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The Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, and the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, have differences in their positions – some dramatic, others more nuanced – on a wide range of economic, foreign and domestic issues that will confront the next commander in chief.
Here is a primer on their views.
Obama: He would boost tax rates significantly on wealthier Americans while giving new breaks to poor and middle-income workers. On spending, he would reduce the budget deficit over the first four years of his presidency and crack down on congressional earmarks.
McCain: He voted against President Bush’s signature tax cuts in the Senate, but now that they are law, he says he would extend them when they are due to expire in 2010. The one exception is the estate tax, which will be eliminated in 2010. He would reinstate it but at a sharply reduced rate – just 15 percent after the first $10 million.
He promises to freeze spending and conduct a comprehensive and bipartisan review of government programs in order to reduce the deficit over four years. Also pledges to veto any bills that contain congressional earmarks, though earmarks comprise a minuscule part of the overall $2.7 trillion budget.
Obama: He voted for the $700 billion financial rescue plan passed by Congress but has also called for a “rescue plan for the middle class.”
His plan includes tax breaks for companies that add jobs, a $25 billion stimulus package to build roads and repair schools, $25 billion in aid to states and local governments, and penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts. He would also require banks that receive government investments to halt foreclosures for 90 days.
McCain: He voted for the congressional rescue plan. But he would devote $300 billion of it to purchasing mortgages that have fallen below the value of homes. He would replace them with fixed-rate mortgages that reflect reduced values.
He would also tax withdrawals from retirement accounts at the lowest possible rate in 2008 and 2009 and would not require retirees to make any mandated withdrawals if they face losses.
Obama: He favors increased insurance regulation and greater availability of private and government-sponsored health coverage. He wants to require that all children be insured.
McCain: He favors a free-market approach to foster more competition among insurers and less dependence on employer health benefits. He proposes eliminating the exclusion from workers’ federal taxes of the value of health benefits they receive from their job and creating refundable tax credits to encourage them to obtain insurance or keep their current coverage.
Obama: He supports an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – compared with 1990 levels – by 2050 through a federal cap-and-trade system.
McCain: He supports a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. Favors a federal cap-and-trade system to achieve that goal and opposes a tax on carbon to reduce emissions.
Obama: He would add $18 billion a year in federal money for preschool through high school, plus $12 billion for higher education. He wants to spend $10 billion of that amount to expand and improve child care and early-childhood education programs, including universal pre-kindergarten classes.
McCain: He thinks the government should play a limited role in public education and would increase funding by about $260 million a year. He says child care and early-childhood education receive enough federal money but that such programs should be better coordinated, with more emphasis in Head Start on testing whether children are prepared for school.
Obama: He supports abortion rights but opposes late-term abortions, except when a woman’s life or health is at risk.
McCain: He has voted consistently against abortion rights, although he supports exceptions in cases of rape or incest or for women whose pregnancy endangers their lives.
Obama: He opposed the invasion and has pledged that he would remove all combat troops in 16 months, with the exception of a residual force – a promise that could face opposition from current military commanders. He opposed the troop surge in early 2007.
McCain: He fervently supported the invasion, although he became a critic of the administration’s handling of the war. He advocated for the troop surge and thinks it demonstrates that al-Qaida could be defeated by the end of his first term.
Obama: He would send at least two more combat brigades to Afghanistan and seek more troops from NATO allies. He favors exploring whether elements of the Taliban could be persuaded to switch sides, as with the Sunni Awakening fighters in Iraq. He would provide Kabul with an additional $1 billion a year in nonmilitary aid.
McCain: He calls for three more combat brigades and additional contributions from NATO. He would increase non-military assistance and appoint an “Afghanistan czar,” reporting to the president, to ensure unity of command.
Obama: He would move quickly to begin “tough, direct diplomacy” with the Islamic republic, even offering the possibility of meeting with the Iranian leadership after sufficient lower-level preparation. He supports sanctions on Iran to force it to halt its uranium-enrichment program but has been skeptical of “saber-rattling.”
McCain: He takes a tough line on Iran, calling it a “chief state sponsor of terrorism” and refusing to rule out military force if it does not end its nuclear program. He has been highly critical of Obama’s offer of direct talks, saying they would increase Iran’s prestige, but he does not rule out lower-level talks.
Obama: He would renew efforts to promote peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the creation of a Palestinian state but says that Israel’s security is “non-negotiable.” His policy largely tracks current Bush administration policy, although he has been more supportive of Israeli peace talks with Syria.
McCain: He would follow the current administration path on Israeli-Palestinian talks, although he would quickly name a high-level envoy to jump-start them.
Obama: He would support democratic nations threatened by Russian behavior, work to decrease the dependence of allies on Russian energy, encourage allies to speak with “one voice” on Russia, and engage Russia in areas of mutual interest.
McCain: He plans a tough approach toward Russia, including removing it from the Group of Eight industrialized nations, in an effort to change its behavior.
Obama: He would step up diplomacy, even at the highest levels, to encourage North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. He supported Bush’s decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
McCain: He is skeptical that North Korea is serious about giving up its weapons and has been critical of Bush’s delisting, believing that North Korea has not agreed to adequate verification of its programs.
