10 Political Issues

Barack Obama

#1- Abortion: Obama is pro-choice, meaning that he wishes for women to choose what to do with their bodies, instead of having their choices pre-determined by government or religion.

#2- Education: Barack Obama and Joe Biden wish to reform the No Child Left Behind law so that teachers do not have to spend the entire year on test preparation. The democratic candidates also plan on increasing teacher wages, decreasing college tuition costs, and straightening out the maze that is the path to financial aid.

#3- Death Penalty: Obama says that he wishes the death penalty to stay in effect. He states that it should be reserved for only the most severe crimes, such as the destruction of the twin towers. "I am not a cheerleader for the death penalty — I think it has to be reserved for only the most heinous crimes, but I certainly think plotting and engineering the death of 3,000 Americans justifies such an approach."

#4- Environment: Barack Obama plans to improve the CO2 emmission restraint laws. He stresses protecting the environment and minding alternate, not-destructive energy sources.

#5- Health Care: Obama plans to create opportunities for easy health care for patients through new, affordable options. Obama also plans to make insurance companies pre-cover common ailments so that everyone can have full benefits at affordable prices.

#6- Immigration: Obama plans to shorten the time potentials immigrants must wait to become US citizens. He also wishes to strengthen our borders and remove incentives to enter the United States of America illegally. Barack will also institute a way for undocumented immigrants in good standing to pay a fine to become legal citizens.

#7- Iraq War: Barack Obama warns America that the Iraq war is “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” His plan is to remove our soldiers from Iraq through careful planning at a rate of one or two brigades a month. He wishes to achieve political accomidation from the Iraqi government during this withdrawl period.

#8- Economy: Obama will enact a $1,000 windfall profits tax for an emergency energy rebate for American families. He also plans to spend $50 billion “jumpstart the economy.” He will provide tax cuts for the middle class instead of for the very wealthy.

#9- Poverty: Barack Obama views the poverty in America as a problem to be fixed. He plans to increase the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011 and to provide tax relief to low and middle class workers. Obama also plans to invest in small rural settlements and to ensure community-based investments in urban areas.

#10- Stem Cell Research: Barack Obama advocates for increased stem cell research. Although he wishes for more stem cell research, Obama opposes the creation of human embryos purely for research purposes. Obama opposes human cloning.


John McCain

#1- Abortion: John McCain is pro-life in his views on abortion. He believes that an unborn fetus should still be considered a human child, and that abortion should be illegal.#2- Education: McCain believes that the No Child Left Behind law is having an adverse effect on our education. He believes that children should be educated with their needs in mind instead of the school’s needs. McCain states that children should be able to switch schools freely if their current school does not meet their needs.

#3- Death Penalty: John McCain supports capital punishment.

#4- Environment: John McCain has a system of market-based restraints on greenhouse gas emissions that reduces the amount of CO2 released while simultaneously searching for alternate energy sources.

#5- Health Care: John McCain believes in more affordable health care by ensuring that drug companies, insurance suppliers, doctors, and hospitals compete to meet each other’s needs. He also states that American families should be able to choose their own health care and that it should stay with them for as long as they want.

#6- Immigration: John McCain says that our immigration program is broken. He plans to first secure our borders from illegal immigrants. After that he will institute a new, more efficient immigration program.

#7- Iraq War: McCain states that we should not leave until “Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and before a competent, trained, and capable Iraqi security force is in place and operating effectively.” He supports the “surge,” and he believes that the Iraqi government must improve its ability to help its people before we pull out.

#8- Economy: John McCain has a comprehensive plan on the subject of our economy. His plan will, among other things, make paying taxes simpler, lower resource prices, and improve job availability and security.

#9- Poverty: McCain has a HOME Plan that will create the opportunity for every deserving citizen to buy a home, even in this housing crisis. His economic plan will also raise the dollar value, letting poor people buy more of the resources that they need to survive.

#10- Stem Cell Research: McCain supports federal funding for stem cell research. McCain, like Obama, refutes creating human embryos purely for research purposes, but favors using embryos that would be otherwise discarded. John McCain opposes human cloning.