Compare Your Candidates

Citizen Jane recently tried to find a place that gave a clear comparison of each candidate's position on a variety of issues. Not much luck. Now we've done the digging for you. We've started with social issues, Iraq, health care, the economy, energy and the environment, and immigration, with more to come. Scroll down for our charts, or click on the candidates' names to go straight to their web sites and get it from the horses' mouths.

Judicial nominations

Candidates	Judicial philosophy	Vote on John Roberts and Sam Alito	Role in "Gang of 14," a bi-partisan effort to avoid judicial filibusters in the Senate.	Legal background	Response to Guantanamo/ Habeas decision
McCain	Judges should strictly interpret the Constitution. "A judge's decisions must rest on more than his subjective conviction that he is right, or his eagerness to address a perceived social ill."	Voted "yes" to both. At town hall meetings, McCain also points out the he voted for Clinton's Supreme Court nominees, but Obama did not vote for Bush's.	Took a leadership role in the Gang of 14.	No legal experience. Has never served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.	"The Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. We made it very clear these are enemy combatants...They have not, and never have, been given the rights of citizens of this country."
Obama	"I want people on the bench who have enough empathy, enough feeling, for what ordinary people are going through."	Voted "no" on both. When explaining his Alito vote, Obama said, "He consistently sides on behalf of the powerful against the powerless."	Obama was not a part of the Gang of 14.	Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, was the editor of the Harvard Law Review and lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago.	"This is an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus."

Social Issues

Candidates	Abortion	Stem cell research	Gay marriage	Flag Burning	Also
McCain	McCain is pro-life. He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and send the abortion issue back to the states. He voted in 2003 to ban partial birth abortion.	"This is a tough issue for those of us in the pro-life community. I would remind you that these stem cells are either going to be discarded or perpetually frozen. We need to do what we can to relieve human suffering. It's a tough issue. I support federal funding." MSNBC debate, 5/3/07.	Against gay marriage. Wants marriage defined as being "between a man and a woman," but supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.	Voted for Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.	As the adoptive father to a daughter, McCain supports adoption promotion.
Obama	Obama is pro-choice and wants to preserve Roe v. Wade. He wasn't in the Senate when partial-birth abortion was banned, but said he disagreed with Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ban. NARAL endorsed Obama over Hillary Clinton.	Supports stem cell research. Like McCain, voted to expand federal funding to more stem cell lines.	Supports civil unions. Against gay marriage, but voted against federal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, telling the Chicago Tribune, "I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."	Voted against Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.	Obama says he would repeal "Don't Ask/ Don't Tell" policy on gay members of the military.

The Economy and Taxes

Candidates	General Position	Tax cuts/ increases	Jobs	Trade	Also
McCain	McCain is renown for his war on pork-barrel spending. He advocates slashing federal spending. along with keeping current tax rates permanently.	Make the Bush tax cuts permanent, eliminate the AMT (for a $2,700 savings for a family of four.) Would ban Internet and new cell phone taxes. Wants summer gas tax holiday.	McCain says he will veto pork-laden bills from Congress and "make their authors famous." Promises to return (?) integrity to federal spending.	Advocates multi-lateral, bi-lateral and regional trade pacts. Wants to focus on retraining and education for displaced workers; would reform unemployment insurance to become retraining program;	McCain works with Citizens Against Government Waste to produce "The Pig Book," the annual round-up of every piece of pork in the federal budget.
Obama	"We are all in this together. From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers."	Raise income taxes for $250,000+ earners. Raise taxes on capital gains and dividends. Apply payroll tax to income over $250K. Give middle and low-income earners $500/individual or $1K/family tax credit. Eliminate all income taxes for seniors earning less than $50K. Against summer gas tax holiday.	Eliminates capital gains taxes for start-ups. Eliminates incentives to off-shore companies. Believes that requiring use of renewable energy will create "hundreds of thousands" of new jobs through innovation.	Generally wants to seek trade deals to open markets for U.S. goods and access cheaper goods for U.S. consumers, but said he'll renegotiate NAFTA.	In June 2008, Obama told CNBC that he could "possibly defer" some of his tax increases if the health of the economy warranted it.

The War in Iraq

Candidates	General Position	Troops Stay or Go	Experience to Know About	FYI	Military Service
McCain	McCain voted for the 2002 authorization to invade Iraq, but criticized the operation as having too few troops and inadequate planning to succeed. He was the lead proponent of the surge.	He wants troops to stay in increased numbers until Iraq stabilizes. He has said some troops could stay as long as 100 years provided they are not in danger, similar to the military's Korean and German force presence.	McCain has been in the Senate for 20 years and is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.	McCain's father and grandfather served as Admirals in the Navy. One son recently enlisted in the Marines, while another is at the Naval Academy.	McCain went to the Naval Academy, served 22 years as a Navy pilot and was imprisoned in a Vietnamese POW camp for five and a half years.
Obama	Obama criticizes the President for going to war and the Congress for letting him do it. He wants all American troops out and wants Iraqi leaders to decide their own future.	He said would begin pulling troops out at the rate of one to two brigades a month, with all out by the end of 2009.*	Obama has been on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for three years.	Obama opposed the war in 2002, although he was not in the Senate at the time. He said he does not oppose all wars, just "dumb wars."	None

*At the debate at Dartmouth college on Sept. 27, 2007, none of the top Democrats could commit to having all troops out of Iraq by 2013 under all circumstances.

Health Care

Candidates	General Position	Who would be covered?	Major features	How much will it cost?	How is it paid for?
McCain	Wants to reduce the cost of health care and make insurance more affordable.	Reforms would affect all consumers.	Give tax credits for purchase of insurance, make it portable and available across state lines, streamline medical processes (one bill instead of dozens), allow veterans to be treated outside of VA system, make it easier for individuals, associations and small biz to buy group health insurance.	No mention.	No mention.
Obama	“Quality, affordable healthcare for all” through a mix of private and expanded public plans.	All children would be required to have coverage, all adults would have access to insurance.	Expand S-CHIP and Medicaid. Create new National Health Insurance Exchange to oversee insurers and help people and small businesses buy coverage. Require employers to offer coverage or pay for it. Children up to 25 could stay on their parents’ insurance.	He estimates between $50 billion and $60 billion every year.	Tax increase on incomes over $250,000 and from efficiencies gained through modernizing hospitals.

Energy and the Environment

Candidates	General Position	Cap 'n Trade	Fuel efficiency for cars	Alt. Fuel proposals	Also
McCain	"There’s too much pollution in the environment, there’s too much dependency on foreign oil and we’re going to have to take a number of steps."	McCain co-authored a bill to cap greenhouse emissions at 2004 levels and then gradually reduce them.	McCain urged higher CAFE standards at a 2007 speech in Detroit; co-sponsored a bill to increase CAFE to 36 MPG by 2015.	As a part of his anti-pork effort, McCain has long Opposed federal subsidies for ethanol.	Feels strongly that nuclear power must be a part of any effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign and carbon-based energy. In June 2008, called to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling to let states decide.
Obama	Obama sees reducing reliance on foreign oil as a way to also create jobs and strengthen the U.S. economy. He would reduce oil consumption 35% by 2030.	Would enact cap 'n trade to reduce greenhouse emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.	Wants cars to get 40 mpg by 2020. Provide loans and tax breaks to auto industry to upgrade plants.	Will require 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025. Wants to invest heavily in cellulosic ethanol.	Also wants a $150 billion fund to "deploy green technologies." Will launch a "Green Job Corps" for disadvantaged youth. Would create a forum for the world's largest gas emitters to address climate change.

Immigration

Candidates	General Position	Border Plan	Plan for immigrants already in U.S.	Guest worker plan	Also
McCain	Blasted by conservatives after co-sponsoring the Bush immigration reform bill tying border security to a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants, Now says he’d do only border security first.	Voted for 700-mile fence along the Mexico/ U.S. border; included increased funding for border security in immigration bill. Would get border state governors to certify the border is secure before moving on.	Wants to deport the roughly 2 million illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes; says he'll "deal with the rest" once the borders are closed, but any plan must be "humane and compassionate."	McCain included a guest worker program in his immigration bill and has remained supportive of some temporary work visa process.	Represents the border state of Arizona. Although his immigration position angered conservatives, he’s one of the most popular Republicans among Latinos.
Obama	"The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should”	Obama voted for 700-mile long fence along the U.S./ Mexican border.	Obama has said, "Those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law." Supports a system that requires illegal immigrants to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.	Supports closely regulated guest worker program, along with penalties for companies that employ illegal workers.	Obama's father came to study in the U.S. from Kenya. Unlike Clinton, endorsed the idea of drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants. Also voted for Bush immigration reform bill.

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