Iraq

John McCain:
Voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq but was a critic of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's prosecution of the war. Advocated sending more troops even before Bush initiated the "surge." Opposes any timetable for troop pullout. Wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years

Barack Obama:
Opposed the war from the start and opposed the troop increase. Promises that as president he would immediately begin to remove U.S. troops. Would bring out one or two combat brigades per month until all were withdrawn within 16 months. Would keep some troops in Iraq to protect U.S. diplomats and to fight Al Qaeda if necessary.



Health care

John McCain:
He made a major speech this week outlining health-care strategy, which includes a shift from people being insured through their employers to people buying it on their own. Would offer families a $5,000 tax credit to help buy insurance. Would pay for that tax credit by eliminating the tax break that companies get for their contribution to employee coverage. Rejects the idea of mandated universal health insurance, but would create a "guaranteed access plan" to help provide coverage of last resort for "high-risk" people.   

Barack Obama:
Would require all children to have health insurance and would move toward universal coverage for adults. Like Hillary Clinton, would keep the current employer-based system while creating a new public insurance plan, and would require insurance companies to accept people who have pre-existing conditions. Also like Clinton, would pay for reform partly by ending tax cuts for the rich. Says his overall reforms would reduce premiums for those buying private insurance.



Taxes

John McCain:
Supports making Bush tax cuts permanent, opposes Alternative Minimum Tax.   

Barack Obama:
Would repeal Bush tax cuts. Would give tax cuts to middle class. Increase the number of working parents eligible for Earned Income Tax Credits, increase the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments and reduce the marriage penalty.



Immigration

John McCain:
Supports guest worker program, increasing border security and border fence construction.

Barack Obama:
Supports new employment eligibility verification system and the Citizenship Promotion Act to ensure fair immigration application fees.



Gay marriage

John McCain:
Opposes gay marriage, says states should control marriage law.  

Barack Obama:
Opposes same-sex marriage, supports civil unions.



Energy

John McCain:
To ease pressure on gasoline prices, he has urged President Bush to stop adding crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Favors greater reliance on nuclear energy as a way to decrease dependence on foreign oil and reduce emission of greenhouse gases. Says diversification of energy resources is essential. Believes the U.S. need for imported oil helps prop up "petro-dictators" and must be stopped. Said in 2005 that ethanol did not make sense but now says the much higher price of oil makes it practical.     

Barack Obama:
Favors a halt in adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Says nuclear power should be "part of the energy mix" but must be run safely. Wants to invest $150 billion over 10 years for clean energy, such as hybrid cars and low-emission coal plants. Like Hillary Clinton, favors ethanol, would double federal spending on basic energy research and would set a goal of renewable energy resources generating 25 percent of electricity by 2025.



Trade

John McCain:
Believes that reducing trade barriers helps the U.S. economy and also promotes national security. Supports the proposed U.S.-Colombia trade pact, which would lower tariffs in both countries. (A House rule change Thursday indefinitely delayed consideration of the Colombia deal.) Voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, and says it improves U.S. ties with Canada, a key partner in the war on terror. Voted for Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2005.   

Barack Obama: I
n a stand similar to Hillary Clinton's, says U.S. must work harder to make sure trade pacts have stricter standards for labor rights and environmental protection. Says NAFTA must be revised for those reasons. Opposes the Colombia trade pact. Voted against CAFTA. Calls for more "transition assistance" to help retrain U.S. workers thrown out of work because of jobs moving overseas.



Abortion

John McCain:
Says Roe vs. Wade ruling "must be overturned", with states allowed to make own laws on abortion -- leading, he hopes, to the end of the procedure. Urges support for "armies of compassion" helping women bring fetuses to full term.   

Barack Obama:
Supports abortion rights. Urges efforts to reduce teen pregnancy, "making it less likely for women to find themselves in these circumstances."



Economy

John McCain:
Proposes to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Would allow first-year deduction, or "expensing," of investments in equipment and technology.          

Barack Obama:
Wants to use $75 billion in tax cuts and direct spending to stimulate the economy. Would provide immediate $250 tax cut to workers and their families, and an immediate, temporary $250 bonus to seniors in their Social Security checks.



Education

John McCain:
Favors parental choice of schools, including vouchers for private schools when approved by local officials, and right of parents to choose home-schooling.

Barack Obama:
Would encourage but not require universal prekindergarten. Wants to reward teachers with higher pay not tied to standardized test scores. Wants to change No Child Left Behind "so that we're not just teaching to a test and crowding out programs like art and music."



Guns

John McCain:
Voted against a ban on assault-type weapons but in favor of requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted to shield gunmakers and dealers from civil lawsuits.        

Barack Obama:
Voted to leave gunmakers and dealers open to lawsuits. Also, as an Illinois state lawmaker, supported a ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions on firearms. Despite his support for some gun-control measures, he said last weekend in Idaho: "We've got a lot of hunters in southern Illinois, and I've got no intention of taking away people's guns."



Foreign policy

John McCain:
Says his experience and world travels would make him a strong president on foreign issues. Cites the need to make credible defense commitments to our allies, and says support for a strong military would make that more likely. Was early advocate for the "surge" strategy in Iraq and opposes timetable for withdrawal.     

Barack Obama:
Says he would be willing to hold talks with America's adversaries as well as its friends. Cites his membership on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Says as president he might be willing to authorize a unilateral U.S. attack on Al Qaeda in Pakistan if the Pakistani government was "unwilling or unable to strike" against Islamic militants. Says Clinton erred in the most important foreign policy decision in a generation -- the decision to invade Iraq. Obama, like Clinton, favors a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.



Environment

John McCain:
Supports cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions. Believes economic interests and environmental concerns are not in opposition but rather "inextricably linked." Wants to raise auto fuel efficiency standards but has not set a specific target. Sees increased use of nuclear power as a major way to reduce pollution. Favors nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.         

Barack Obama:
Supports cap-and-trade emissions system with goal of cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Emphasizes that such a system must require all polluters to pay for emissions credits, rather than some getting credits for free. Goal for auto fuel efficiency is 40 m.p.g. for cars and 32 m.p.g. for light trucks by 2020. Opposes nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.



Ethics

John McCain:
Co-authored the McCain-Feingold campaign financing law, which has been praised as an attempt to limit the influence of special-interest money but has been criticized as ineffective and a violation of free-speech rights. Has called for an independent ethics office in Congress. Has not released his tax returns. Has been a leading critic of "earmarks" -- individual spending proposals that are added to legislation late in the process. Says earmarks promote unnecessary and wasteful spending and allow lawmakers to do favors for special interests. Was one of only a handful of senators to avoid earmarks entirely in 2007, according to a review by the non-partisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. Was enmeshed in an ethics scandal two decades ago: He was one of the "Keating Five" who intervened with federal regulators on behalf of savings-and-loan owner Charles Keating.         

Barack Obama:
Favors public financing of presidential campaigns, including free television and radio time. Proposes a database that would list what federal contractors spend on lobbying. Claims partial credit for a law restricting lobbyist-sponsored trips by lawmakers. Has released his tax returns. Was in the lowest quarter of senators sponsoring earmarks, with $91 million in 2007, less than a third as much as Clinton. Released his earmark requests for 2005 and 2006, calling on Clinton to do the same.



Race

John McCain:
Has been an advocate for American Indians, calling their treatment "one of the darker chapters of the American people." In his book "Why Courage Matters," praised the bravery of civil rights leaders such as John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. Said during the 2000 GOP presidential primary race that flying the Confederate flag over the South Carolina Statehouse was a state issue, but changed his mind after the state's primary, favoring a relocation of the flag. He said his earlier stand had been an "act of political cowardice." Said last year that he was satisfied with the compromise, in which the flag was moved to the front of the building. Has supported limited affirmative action but opposes "plans that result in quotas, where such plans have not been judicially created to remedy a specific, proven act of discrimination."

Barack Obama:
Says America must confront past and present racial tensions to move toward national unity. As a biracial American, has often written and talked about racial identification and discrimination in America. Worked as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago after graduating from Harvard Law School. Supports affirmative action, saying it "may be the only meaningful remedy available" when organizations engage in long, systemic discrimination. Came under criticism over racially divisive statements by his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Has rejected those remarks and has disavowed Wright.



Social Security

John McCain:
Favors using a portion of payroll taxes to finance private retirement accounts, as President Bush has proposed. Opposes increase in Social Security taxes but would be willing to discuss a compromise in which the payroll tax ceiling might be raised. (Currently, Americans pay Social Security payroll tax on their first $97,500 in annual income.) Says no reform to protect Social Security can be successful without bipartisan cooperation.   

Barack Obama:
Opposes using any portion of payroll taxes to finance private retirement accounts. Would raise the ceiling on the payroll tax that funds Social Security beyond the current $97,500—in effect, a tax increase for those at the top end of the income scale. Vows to work with Congress on long-term policies to keep Social Security solvent.


Housing

John McCain:
Calls for more accountability and transparency in financial markets. Says it's not the duty of government to bail out banks or borrowers who acted irresponsibly, but does not rule out temporary aid for people to help them stay in their homes. Says the down payment requirement for FHA mortgages should be raised. Calls for overall reform of the system as part of any aid effort.   

Barack Obama:
Supports immediate government intervention in housing crisis. Like Clinton, favors Frank-Dodd plan to provide federal loan guarantees to allow refinancing of troubled mortgages and keep people in their homes. Wants "second stimulus" of $30 billion that would include $10 billion to help people avoid foreclosure. Wants to require more transparency by financial institutions and reform the system so that federal regulatory agencies don't overlap and compete with each other.