeli Conflict | In a speech to AIPAC on April 23, 2002, McCain said that "no American leader should be expected to sell a false peace to our ally, consider Israel's right to self-defense less legitimate than ours, or insist that Israel negotiate a political settlement while terrorism remains the Palestinians' preferred bargaining tool." | Referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in January 2006, Obama denounced Hamas while praising former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. At a meeting with then Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on the eve of Hamas' sweeping election victory, Obama stated that Sharon's role in the conflict had always been "absolutely important and constructive." |
| Iraq | In an interview with BBC's HARDtalk on March 6, 2008, Obama foreign policy adviser Samantha Power stated that Obama's pledge to "have all combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months" was a "best case scenario" that "he will revisit when he becomes president." She continued, saying that "what we can take seriously is that he will try to get US forces out of Iraq as quickly and responsibly as possible." | |
| Iran | Speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on 2 March, 2007, Obama stated that he regards Iran's government as "a threat to all of us," stating that the US "should take no option, including military action, off the table. Sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions should be our primary means to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons." | |
| Darfur | In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran. | |
| Nuclear Weapons | McCain voted in favor of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction in 1991. He voted to ratify the START II strategic arms limitation treaty in 1996. McCain voted against the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1999. In March 2008, McCain said that United States should reduce its nuclear arsenal to encourage other nations to reduce their arsenals. | Obama has spoken out against nuclear proliferation. According to his campaign website, Obama will "crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." Obama has also vowed to stop the development of new American nuclear arms, pursuing an ultimate goal of "a world without nuclear weapons." |
| North Korea | In October 2006, McCain said the he believed the former President Bill Clinton and his administration were to blame for the North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. He said that the U.S. had "concluded an unenforceable and untransparent agreement", allowing North Korea to keep plutonium rods in a reactor. | |
| Pakistan | McCain maintains a relatively moderate stance concerning Pakistan, although he has recognized the South Asian nation as an important part of US Foreign Policy. In the aftermath of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination (in December 2007) McCain appeared to rule out the option of US forces entering Pakistan, saying that it was not an appropriate time to "threaten" Pakistan. | On August 1, 2007 Obama declared in a foreign policy speech that the United States must be willing to strike al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, with or without the consent of the Pakistani government. He claimed that if elected, "If we have actionable intelligence about high value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will". |
| Extrajudical Prisioners | In October 2005, McCain, a former POW, introduced the McCain Detainee Amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill for 2005. That month, the U.S. Senate voted 90-9 to support the amendment.In October 2007, McCain said of waterboarding that, "They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture." However, in February 2008 he voted against HR 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, which included provisions that would have prevented the CIA from waterboarding prisoners. |
Social Issues
| John McCain | Barack Obama | |
|---|---|---|
| Environment | McCain's stances on global warming and other environmental issues have often put him at odds with the Bush administration and other Republicans. For example, he has generally opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.McCain opposes ethanol subsidies. In 2000, he skipped most of the Iowa caucuses, in large part because his opposition to ethanol was a nonstarter in a state where making corn into fuel is a big and lucrative business. | Obama takes global warming very seriously and he has said that it must be addressed. He has a record of supporting environmentally friendly bills. He has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 by creating a market-based cap-and-trade system.Obama also has plans for improving air and water quality through reduced carbon emissions. |
| Energy | McCain gave a major speech on his energy policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies He connected energy independence with national security, climate change, and the environment. McCain proposed increasing ethanol imports and moving from exploration to production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. He said that US dependence on foreign oil is "a major strategic vulnerability, a serious threat to our security, our economy and the well being of our planet." He is co-sponsor of a Senate cap-and-trade bill designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and is seen as a bipartisan leader on the issue. | |
| LGBT Issues | In 2004, McCain voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, arguing that each state should be able to choose whether to recognize same-sex marriage. He supported the failed 2006 Arizona initiative to ban gay marriage. | Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment which would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman, but personally believes that marriage is defined as a religious bond between a man and a woman. He supports civil unions that would carry equal legal standing to that of marriage for same-sex couples, but believes that decisions about the title of marriage should be left to the states. He has called for the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. |
| Abortion | In 1999, McCain said of Roe v. Wade, "I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to illegal and dangerous operations." | In his write-in response to a 1998 survey, Obama stated his abortion position as: "Abortions should be legally available in accordance with Roe v. Wade." While serving in the Illinois Senate, Obama received a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council for his support of abortion rights, family planning services, and requiring health insurance coverage for female contraceptives. |
| Gun Control | McCain has received fair to poor ratings on gun issues from the National Rifle Association, garnering a C+. According to a review by Gun Owners of America (GOA), "...in 2001, McCain went from being a supporter of anti-gun bills to being a lead sponsor" in toward restrictions on the free speech of pro-Second Amendment organizations. McCain's GOA rating is F-. | Obama is rated F by the National Rifle Association. The NRA describes the recipient of its F grade as a "true enemy of gun owners’ rights." He is also rated F by Gun Owners of America who stated that Obama will "Get the Dems 'Barack' into the Business of Gun Control". |
| Death Penalty | Obama believes the death penalty is used too frequently and inconsistently. However, he favors it for cases in which "the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage." | |
| Immigration | McCain has promoted the legislation and eventually the granting of citizenship to the estimated 12–20 million illegal aliens in the United States and the creation of an additional guest worker program with an option for permanent immigration. In his bid for the 2000 Presidential nomination, McCain supported expansion of the H-1B visa program, a temporary visa for skilled workers. In 2005, he co-sponsored a bill with Ted Kennedy that would expand use of guest worker visas. | Obama supports a guest worker program. Obama has said that he "will not support any bill that does not provide earned path to citizenship for the undocumented population." |
| Stem Cell Research | McCain is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports embryonic stem cell research despite his earlier opposition. He states that he believes that stem cell research, and indeed embryonic stem cell research, will continue whether or not the U.S. sanctions it, and so it would be the wisest course of action to support it to the extent that the United States will be able to regulate and monitor the use. | Obama supports embryonic stem cell research and was a co-sponsor of the 2005 Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act which was passed by both houses of Congress but vetoed by President George W. Bush. |
| Education | McCain supports the use of school vouchers. In 2006 he said, "Should be taught as a science class? Probably not."On July 29, 2007, McCain voted against increasing federal student loans and Pell grants and expanding eligibility for financial aid. | During an October 2004 debate, Obama stated that he opposed education vouchers for use at private schools because he believes they would undermine public schools.
In a July 2007 address to the National Education Association, Obama supported merit pay for teachers, to be based on standards to be developed "with teachers." Obama also called for higher pay for teachers. |
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U.S. SENATE (D) BARACK OBAMA F
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True enemy of gun owners' rights. A vehement anti-gun candidate who always opposes gun owners' rights and/or actively leads anti-gun legislative efforts, or sponsors anti-gun legislation.
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