Originally Posted by Cork
Well, lets take a look at some of the bigger issues and where Obama and McCain stand. Blue for Obama and Red for McCain. (Source - CNN.com)
Abortion:
Opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v Wade. Disagreed with Supreme Court ruling to uphold the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act." Did not cast a vote on Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007.
Voted for the Prohibit Partial Birth Abortion bill in 2003 and "yes" for Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007. Believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned. Supports Supreme Court ruling upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Economy:
Would pump $75 billion into the economy via tax cuts and direct spending targeted to working families, seniors, homeowners and the unemployed. The plan also includes $45 billion in reserves that can be injected into the economy quickly in the future if the economy continues to deteriorate. Would provide an immediate $250 tax cut for workers and their families and an immediate, temporary $250 bonus to seniors in their Social Security checks. Would provide an additional $250 tax cut to workers and an additional $250 to seniors if the economy continues to worsen. Would extend and expand unemployment insurance.
Would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Would allow first-year deduction of equipment and technology investments and establish a permanent research and development tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on R&D.
Energy:
Says he would invest $150 billion over 10 years in clean energy. Proposes increasing fuel economy standards and would require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources by 2025.
Gas tax holiday
Said he does not support a federal gas tax holiday and called it a "classic Washington gimmick." Voted for an Illinois gas tax holiday while in the Illinois State Senate. "Six months later we took a look, and consumers had not benefited at all, but we had lost revenue. I learned from a mistake."
Energy rebate
Said during an August 4, 2008, speech that "we should immediately give every working family in America a $1,000 energy rebate, and we should pay for it with part of the record profits that the oil companies are making right now."
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Would suspend buying oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Said during an August 4, 2008, speech that the U.S. should sell 70 million barrels of oil from the reserve for less expensive crude oil. Earlier this year, Obama said he did not think the country should use the strategic oil reserves "at this point." He said on July 7: "I have said and, in fact, supported a congressional resolution that said we should suspend putting more oil into the strategic oil reserve, but the strategic oil reserve I think has to be reserved for a genuine emergency."
Taxes on oil companies
Advocates a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
Offshore drilling
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."
Nuclear energy
Stated in a presidential debate that "we should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix." Says he will find safer ways to use nuclear power and store nuclear waste.
Proposes a national energy strategy that will rely on the technological prowess of American industry and science. Would not support subsidizing every alternative or tariffs that restrict the competition that stimulates innovation and lower cost. Says he would work to reduce carbon emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Gas tax holiday
Has called for the suspension of the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gas tax and 24.4-cent-a-gallon diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The McCain campaign has said the lost revenue would be paid for by money from the general fund.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Advocates suspending the purchase of foreign oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during periods of high prices to reduce demand.
Taxes on oil companies
Opposes windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies.
Offshore drilling
Believes the federal government should lift restrictions on offshore drilling and provide incentives to states permitting offshore exploration. McCain said he opposed lifting such restrictions during his 2000 presidential campaign run. Against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Nuclear energy
Calls for building 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 with the goal of eventually constructing 100 plants. Believes barriers to nuclear energy are political not technological. Would provide for safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and give host states or localities a proprietary interest so when advanced recycling technologies turn used fuel into a valuable commodity, the public will share in its economic benefits.
Coal
Says he would commit $2 billion annually to advance clean coal technology.
Cars and driving
Proposes a $300 million 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." Has called on automakers to make a more rapid switch to flex-fuel cars.
Renewable energy
Says he would promote market for alternative, low carbon fuels such as wind, hydro and solar power and would work to create a system of tax credits to develop such sources.
Climate change
Proposed a bipartisan plan to address the problem of climate change and stimulate the development and use of advanced technologies. It is a market-based approach that would set caps on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and provide industries with tradable credits.
Coal
Says he would invest in technology that will allow us to use more coal.
Cars and driving
Would mandate all new cars be flex-fuel capable and supports advanced technology, including research into new engines and plug-in hybrids. Would provide retooling credits to help domestic manufacturers switch to more fuel-efficient cars. Has said he would make $4 billion in loans to help domestic manufacturers retool factories and build more fuel-efficient cars. Says he would put 1 million 150-mpg hybrid cars on U.S. roads within six years and would provide a $7,000 tax credit to consumers to buy fuel-efficient cars. Supports next generation biofuels.
Renewable energy
Says he would require that 10 percent of U.S. energy come from renewable sources by the end of his first presidential term. Says he would extend the Production Tax Credit for five years to encourage the production of renewable energy like wind power, solar power and geothermal energy.
Climate change
Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade system. Would create a Global Energy Forum and re-engage with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Immigration:
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.
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.
Iraq:
Opposed use of military force in Iraq. In October 2002, when he was an Illinois state senator, Obama said, "I know that invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst rather than best impulses in the Arab world and strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars; I am opposed to dumb wars." Voted for war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008. Had once called for troop withdrawal to begin by the end of 2006.
On withdrawal
Would redeploy U.S. troops at a pace of one to two brigades a month. The Obama campaign says the proposed schedule would remove them from Iraq within 16 months and be complete by summer 2010.
Would maintain residual force to perform specific missions in Iraq, like targeting remnants of al Qaeda, protecting U.S. service members and diplomats, and supporting Iraq's security forces.
Would commit $2 billion toward an international effort to support the more than 4 million displaced Iraqis.
Would make it clear that the United States seeks no permanent bases in Iraq.
Would pursue diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region, including Iran and Syria. Compact would aim to secure Iraq's borders, keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq, isolate al Qaeda, support reconciliation among Iraq's sectarian groups and provide financial support for Iraq's reconstruction and development.
The surge
Opposed January 2007 "troop surge." In July, Obama said, "I have acknowledged repeatedly that the fact that we put more troops in there helped to quell the violence. The question is whether or not my position, in suggesting that we need to begin a phased withdrawal, we should have begun it earlier, whether that position that I took was a mistake. And I do not believe it was, because I continue to believe that the only way for us to stabilize the situation in Iraq -- I believed it then, and I believe it now -- is for the parties to arrive at a set of political accommodations."
Status of Forces Agreement
Believes that any Status of Forces Agreement, which allows U.S. military forces to operate within the host country, should be negotiated in the context of a broader commitment by the U.S. to begin withdrawing its troops and forswearing permanent bases. Also believes that any security accord must be subject to congressional approval.
Voted in 2002 for use of military force in Iraq. Supported Bush veto of war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008. Was one of the earliest proponents of sending additional American troops to Iraq.
On withdrawal
Does not believe in setting a withdrawal timetable. During a July interview, McCain said, "anything is a good timetable that is dictated by conditions on the ground. Anything is good. But the timetable is dictated not by an artificial date but by the conditions on the ground."
States on campaign Web site, "I do not want to keep our troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary to secure our interests there. Our goal is an Iraq that can stand on its own as a democratic ally and a responsible force for peace in its neighborhood. Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops."
During a May speech that projected the state of the world after his first term, McCain 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. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced."
Believes that the United Nations should play a role in supporting provincial governments' elections in late 2008 and the national government elections in 2009.
Believes that economic progress is essential to sustaining security gains in Iraq. States that international community should bolster proven microfinance programs to spur local-level entrepreneurship throughout the country. Also believes that Iraq's neighbors should promote regional stability by directly investing the fruits of their oil exports in Iraq.
The surge
Supported January 2007 "troop surge" and was one of the earliest proponents of the strategy. Stated in July campaign speech, "all the polls said the "surge" was unpopular. ...I chose to support the new counterinsurgency strategy backed by additional troops, which I had advocated since 2003, after my first trip to Iraq. ... Today, the effects of the new strategy are obvious. The surge has succeeded, and we are, at long last, finally winning this war."
Status of Forces Agreement
Support U.S.-Iraqi negotiations for a Status of Forces Agreement, saying, "while negotiations with the Iraqi government are ongoing, reports indicate that all dates included in the draft security agreement are aspirational goals, based on conditions on the ground. ... We are today negotiating a conditions-based agreement that will enable us to withdraw troops in victory and with honor."
This is the stuff that I like to hear about in a presidential election. Issues and ideas.
-Cork
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