Obama vs McCain. The Issues.

Abortion:
Obama- Pro-Choice. He strongly supports a woman’s right to have an abortion. He trusts the woman to make an informed decision. Obama strongly opposes restrictions on medical procedures used during late term abortions.
McCain- Pro-Life. He is anti-abortion and believes that they should only be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when it endangers the health of the mother. He would prohibit public funding of abortion and public funding of organizations that promote or perform abortions.

Budget/Economy:
Obama- He would require disclosure of all congressional pet projects and force lawmakers pay for any new spending or tax breaks through new revenue and cuts in other programs.
McCain- He will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security. He would attack excessive government spending and reduce budget deficits through cuts in spending that do not finance Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs.

Civil Rights:
Obama- In the US Senate he has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote. He would expand Hate Crime Statutes. Obama would combat employment discrimination by working to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that curtails racial minorities’ and women’s ability to challenge pay discrimination. He will provide job training, substance abuse, and mental health counseling to ex offenders, so that they can be successfully reintegrated into society. He would ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives into state and local police departments to prohibit the practice. Obama would end deceptive voting practices by signing into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
McCain- Has expressed concerns regarding the implementation of affirmative action programs.

Defense/Homeland Security:
Obama- Five years after 9/11, our country is still unprepared for a terrorist attack. From improving security for our transit systems and chemical plants, to increasing cargo screening in our airports and seaports, the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission have been underfunded and ignored. The 9/11 Commission gave the government five F's and 12 D's on the implementation of its recommendations. Senator Obama is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and has supported efforts to base homeland security spending on risk rather than pork-barrel politics. He has also introduced legislation to strengthen chemical plant and drinking water security and to enhance disaster preparedness.
McCain- John McCain strongly supports the development and deployment of theater and national missile defenses. Effective missile defenses are critical to protect America from rogue regimes like North Korea that possess the capability to target America with intercontinental ballistic missiles, from outlaw states like Iran that threaten American forces and American allies with ballistic missiles, and to hedge against potential threats from possible strategic competitors like Russia and China. Effective missile defenses are also necessary to allow American military forces to operate overseas without being deterred by the threat of missile attack from a regional adversary.

Education:
Obama- Opposes school vouchers. Believes that “No Child Left Behind” has failed. He believes that the goal was the right one, but that it was not executed in the correct manner. He believes that teacher retention is a problem in nearly 30% of new teachers leaving their jobs within the first five years of their career. He proposes the “Zero to Five” plan to provide support to young children and their parents. His plan places key emphasis on early care and education for infants. He would improve quality and quadruple the “Head Start” programming and funding for the program. Wants to make math and science education a national priority. He would expand summer learning experiences. He would prepare teachers by requiring all school of education to be accredited. Wants to make college affordable by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. Wants to streamline financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply by simply checking a box on their tax form.
McCain- Supports school vouchers. Supports sending federal dollars directly to local schools, cutting back on red tape and saving administration costs. Wants to place parents and children at the center of the education process and empower parents by greatly expanding the ability of the parents to choose among schools for their children.

Energy/Oil
Obama- Supports using more renewable energies, phasing out incandescent light bulbs and requiring new vehicles to be run on biofuel. He wants to look into clean coal uses as a way of freeing US from foreign oil dependency. Proposed giving US automakers help with health coverage in exchange for more hybrid production. Would invest $150 billion over 10 years in production technology and development of biofuel and other renewable energies. Wants to cut emission standards by 50%.
McCain- Supports alternative energies. Wants to look at more nuclear possibilities. Recently supported off-shore-drilling as a way to address the rising price of oil and gas.

Environment:
Obama- Believes global warming will bring devastating consequences if not recognized and stopped. Obama supports capping emissions and giving incentives to corporations that cut greenhouse gases.
McCain- He believes in global warming and that our nation cannot ignore it. McCain feels that cutting emissions throughout the market will force cleaner technology.

Gay Marriage:
Obama- Believes in gay equality. Is a supporter of civil unions, but not marriages. Believes that same-sex marriage should be decided by the state.
McCain- Supports same sex civil unions, but not marriages. Believes that the same sex marriage issue should be decided by individual states.

Gun Control:
Obama- History of supporting gun control. Supports a ban on assault weapons and concealed weapons. He would crackdown on unscrupulous gun dealers.
McCain- Opposes holding gun manufacturers liable for crimes using a firearm and has voted to protect gun manufacturers from such liability. Supports assault weapons and concealed weapons. Believes that banning ammunition is just another way to undermine Second Amendment rights.

Health Care:
Obama- A priority for Obama would be to promote affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care. He would mandate that all children have health care coverage. He would create a national public insurance program that would allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to what is available to federal employees. He supports universal health care. He would create a national health insurance exchange to reform private insurance market.
McCain- Opposes universal healthcare. He supports importing prescription drugs to lower costs. He would offer a refundable $2,500 tax credit and $5,000 for families. He would open health care markets.

Immigration:
Obama- Supports amnesty/permanent legalization for illegal aliens and temporary legislation for illegal aliens as guest workers. Wants to build a fence on the Mexican border. Advocates tougher laws to keep illegal aliens from finding jobs and would create a program for employers to easily verify an applicant’s immigration status.
McCain- Supports amnesty/permanent legalization for illegal aliens and temporary legislation for illegal aliens as guest workers. Advocates tightening of the border by increasing patrols. He would increase number of visas issued for agriculture workers.

Social Security:
Obama- Opposes privatization of the Social Security system. He supports the interests of the Alliance for Retired Americans. He believes the system is faulted, but can be fixed with relatively minor changes.
McCain- Believes Social Security is failing, because it is raided to fund other government programs. He supports allowing workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they would manage themselves.

Taxes:
Obama- Would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire. Would raise taxes on federal gain and dividends and give tax breaks to low and middle-income Americans. Supports a universal mortgage tax credit of 10%.
McCain- Wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Supports a simplified income tax system with two rates and a generous standard deduction. Proposed suspending the federal gas tax during the summer of 2008. Would reform estate taxation. Would forbid internet and cell phone taxes.

War:
Obama- Before the war in Iraq ever started, Senator Obama said that it was wrong in its conception. In 2002, then Illinois State Senator Obama said Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat to the United States and that invasion would lead to an occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. Since then, Senator Obama has laid out a plan on the way forward in Iraq that has largely been affirmed by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton.The excellence of our military is unmatched. But as a result of this war, our forces are under pressure as never before. Our National Guard and reserves have half of the equipment they need to respond to emergencies at home and abroad. Retention among West Point graduates is down. Our powers of deterrence and influence around the world are down. That is a cost of this war. His plan for ending the war would turn the page in Iraq by removing our combat troops from Iraq's civil war; by taking a new approach to press for a new accord on reconciliation within Iraq; by talking to all of Iraq's neighbors to press for a compact in the region; and by confronting the human costs of this war.
McCain- John McCain believes Syria and Iran have aided and abetted the violence in Iraq for too long. Syria has refused to crack down on Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists operating from within its territory. Iran has aided the most extreme and violent Shia militias, providing them with training, weapons, and technology that they have used to kill American troops. America's ultimate strategy is to give Iraqis the capabilities to govern and secure their own country. John McCain believes that only by controlling the violence in Iraq can we pave the way for a political settlement. But once the Iraqi government wields greater authority, it will be incumbent upon Iraqi leaders to take significant steps on their own.

Welfare:
Obama-There are 36.5 million poor Americans. Most poor Americans are in the workforce, yet still cannot afford to make ends meet. And too many poor Americans are single mothers who are raising children. Barack Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor -- as a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and moved to the South Side of Chicago to work as a community organizer. As an organizer, Obama worked with churches, Chicago residents and local government to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after-school programs for kids. Barack Obama believes that all Americans who want to work should not only be able to gain meaningful employment, but should also be able to move up the career ladder to further support their families.
McCain- Lower and middle income Americans need more help. He supports the Reagan tax cuts, and the spending restraints associated with it. Require 40 hour workweek from welfare recipients.

Websites used:
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
http://www.obama-mccain.info/index-obama-mccain.php#
http://www.nationalplatforms.com/index.html