| Issue | McCain's Promise(s) | Obama's Promise(s) |
|---|
| Taxes | - Keep taxes low and cut them where he could.
- Double the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000.
- Cut the business tax rate to help American companies compete and keep jobs from moving overseas.
| - Cut taxes "for 95 percent of all working families."
- Eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses" and start-ups "that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow."
- Advocate "a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it."
- "Stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas" and "start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America."
|
| Energy | - Produce more energy at home.
- Drill new wells offshore.
- Build more nuclear power plants.
- Develop clean coal technology.
- Increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas.
- Encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
| - Set a goal that "in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."
- "Tap natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology and find ways to safely harness nuclear power."
- "Help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America."
- Make it easier for Americans to afford U.S.-built, fuel-efficient cars.
- Have the federal government "invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels." Doing so, he said, would "lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced."
|
| Education | - Make schools answer to parents and students.
| - "Finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education."
- Find more money for early childhood education and recruit teachers with better pay while also pushing "higher standards and more accountability."
- Make sure young Americans can afford college if they serve their community or country.
|
| Health Care | - Make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance.
| - "Finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American."
- Lower premiums for those who have health care and let those without coverage "get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves."
- Make sure insurance companies "stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most."
|
| Federal Spending | - Reduce government spending and get rid of failed programs to "let you keep more of your own money to save, spend and invest as you see fit."
| - Pay for "every dime" of his plans' costs "by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow."
- Cut federal programs that don't work and improve those that do while reducing their costs.
|
| Foreign Relations | - A serious blow has been dealt to al Qaeda, but the terror network has not been defeated and will strike again if able.
- Iran is the chief state sponsor of terrorism and on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons.
- Russia's leaders have rejected democratic ideals, invaded a small, democratic neighbor, Georgia, to gain more control over the world's oil supply, intimidated other neighbors and have ambitions of reassembling the Russian empire.
| - "Restore our moral standing" in the world.
- Provide "tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression."
- "Build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation, poverty and genocide, climate change and disease."
|
| Labor Law | No Comment | - Provide paid sick days and "better family leave" for workers.
- Close the pay gap between the sexes.
|
| Bankruptcy Law | No Comment | - Change bankruptcy law "so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses."
|
| National Defense | No Comment | - "End this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan."
- "Only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home."
- "Rebuild our military to meet future conflicts."
|
| Abortion | No Comment | - Work with people on all sides of the issue to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
|
| Gun Control | No Comment | - Uphold the Second Amendment but also keep "AK-47s out of the hands of criminals."
|
| Gay Rights | No Comment | - Help ensure that gays and lesbians have the right "to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination."
|
| Illegal Immigration | No Comment | - Pursue policies that don't result in separated families.
- Discourage companies from undercutting American wages by hiring illegal workers.
|
| Foreign Trade | - Open new markets to American goods and services.
- Prepare workers to compete in the world economy.
| No Comment |
| Unemployment Assistance | - Help workers who've lost a job that won't come back and find a new one that won't go away.
- Use community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities.
- Retrain workers in industries that have been hard hit and cover the pay difference during retraining.
| No Comment |
| Economy | - Create millions of new jobs, "jobs that will be there when your children enter the work force."
| No Comment |
