Voter Guide: Where presidential candidates stand on issues

This summary of  presidential candidates Sen. John McCain's and Sen. Barack Obama's stands on issues was compiled by Virginian-Pilot editors for The Pilot's 2008 Voter Guide, published in The Virginian-Pilot on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008. For a condensed comparison, see this page.

JOHN McCAIN

Sen. John McCain, who voted in favor of the $700 billion Wall Street economic recovery legislation, has proposed that the government use part of that money to buy up troubled mortgages and refinance them, giving those homeowners another chance at solvency.

His economic proposal includes spending up to $300 billion to purchase troubled mortgages directly from financial institutions and replace them with fixed-rate, government-guaranteed mortgages at the homes’ reduced values.

His long-term tax proposal would extend most of President Bush’s tax cuts for individual taxpayers that otherwise would expire after 2010 and increase deductions for taxpayers with dependents. For individuals and families, McCain wants to double the tax exemption for dependents (from $3,500 to $7,000) and fix the Alternative Minimum Tax so that it applies only to upper-income earners. For businesses, McCain wants to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and he would give a new tax credit of 10 percent of all wages spent on research and development. McCain would not eliminate the estate tax entirely, but he would cut it dramatically (from 45 percent to 15 percent) and apply it only to estates worth more than $5 million.

He plans to cut the capital gains and dividend tax rate, and allow immediate deductions for businesses that invest in certain capital equipment.

McCain wants to allow seniors to delay mandatory annual withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s. “Current rules mandate that investors must begin to sell off their 401(k)s when they reach age 70½,” he said. “To spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time the market is hurting the most, those rules should be suspended.”

His plan would also allow people 59 and older who withdraw money from Individual Retirement Accounts or 401(k) retirement plans in 2008 and 2009 to pay an income tax rate of 10 percent – instead of the usual higher rates – on the first $50,000 withdrawn each year. There would be no penalty for such withdrawals.

Some specific cuts McCain has proposed include vetoing any bill containing earmarks, mounting a review of all government agencies for unnecessary spending, and cutting agricultural and ethanol subsidies. He wants to stop all increases in domestic discretionary spending for one year. His campaign also says that winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will let McCain use those hundreds of billions of dollars to pay down the deficit. He would try to create a constitutional line-item veto that the president could use to eliminate individual spending items.

On farm subsidies, McCain is a vocal opponent of those “not based on clear need.” He opposed the 2008 farm bill, saying that it would distort the global price of food and that too much of its subsidies went to wealthy farmers.

BARACK OBAMA

Sen. Barack Obama voted to approve the $700 billion Wall Street economic recovery legislation and proposes a set of tax cuts for individuals and businesses to help cope with the economic crisis.

He would enact a 90-day moratorium on most home foreclosures, requiring financial institutions that take government help to agree not to act against homeowners who are trying to make payments, even if they’re not in the full amounts. 

He would immediately cut taxes ($500 for individuals, $1,000 for families) for households making less than $250,000, and for retired senior citizens making up to $50,000. He would extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits. In 2009 and 2010, he would give businesses a $3,000 income tax credit for each new employee they hire above their current work force. He would keep the small-business investment expensing limit at $250,000 through the end of 2009 (set to expire at the end of 2008).

Obama would allow seniors to delay mandatory annual withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s. Exempt withdrawals could be made up to the required minimum amount from taxation. He would allow savers to withdraw 15 percent, up to a maximum of $10,000, without paying a penalty as the law now requires for withdrawals before age 59½. 

He says he would call on the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to create a mechanism to lend money to cities and states with fiscal problems, and to expand the government guarantees for financial institutions to encourage a return to more normal lending. He would give $25 billion to states and local governments “to provide essential services” without “raising taxes.” 

Obama plans to increase the taxes of individuals and families earning more than about $200,000 a year. He wants to repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for households making more than $250,000 a year (raising the tax rate on the top income bracket to 39 percent from 35 percent). He would increase the tax rate on capital gains to 20 percent from 15 percent, only for people in that highest income tax bracket, and he would close the “carried interest loophole” so that salaries of hedge fund and private equity firm managers would be subject to income taxes. He has pledged to crack down on offshore tax havens. 

For workers, he wants to create a “Making Work Pay” tax credit for everyone earning less than $150,000 a year. For homeowners, he wants to create a mortgage tax credit of 10 percent on interest payments. For students, Obama would provide a yearly tax credit to fund the first $4,000 of college tuition if the student completes 100 hours of community service that year. For low-income parents, he would have a tax credit for 50 percent of their child care expenses.

For businesses, Obama has suggested he would reduce the corporate tax rate if some loopholes and targeted breaks for corporations were closed, and also pledges to eliminate the capital gains tax for startup companies. On the estate tax, Obama would exempt all individual estates worth less than $3.5 million and keep the top rate at 45 percent.

On farm subsidies, Obama voted for the 2008 farm bill that contains several billion dollars of such subsidies each year. He said the bill was good overall because it provided farmers with more support, but he said the subsidies should have been limited to smaller farms.

McCAIN

McCain voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq and continues to support the war. He has consistently argued that more troops were needed and supported the recent surge in troop levels. Those increases are making a difference in American efforts, he said. He has opposed setting a timetable for troop withdrawal, saying it would embolden America’s enemies. He has projected that he would have most U.S. forces out of Iraq by 2013.

McCain wrote on his campaign Web site that the best way to secure long-term peace and security is to make certain Iraq is a “stable, prosperous democratic state … that poses no threat to its neighbors and contributes to the defeat of terrorists. When Iraqi forces can safeguard their own country, American troops can return home.”

A speech in May gave details. “The following are conditions I intend to achieve,” he said. “By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won. … The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role.” 

McCain has called for sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan. He has proposed deploying three new brigades and doubling the Afghan armed forces. He said the plan is based on President Bush’s escalation of troops in Iraq. “It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan,” McCain said. When asked in July where troops for Afghanistan would come from, McCain said it would involve “greater participation from our NATO allies.”

McCain has said success in Afghanistan is critical to stopping al-Qaida and, to that end, the United States must work with Pakistan to stamp out extremist-run training camps inside Pakistan. To head off “Talibanization,” he favors a long-term commitment to Pakistan, including boosting its security capacity “against insurgent safe havens.” McCain said he wants to get children out of extremist madrassas and “into schools.” He would not at this time cut off aid. “We’ve got to get the support of the people.” He said he opposes a unilateral strike into Pakistan, or at least announcing it ahead of time: “If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government.”

OBAMA

Obama has opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and criticized Congress in 2002 for passing the resolution that authorized President Bush to invade the country. “I am not opposed to all wars, I am opposed to dumb wars,” he said in a 2002 speech.

He has opposed increasing the size of American forces, including the recent surge. If elected, Obama said, he will give his secretary of defense and military commanders “a new mission in Iraq: ending the war.”

“Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of one to two brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began,” he said on his Web site.

He proposes keeping a small force in Iraq for counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida and to protect nonmilitary U.S. personnel. 

Obama argues that withdrawal from Iraq will allow the United States to commit more forces to Afghanistan, where he wants to send thousands more troops.

“The decision to invade Iraq diverted resources from the war in Afghanistan, making it harder for us to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden and others involved in the 9/11 attacks. Nearly seven years later, the Taliban has re-emerged in southern Afghanistan while al-Qaida has used the space provided by the Iraq war to regroup, train and plan for another attack on the United States.”

Obama has said he would be willing to attack al-Qaida inside Pakistan without Pakistani approval. He said Pakistan would have to close down al-Qaida training camps and drive out the Taliban to continue receiving U.S. military aid.

McCAIN

McCain said the United States needs to increase the size of all branches of its military, paying particular attention to enlarging the Army and Marine Corps.

“For too long, we have asked too much of too few – with the result that many service personnel are on their second, third and even fourth tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. There can be no higher defense priority than the proper compensation, training and equipping of our troops,” he said. “The size and composition of our armed forces must be matched to our nation’s defense requirements.”

The armed forces also need to adjust their training, he said. “The missions of the 21st century will not center on traditional territorial defense or mass armor engagements. Instead, the men and women of the U.S. armed forces will be engaged in, among other things, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, missile defense, counterproliferation and information warfare. This calls not just for a larger and more capable military, but for a new mix of military forces, including civil affairs, special operations, and highly mobile forces capable of fighting and prevailing in the conflicts America faces.”

He stresses the need for a strong missile defense. The United States “must continue to deploy a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent, robust missile defenses and superior conventional forces that are capable of defending the United States and our allies.”

McCain favors stronger health benefits for veterans. He proposed that each veteran be given a Veterans Care Access Card so that someone with an injury or illness incurred during military service has the option of free treatment at a local private hospital if Department of Veterans Affairs services are not available because of distance or lack of specialty. He supports housing programs for seriously mentally ill veterans; further studies on the effects of Agent Orange and disability benefits for veterans with Agent Orange-related health problems; providing veterans with hospice benefits; and a demonstration project to send mobile health centers to remote locations where veterans need care.

He wants to allow military retirees to remain eligible for CHAMPUS or TRICARE military health care programs even when they reach 65 and are eligible for Medicare. He supports giving military retirees tax breaks to help pay health insurance premiums.

OBAMA

Obama supports increasing the size of the Army by 65,000 soldiers and the Marines by 27,000 troops. Less than 1 percent of the military can speak foreign languages such as Arabic, Mandarin or Korean, he said, calling for additional training and recruitment to address the problem.

“We must build up our special operations forces, civil affairs, information operations, and other units and capabilities that remain in chronic short supply; invest in foreign language training, cultural awareness, and human intelligence and other needed counterinsurgency and stabilization skill sets; and create a more robust capacity to train, equip, and advise foreign security forces, so that local allies are better prepared to confront mutual threats.”

He proposes more investment in advanced technology ranging from “unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to essential systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft.”

“We must recapitalize our naval forces, replacing aging ships and modernizing existing platforms, while adapting them to the 21st century,” he said.

With regard to missile defense, Obama said Americans must be protected from threats posed by nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. With Iran moving forward with its own programs, it would be irresponsible, he said, not to explore the possibility of deploying missile defense systems in Europe to help protect against this threat. Such systems should be deployed, however, only if based on sound technology that works.

Obama proposes to fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs “so it has all the resources it needs to serve the veterans who need it, when they need it.” He said he wants to expand and strengthen Vet Centers that provide counseling for mental health care, sexual trauma, substance abuse, employment assistance, VA claims and benefits information. He wants to establish standards of care for traumatic brain injury, require pre- and post-deployment screenings and improve case management. He wants to halt the military’s practice of discharging service members for having a service-connected psychological injury.

View of the world

McCain

McCain, like Obama, generally rejects unilateralism. He would emphasize give-and-take with allies; “Today, as in the past, our interests are inextricably linked to the global progress of our ideals,” McCain said. He said he believes that the United States exists “not simply to safeguard the prosperity and safety of those who live in it but also to spread democratic values and human rights to other parts of the planet,” a New York Times reporter wrote.

He rejects torture and says the United States must obey international human rights treaties it has ratified. He said the United States and its democratic allies must build “a new global order of peace”; he would work during his first year to establish a League of Democracies, excluding Russia and China, to systematically effect democratic change that NATO does not and that Russia and China have helped prevent in the United Nations – and to impose “painful” sanctions on Iran. He called the threat of radical Islamic terrorism “the transcendent challenge of our time” but said “the war on terror cannot be the only organizing principle of American foreign policy”; he said terrorists reflect an ages-old “struggle between the future and the past, between progress and reaction, and between liberty and despotism.” He sees foreign aid as key to U.S. security, addressing poverty, AIDS, malaria, government corruption and other issues.

OBAMA

Obama, like McCain, generally rejects unilateralism. Obama said: “Not talking (to leaders we don’t like) … makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership.” He said the United States should regain its place as a global leader through, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, “skillful diplomacy, a revitalized military, and by confronting nuclear proliferation,” which he calls “the most urgent threat to the security of America and the world.” A core principle is that “the security of the American people is inextricably linked to the security of all people.”

He would expand the presence worldwide of diplomats, development experts and others to work alongside the military in places threatened by extremism; help weak states build “independent judicial systems, honest police forces,” and transparent and accountable financial systems.

He sees development as a strategic imperative, so he would double annual foreign aid to $50 billion by 2012, including the U.N. goal to halve extreme poverty by 2015. He would fight poverty and “expand prosperity” with sustainable debt relief, seed capital and technical aid, and with reforms to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. He would spend $50 billion across five years to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide. He’d use trade agreements to boost U.S. economic security and “good labor and environmental standards” in other nations.

U.S. role in the world

McCAIN

McCain said the United States can no longer rely on strongmen such as the shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, the Saudi royal family and Pakistan’s generals to provide stability in the Middle East. “It is the democracies of the world that will provide the pillars upon which we can and must build an enduring peace.”

He’s long been chairman of the International Republican Institute, which promotes democratic reforms in closed societies, and he meets with dissidents in repressive societies. He said foreign aid should foster good governance.

OBAMA

Obama supports the promotion of democracy but tends not to frame his foreign policy around it, said the Council on Foreign Relations. Obama said that the United States benefits from expansion of democracy and that democratic countries are “our best trading partners, our most valuable allies and the nations with which we share our deepest values.” Rather than focus on elections and other classic forms of political rights, he said, “We have to be focused on what are the aspirations of the people in those countries. Once those aspirations are met, it opens up space for the kind of democratic regimes that we want.”

He’s said the United States should advance democracy by setting an example; by banning torture and extraordinary rendition; and by closing the prison at Guantanamo. He would “significantly increase” funding for nongovernmental groups to support “civic activists in repressive societies” and would start a Rapid Response Fund to help fledgling democracies and postwar societies. He said democracies can better fight terrorism, stop weapons proliferation and deal with public health crises; so besides doubling foreign aid, he would demand reform of corrupt governments and fund a $2 billion Global Education Fund to ensure educated citizens who can support democracy.

Rogue states

McCAIN

In 2000, McCain stated a policy of “rogue state rollback” against “countries that continue to try to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them,” saying “I would arm, train, equip, both from without and from within, forces that would eventually overthrow the governments and install free and democratically elected governments.” He now articulates a more diplomatic approach, employing pressure with allies, but not ruling out force. He would not meet with leaders of rogue states.

OBAMA

Obama says diplomacy provides an opportunity to push directly and exhaust possibilities. He’s said he favors unconditional direct talks with leaders of rogue states, later adding that such a position would depend on groundwork laid by lower-level officials indicating that top-level talks would be fruitful.

Europe, the U.N. and NATO

McCAIN

McCain said he wants to revitalize the partnership with Europe and said Russia is not an ally. He has long viewed leader Vladimir Putin and Russia as bullying. Since 2005, he has said Russia should be ousted from the Group of 8 industrialized democracies (replaced with Brazil and India).

He said NATO’s future lies in resisting the Russian danger, tackling “a common energy policy,” a common market, formal cooperation on climate change, foreign aid and promotion of democracy. He sides with NATO members that want to put the Ukraine and Georgia on a path to membership. He said the United Nations must be reformed, though in 2004 he said the United States should continue financial support and contribute peacekeepers.

OBAMA

Obama would push for democracy, transparency and accountability in Russia. After the Russia/Georgia military clash in August, he called for international mediation and peacekeepers. He praised Bush’s $1 billion in aid for Georgia and the EU’s diplomatic actions. He hinted that Russia was risking entry into the World Trade Organization.

Obama would rally NATO members to contribute troops and money to operations, streamline decision-making and boost flexibility for commanders in the field. He sides with NATO members that want to put the Ukraine and Georgia on the path to membership.

He wants U.N. reforms and opposed Bush’s nomination of John Bolton as ambassador, saying countries opposing reform would use Bolton’s opposition to the U.N.’s existence as a shield. He said that the U.N. should be key in crises such as Darfur and that the U.N. should help bring peace to Iraq and convene a constitutional convention for it. He’s advocated a U.N. role in establishing war crimes investigations there.

Middle East

McCAIN

McCain said “America’s unequivocal support for Israel … is the best guarantor of peace in the Middle East.” Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he favors a two-state solution – one Jewish, one Palestinian. He favors Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital but says the status depends on negotiations. He said he is committed to pursuing the peace process, but said the U.S. can’t force success between unwilling parties. He said Israel should make its own decisions free of U.S. pressure and said he wants no peace process until Palestinians recognize Israel, forbid violence “forever,” honor previous agreements and reform institutions. He would “further isolate” Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah.

McCain said pressuring Iran, with approaches including sanctions such as halting loans, would be a central function of his League of Democracies. He opposes unconditional diplomacy, has spoken out against meeting with Iran’s president and would keep the military option on the table but consult with leaders of Congress. He’d use force against Iran if it gets a nuclear weapon and becomes a “real threat” to Israel.

OBAMA

Obama said the “first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel.” He favors a two-state solution – one Jewish, one Palestinian. He views Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but said he thinks that “it needs to be left up to the two parties.” He’d convene a forum in the Mideast with regional heads of state shortly after being elected. He would not talk with Hamas and Hezbollah but would “strengthen … Palestinian moderates” and negotiate directly with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama said he favors presidential diplomacy “without preconditions” to pressure Iran directly on its nuclear ambitions. Initially, he said talks would not depend on suspension of uranium enrichment but later qualified his comments to indicate a need for lower-level preparatory talks. If talks fail, he would increase economic pressure – including divestiture of private pension plans – and political isolation with international cooperation. The military option is on the table. “We cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran.”

China

McCAIN

McCain said China is not an ally. He favors a policy to hedge against its growing influence – not an effort to oppose China’s emergence as an influential power but rather to maintain a military in East Asia, strengthen the alliance with Japan and relations with other Asian nations, and to work through various groups to “further American interests and values.”

OBAMA

Obama sees China as a competitor, not an enemy or friend, but said the United States should have enough contact with China to be able to stabilize the region. He’d “forge a more effective regional framework in Asia,” building on existing relationships.

Africa

McCAIN

McCain said the United States must strongly engage with friendly governments, “insist on improvements in transparency and the rule of law” and employ his new League of Democracies to help with humanitarian crises. He’d seek to eradicate malaria, “the No. 1 killer of children under age 5” in Africa. He condemned Sudan for the Darfur genocide and demanded that Sudan follow the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. He’s favored a NATO-enforced no-fly zone and international sanctions and said he would “consider … all elements of American power” to stop the genocide.

OBAMA

Obama “has been particularly vocal” on Africa policy, said the Council on Foreign Relations. He wants more public health efforts, new initiatives to provide agricultural aid, access to low-carbon energy technology for development, and access to U.S. markets. He condemned Sudan for the Darfur genocide and demanded that Sudan follow the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. He favored the no-fly zone and says he would stop the genocide.

The Americas

McCAIN

McCain said “U.S. inattention has harmed our relationships” in the hemisphere. He would work to counter “demagogues” such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. He said economic development, free trade and a better flow of goods and services are a keyto free, democratic societies. Mexico, Brazil and other “great democratic Latin American nations” would have “a strong voice” in his League of Democracies – “a voice they are denied in the U.N. Security Council.” NAFTA is “one of the best things that happened to the United States”; free trade is a key to economic development, which in turn “means free societies.” In Cuba, the U.S. should provide “material assistance and moral support” to Cubans who oppose the Castro regime. After Fidel Castro dies, he favors offering trade, aid and economic development as well as help with democratization.

OBAMA

Obama said he would rebuild diplomatic links, “increase support for the building blocks of durable democracies” in the hemisphere, such as independent judiciaries, the rule of law and honest police forces. He would create a “hemispheric security initiative” fostering cooperation among nations against violence and trafficking. He has said he would unilaterally seek to end NAFTA if Mexico and Canada do not agree to renegotiate aspects that hurt U.S. workers. He would allow unlimited family travel to Cuba and “remittances” to people there. After Fidel Castro dies, he would take steps to normalize relations and ease the embargo if Cuba “takes significant steps toward democracy, beginning with freeing all political prisoners.”

North Korea

McCAIN

McCain described North Korea as the main security challenge in Asia. In May, he called for a return to President Bush’s original demand for a complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament of North Korea’s nuclear programs. He said, “Future talks must take into account North Korea’s ballistic missile programs, its abduction of Japanese citizens, and its support for terrorism and proliferation.”

OBAMA

In May 2005, Obama said North Korea is one of the “biggest proliferation challenges we currently face.” He favors strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty so countries like North Korea “that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions.” He favors an international coalition to defuse North Korean and Iranian nuclear threats. And he supports “sustained, direct and aggressive diplomacy.”

McCAIN

McCain favors charter schools, home schooling, voucher systems – when approved by local officials – and giving parents tax credits to help pay for private schools. “We need to reward good teachers and find bad teachers another line of work,” he has said. He voted for the federal No Child Left Behind legislation but said it is only the beginning of education reform. He said there are problems with the NCLB law, particularly when it comes to testing students with disabilities and non-English-speaking students, but he wants to improve it, not discard it.

He wants to expand virtual learning in part by targeting $500 million in current federal funds to build virtual schools and develop online courses.

McCain generally backs greater federal funding of Pell Grants and government low-interest loans to help students afford college.

OBAMA

Obama wants to ensure access to high-quality early childhood education and child care. He said he wants to recruit and reward well-qualified and accomplished teachers, and make science and math education a national priority. He said the overall goal of the No Child Left Behind law “is the right one … but the law has significant flaws that need to be addressed.”

Under NCLB, “we have spent too much time preparing students for tests that do not provide any valuable, timely feedback on how to improve a student’s learning. We need tests and measurements, but we should ensure that they are useful to improve student learning.” He proposes investing $10 billion a year to increase the number of children eligible for Early Head Start, increase access to preschool, and provide affordable and quality child care. He wants to increase the tax credit for child and dependent care. He proposes scholarships to cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching at least four years in a high-need field or location. He would expand the Pell Grant and lower interest rates on existing federal student loan programs.

Overall coverage

McCAIN

McCain pledges affordable health care for every American and calls this one of his top three priorities for his first year in office. No mandates; he wants a system based on the free market, tax incentives and individual decisions. Employees would pay income tax on health benefits provided by employers, a change McCain says would finance a $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals and $5,000 for families to go toward coverage. Businesses would still be able to deduct benefits as an expense. Plans would be portable from job to job and, in a change from current law, across state lines – to target community ratings that force premiums lower for sick and elderly people, higher for young and healthy ones. McCain would encourage innovative multiyear insurance products and push health savings accounts. Also, he’d encourage governors to develop a best-practice Guaranteed Access Plan model to help provide coverage of last resort for people with pre-existing conditions until the marketplace has matured enough to take care of them. A GAP might subsidize and limit premiums; it could cost up to $7 billion a year. McCain also would encourage small businesses and other groups to band together to negotiate lower rates and would lobby insurers for better coverage of preventive care. For children, he would promote walk-in clinics and the use of existing programs; promote education about health, nutrition and exercise; and expand community health centers. He would “encourage states to continue exploring with their own” reforms.

OBAMA

As one of Obama’s stated top three priorities to address during his first year in office, he wants universal coverage approved by the end of his first term. Coverage would be through federal and free-market programs. He would mandate insurance for all children. He wants to create a national health plan modeled on that for members of Congress and subsidize participation by poor people in it or in a private plan. He would create a National Health Insurance Exchange to be a watchdog, reformer and evaluator for private plans. Through the national system and the exchange, plans would be portable from job to job but not from state to state; Obama said state-mandated protections would be lost. He would require employers to offer or contribute to coverage, or else contribute to the cost of national coverage. Small businesses would be exempt and would get a tax credit for up to 50 percent of premiums and get help with catastrophic costs. Insurers could not reject people with pre-existing conditions or charge them more. People younger than 25 could stay on their parents’ plan. States could experiment within standards of the national plan.

Drug costs

McCAIN

McCain would allow importation of drugs from developed countries and streamline the process for introducing generics. He would require transparency in costs and quality.

OBAMA

Obama would allow importation from developed countries if drugs are safe and cheaper. He’d streamline the process for introducing generics and prohibit drug companies from keeping them off the market. He’d use more generics in Medicare, Medicaid and the federal employees’ health program and require transparency in costs and quality.

Covering costs

McCAIN

McCain said universal care is possible without a tax increase; his cost estimate is unclear, but FactCheck.org said “independent budget experts estimate McCain’s plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.” Especially for chronic conditions, McCain emphasizes prevention, early intervention, healthy habits, new treatment models, new public health infrastructure and use of information technology. He would dedicate more federal research to chronic disease and require transparency in treatment options, outcomes and costs. He’d compensate providers based on quality and promote alternative providers and treatment settings. He would expand health savings accounts.

OBAMA

Obama’s estimated cost is $50 billion to $65 billion annually. He said he covers that by letting Bush tax cuts expire for households earning more than $250,000 a year, by reducing errors, redundant care and waste; by recouping money from care that patients don’t pay for; and by providing federal reinsurance for catastrophic coverage. He said better competition and antitrust protections should prevent “unjustified price increases.” He also would cut costs through prevention and advances in information technology, and put $50 billion toward that technology. He would require transparency in quality and costs. He said he would lower the country’s health care costs enough to “bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family,” but his advisers said “premiums” refers to a basket of savings, including individuals’ and employers’ premiums, and in tax-supported programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. He said health savings accounts “don’t do nearly enough” to provide comprehensive health coverage.

Medicare, Medicaid

McCAIN

Regarding Medicare, McCain would pay providers not by each individual service but by success in treatment. For Medicare and Medicaid, he would cover prevention, diagnosis and coordination of care, and would exclude payment for preventable errors and mismanagement. In 2003, he opposed the Medicare Part D program as subsidizing the wealthy and worsening Medicare’s financial problems; he’d make wealthier beneficiaries pay more for their drug benefits. He opposes giving the federal government the power and controls entailed in negotiating Medicare Part D drug prices. He said fixing Medicare would be tougher than fixing Social Security; he advocated a bipartisan commission to make recommendations, and would then make the congressional vote a flat yes or no, as with the base closing commission.

OBAMA

Obama would base Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements on success in treatment. He’d reduce Medicare costs also by enacting reforms to lower the price of prescription drugs, letting the federal government negotiate lower prices as it does for veterans. He would end subsidies for private insurers in Medicare Advantage and focus resources on prevention and chronic-disease management. He would reduce the number of Medicare Part D drug plans and close the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Part D. He also would expand Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

McCAIN

McCain would let individuals supplement the current system by investing part of their payroll taxes in stocks and bonds. He endorsed a plan in 2005 that would have let workers born after 1950 put one-third of those taxes into such accounts, which would have been government-run stock or bond funds. He would slow growth in benefits rather than raise taxes. He has said that to prevent insolvency in the program, “hard decisions” are necessary; benefits can’t be maintained at current levels. Like Obama, he cites the bipartisan Greenspan Commission, which advised benefit and tax changes, in saying he would convene a bipartisan group to consider all options to prevent insolvency.

OBAMA

Obama opposes any privatization. Like McCain, he cites the bipartisan Greenspan Commission, which advised benefit and tax changes, and said “everything has to be on the table.” He has stepped back from discussions of taxing all income at the current 12.4 percent rate. He now says that, starting a decade from now, he would apply the 12.4 percent payroll tax to individual earnings up to their current cap (now $102,000, adjusted annually for inflation), then earnings of more than $250,000 to a tax of 2 to 4 percent. Earnings between those levels would not be taxed. Among other proposals, Obama would increase protections for workers and retirees when corporations go bankrupt. He wants employers without a retirement plan to enroll workers in a direct-deposit IRA; workers could opt out. He would create a savings match of 50 percent of the first $1,000 for families earning less than $75,000 and eliminate income tax for senior citizens earning less than $50,000.

McCAIN

McCain voted for the Prohibit Partial Birth Abortion bill in 2003 and “yes” for the Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007. He believes the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision is flawed and must be overturned. McCain, who also promotes adoption, has a daughter that he and his wife, Cindy, adopted from Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh. He has co-sponsored legislation to prohibit discrimination against families with adopted children, to provide adoption education, and to permit tax deductions for qualified adoption expenses, as well as to remove barriers to interracial and interethnic adoptions.

OBAMA

Obama opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v Wade. He disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. He did not vote on the Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007.

McCAIN

McCain said he supports an affirmative-action initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot in his home state of Arizona that would end racial and gender preferences in education and hiring. Asked about affirmative action, McCain said it “is in the eye of the beholder” and praised the military as the nation’s greatest equal opportunity employer.

OBAMA

Obama supports affirmative action, a policy that promotes opportunities for racial minorities and women in hiring and education, though he has suggested that such programs should eventually focus on income, not race. Still, he opposes anti-affirmative ballot measures pending in Colorado, Nebraska and Arizona.

McCAIN

McCain co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration legislation that 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. McCain voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. His top immigration priority is to finish securing U.S. borders in an expedited manner. McCain wants to implement a secure and reliable electronic employment verification system to ensure that individuals are screened for work eligibility in real time. He wants temporary worker programs that reflect the labor needs of the United States in both the high-tech and low-skilled sectors while protecting job opportunities of U.S. workers.

OBAMA

Obama supported the Bush-backed immigration legislation. He voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at U.S. ports of entry. He wants to fix what he considers a dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill. He wants to remove incentives to enter the country illegally, by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. He supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

McCAIN

McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. He says states and local governments should set their own marriage policies. McCain said he would nominate judges who understand that the role of the court is not to subvert the rights of the people by legislating from the bench. Critical to constitutional balance, he says, is ensuring that, where state and local governments do act to preserve the “traditional” family, the courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the constitutional right of the people to decide this question. The McCain campaign states that gay adoption is a state issue and that he does not endorse any federal legislation.

OBAMA

Obama opposes same-sex marriage but also opposes a constitutional ban. He supports full civil unions that “give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples, including the right to assist their loved ones in times of emergency as well as equal health insurance, employment benefits, and property and adoption rights,” his Web site states. He says the Employment Non-Discrimination Act should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He advocated legislation that sought to expand federal hate crimes law to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He said the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy needs to be repealed.

McCAIN

McCain supports instant criminal background checks on people buying guns and believes the law should apply to gun sales at gun shows. He opposes restrictions on assault weapons and supported legislation requiring gun manufacturers to include gun safety devices such as trigger locks in product packaging. He voted for a 2006 amendment prohibiting confiscation of firearms from private citizens, particularly during times of crisis or emergency. McCain believes in strict, mandatory penalties for criminals who use a firearm in the commission of a crime or who illegally possess a firearm.

OBAMA

Obama voted against a 2005 law prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers stemming from acts committed by others using their products. He supports instant criminal background checks on people buying guns and believes the law should apply to gun sales at gun shows. He calls for permanently reinstating the assault weapons ban and voted for a 2005 amendment placing restrictions on rifle ammunition that is “designed or marketed” to be armor-piercing. He supports making guns childproof. He voted for a 2006 amendment prohibiting confiscation of firearms from private citizens, particularly during times of crisis or emergency.

McCAIN

McCain said he believes global climate change is real, consequential and related to human activities. Noticeable effects from the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are already being felt, he said, and scientists are convinced that the effects will grow more significant and costly. He favors tougher fuel efficiency, and led Senate efforts to cap greenhouse emissions. He backs a cap-and-trade system that would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions while encouraging development of low-cost compliance options. He wants greenhouse emissions cut by 60 percent by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.

OBAMA

Obama believes global warming is real, is happening now and is the result of human activities. He said the U.S. has a “moral, environmental, economic and security imperative to tackle climate change in a serious, sustainable manner.” He proposed to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050 using a cap-and-trade program that sets a national cap on carbon emissions. Emissions allowed under the cap would be divided into individual allowances. Companies would be free to buy and sell allowances to continue operating in the most profitable manner available. Those that could reduce pollution at a low cost could sell their extra allowances to companies facing high costs. Each year the number of allowances would be reduced to match the required annual reduction targets.

Both candidates see energy independence as critical to national security and to the global environment. McCain seeks “strategic independence” by 2025; Obama, independence from Middle Eastern oil “within 10 years.” Both put energy as one of their top three priorities for their first year in office.

‘Clean coal’

McCAIN

McCain would spend $2 billion a year for the next 15 years on “clean coal” technology, and eventually export that technology to coal-polluting countries such as China, creating more jobs and boosting the U.S. role as a leader in green economy. He said coal-to-liquid may be viable given advances in technology for carbon capture and pollution control.

OBAMA

Obama would create public-private partnerships to develop five pioneering “commercial-scale coal-fired plants with clean carbon capture and sequestration technology.” He would consider banning new coal plants that have no “clean coal” technology. He sponsored a bill with subsidies to develop liquid coal; he later he said he’d back subsidies only if the fuel could be produced with emissions 20 percent lower than gasoline’s.

Offshore drilling

McCAIN

 In June, McCain reversed his opposition to lifting federal restrictions on drilling for oil and natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf. Now he also favors incentives to states to allow it.

OBAMA

Obama opposed lifting federal restrictions on Outer Continental Shelf drilling; in August, he said he could accept a limited expansion of drilling if that support freed a logjam of energy bills that included proposals he favored.

Domestic oil/natural gas production

McCAIN

McCain opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and favors the prospective natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope.

OBAMA

Obama opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and voted to designate it as protected wilderness. He would institute a “use it or lose it” policy for oil and gas leases onshore and offshore. He said he would facilitate construction of the prospective Alaska natural gas pipeline.

Alternative energy

McCAIN

McCain proposes a $300 million prize for the inventor who devises a car battery cutting electric vehicle costs by 70 percent; he would fund it with “some of the savings from cutting subsidies for industries that can stand on their own.” He’d encourage research and development of technology and demonstration models partly by fostering public-private partnerships for companies that lag because of “regulatory fear.” He favors alcohol-based fuels from sources such as switchgrass and biodiesel from waste. On ethanol subsidies, he “would eliminate mandates, subsidies, tariffs and price supports that focus exclusively on corn-based ethanol,” preferring market-based solutions.

OBAMA

Obama strongly prefers renewable sources and greater efficiency over increased use of nuclear power. He would invest $150 billion in emerging technologies and renewable fuels, primarily non-nuclear. But in a September debate, he conceded he may have to scale that back because of the economic crisis. He has said he would ensure that 10 percent of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025. He’d auction greenhouse-gas emission credits to bolster research and development and would set requirements for how much renewable energy public utilities would have to buy. He favors ethanol subsidies; would require 60 billion gallons of biofuels to be produced in the U.S. each year by 2030. He’d create a service corps to train disadvantaged youths for energy and environmental jobs.

Conservation

McCAIN

McCain said home, business and government conservation is a big part of energy efficiency and security. He’d make the government a leader in conservation and direct the construction market, by applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased or by retrofitting existing buildings. He’d raise penalties for and enforce existing CAFE standards (automakers’ mileage requirements) and would reduce red tape to allow “a serious investment” to update the electric grid.

OBAMA

Obama said all Americans must work on conservation. He’d seek to cut electricity demand 15 percent from projected levels by 2020; raise fuel economy standards by 4 percent each year; and provide aid to U.S. automakers to retool to meet those standards. Automakers would get either of the following: help “shouldering their health care legacy costs in exchange for investing 50 percent of the savings into technology to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles,” or tax incentives to retool plants. The total for retooling: $4 billion. Also, he favors a $7,000 tax credit to buyers of fuel-efficient hybrid plug-in cars. He wants to weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes annually for the next decade.

Nuclear power

McCAIN

McCain strongly advocates nuclear energy as safe and clean, and critical to dealing with global warming. He wants to build 45 plants by 2030; eventually, 100. He’d support subsidies for building plants in the U.S. In the context of the economic crisis, he pushed the goal but did not address the financial feasibility. He favors storing nuclear waste in the proposed Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada.

OBAMA

Obama said nuclear power should have a role as part of a larger package of alternative sources of energy. He is concerned about nuclear waste safety, storage, vulnerability to terrorist attack and use in weapons proliferation. He opposes storing nuclear waste in the proposed Yucca Mountain facility in Nevada and favors keeping waste at reactors “until we find a safe, long-term disposal solution that is based on sound science.”