Comparing the Leading Candidates
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Compare and Decide
While more than two people are currently running for the office of president of the United States, this page
focuses on the leading candidates from Democratic and Republican parties.
ABORTION
- BARACK OBAMA: Favors abortion rights.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek constitutional amendment to ban abortion.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
- BARACK OBAMA: The presidential campaign's fundraising champion has brought in nearly $265 million. Has signaled he will raise private money for his general election, despite his proposal last year to accept public financing and its spending limits if the Republican nominee does, too. Obama refuses to accept money from federal lobbyists and has instructed the Democratic National Committee to do the same for its joint victory fund, an account that would benefit the nominee. Obama does accept money from state lobbyists and from family members of federal lobbyists.
- JOHN MCCAIN: The co-author of McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, he plans to run his general campaign with public money and within its spending limits. He has urged Obama to do the same. He turned down federal matching funds for primaries so he could spend more than the limits. Federal Election Commission letter said he needs FEC approval before withdrawing from the primary public financing system, but FEC has not had quorum to act. McCain says he needs no such approval. McCain accepts campaign contributions from lobbyists.
CUBA
- BARACK OBAMA: Ease restrictions on family-related travel and on money Cuban-Americans want to send to their families in Cuba. Open to meeting new Cuban leader Raul Castro without preconditions. Ease trade embargo if Havana "begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change."
- JOHN MCCAIN: Ease restrictions on Cuba once U.S. is "confident that the transition to a free and open democracy is being made."
DEATH PENALTY
- BARACK OBAMA: Supports death penalty for crimes for which the "community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage." As Illinois lawmaker, wrote bill mandating videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases and sought other changes in system that had produced wrongful convictions.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Has supported expansion of the federal death penalty and limits on appeals.
EDUCATION
- BARACK OBAMA: Encourage but not require universal pre-kindergarten programs, expand teacher mentoring programs and reward teachers with higher pay not tied to standardized test scores, in $18 billion plan to be paid for in part by delaying elements of moon and Mars missions. Change No Child Left Behind law "so that we're not just teaching to a test and crowding out programs like art and music." Tax credit to pay up to $4,000 of college expenses for students who perform 100 hours of community service a year.
- 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. More money for community college education.
GAY MARRIAGE
- BARACK OBAMA: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it. Supports civil unions, says states should decide about marriage.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it. Says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and similar benefits.
GLOBAL WARMING
- BARACK OBAMA: Ten-year, $150 billion program to produce "climate friendly" energy supplies that he'd pay for with a carbon auction requiring businesses to bid competitively for the right to pollute. Joined McCain in sponsoring earlier legislation that would set mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Supports tougher fuel efficiency standards.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Broke with President Bush on global warming. Led Senate effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions; favors tougher fuel efficiency. Favors plan that would see greenhouse gas emissions cut by 60 percent by 2050. Supports more nuclear power.
GUN CONTROL
- BARACK OBAMA: Voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to suit. Also, as Illinois state lawmaker, supported ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Voted against ban on assault-type weapons but in favor of requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted to shield gun-makers and dealers from civil suits. "I believe the Second Amendment ought to be preserved -- which means no gun control."
HEALTH CARE
- BARACK OBAMA: Mandatory coverage for children, no mandate for adults. Aim for universal coverage by requiring employers to share costs of insuring workers and by offering coverage similar to that in plan for federal employees. Says package would cost up to $65 billion a year after unspecified savings from making system more efficient. Raise taxes on wealthier families to pay the cost.
- JOHN MCCAIN: $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to make health insurance more affordable. No mandate for universal coverage. In gaining the tax credit, workers could not deduct the portion of their workplace health insurance paid by their employers.
HOUSING
- BARACK OBAMA: Tax credit covering 10 percent of annual mortgage interest payments for "struggling homeowners," scoring system for consumers to compare mortgages, a fund for mortgage fraud victims, new penalties for mortgage fraud, aid to state and local governments stung by housing crisis, in $20 billion plan geared to "responsible homeowners."
- JOHN MCCAIN: Open to helping homeowners facing foreclosure if they are "legitimate borrowers" and not speculators.
IMMIGRATION
- BARACK OBAMA: Voted for 2006 bill offering legal status to illegal immigrants subject to conditions, including English proficiency and payment of back taxes and fines. Voted for border fence.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Sponsored 2006 bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., work and apply to become legal residents after learning English, paying fines and back taxes and clearing a background check. Now says he would secure the border first. Supports border fence.
IRAN
- BARACK OBAMA: Favors direct direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions, believing it would give U.S. more credibility to press for tougher international sanctions. Will offer incentives if Iran abandons its nuclear program and support for terrorism, and a move toward normal diplomatic relations. If Iran continues its troubling behavior, will step up our economic pressure and political isolation.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Favors tougher sanctions. Says unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships from a position of weakness not the answer and says U.S. should bolster its regional military posture. Has stated military action is "not off the table."
IRAQ
- BARACK OBAMA: Spoke against war at start, opposed troop increase. Will immediately begin bringing troops home if elected and plans phased withdrawal, with combat brigades out within 16 months. Will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Opposes scheduling a troop withdrawal, saying latest strategy is succeeding. Supported decision to go to war, but was early critic of the manner in which administration prosecuted it. Key backer of the troop increase. Willing to have permanent U.S. peacekeeping forces in Iraq.
SOCIAL SECURITY
- BARACK OBAMA: Proposes raising cap with an unspecified "small adjustment" that would subject a portion of higher incomes to Social Security taxes.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Would consider "almost anything" as part of a compromise to save Social Security, yet rules out higher payroll taxes for now.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
- BARACK OBAMA: Supports relaxing federal restrictions on financing of embryonic stem cell research.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Supports relaxing federal restrictions on financing of embryonic stem cell research.
TAXES
- BARACK OBAMA: Raise income taxes on wealthiest and their capital gains and dividends taxes. Raise corporate taxes. $80 billion in tax breaks mainly for poor workers and elderly, including tripling Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credit for larger families. Eliminate tax-filing requirement for older workers making under $50,000. A mortgage-interest credit could be used by lower-income homeowners who do not take the mortgage interest deduction because they do not itemize their taxes.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Has stated "No new taxes" if elected. Twice opposed Bush's tax cuts, at first because he said they were tilted to the wealthiest and again because of the unknown costs of Iraq war. Now says those tax cuts, expiring in 2010, should be permanent. Proposes cutting corporate tax rate to 25 percent. On February 15, 2008, promised balance budget in first term. On February 19, 2008, McCain's economic advisor told press McCain's overall goal is to balance the budget by the end of his second term. In April 2008 that cutting taxes and stimulating the economy are more important than balancing the budget.
TRADE
- BARACK OBAMA: Seek to reopen North American Free Trade Agreement to strengthen enforcement of labor and environmental standards. In 2004 Senate campaign, called for "enforcing existing trade agreements," not amending them.
- JOHN MCCAIN: Free trade advocate.
2006 INCOME: BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA
- $991,296
The Obamas filed a joint tax return. The Obama's 2006 income was derived from Barack Obama's U.S. Senate salary of appx. $162,000, Michelle Obama's salary at the University of Chicago of appx. $265,000, Sen. Obama's book royalty income of appx. $551,240, and Michell Obama's income of appx. $51,200 as director of TreeHouse Foods, a food manufacturer servicing primarily the retail grocery and foodservice chains.
View the Obama's 2006 Tax Return.
2006 INCOME: JOHN & CINDY MCCAIN
- $6,424,845
John and Cindy McCain filed separate tax returns. John McCain earned $358,414 in 2006. After insisting she would not release her returns, Cindy McCain released a two-page summary of her 2006 returns. Cindy McCain earned $6,066,431 in 2006.
John McCain's 2006 income was derived from his U.S. Senate salary of appx. $162,000, book royalty income of appx. $80,390, Social Security income of appx. $22,104 and U.S. Navy Disability Pension of $56,496.
Cindy McCain's 2006 income was derived from her salary of $299,418 as chair of Hensley & Company, interest of appx. $40,000, and taxable gains of $743,476. Most of her income -- $4,551,901 -- came from a category that includes rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, corporations or trusts. The McCain campaign did not release documents that detail what that money is from.
Having inherited Hensley & Company, one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the nation, Cindy McCain's net worth is estimated to be $100 million dollars.
View John McCain's 2006 Tax Return. View a summary of Cindy McCain's 2006 Tax Return.
2007 INCOME: BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA
- $4,238,165*
The Obamas filed a joint tax return. The Obama's 2007 income was derived from Barack Obama's U.S. Senate salary of appx. $162,000, Michelle Obama's salary at the University of Chicago of appx. $103,633, Sen. Obama's book royalty income of appx. $4,000,000, and Michell Obama's income of appx. $29,443 as director of TreeHouse Foods, from which she resigned in May.
*The Obama's significant increase in income for 2007 is attributed to increased sales of his books "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope".
In 2000, the Obama's joint income was $212,999; in 2001, $176,965; in 2002, $226,300; in 2003, $238,327; in 2004, $207,343; and in 2005, after receiving advances from Random House for his bestselling book The Audacity of Hope, $1,670,995.
View the Obama's 2007 Tax Return.
2007 INCOME: JOHN & CINDY MCCAIN
- $6,471,840*
John and Cindy McCain filed separate tax returns. *Cindy McCain has not made her 2007 income tax returns available, so her income from 2006 was used to estimate the McCain's combined 2007 income.
John McCain's 2007 income was derived from his U.S. Senate salary of appx. $162,000, book royalty income of appx. $176,508, Social Security income of appx. $23,157 and U.S. Navy Disability Pension of $58,358.
Cindy McCain's net worth of $100 million is expected to have increased with the sale of Budweiser to Belgian beverage giant InBev NV.
According to John McCain's Senate financial disclosure forms, Cindy McCain, heiress to the third-largest Anheuser distributor in the United States, owns at a minimum $1 million in the American company which was recently sold.
View John McCain's 2007 Tax Return.
Who gives more to charity and where do their donations go?
2006 CONTRIBUTIONS: BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA
- $60,307 or appx. 6.06% of their combined income that year.
The two largest recipients of their donations were CARE, the international relief organization, and Trinity United Methodist Church. The Obamas were members of Trinity Church. Other recipients included Congressional Black Caucus, Muntu Dance Theater and other recognized charities.
2006 CONTRIBUTIONS: JOHN & CINDY MCCAIN
- $129,390 or appx. 2.01% of their combined income that year.
The majority of the McCain's contributions were made to the John & Cindy McCain Family Foundation, which distributed $187,639 to charities in 2006 (the foundation had monies from previous years that had not been distributed).
The two largest recipients of their donations were Brophy College Preparatory school in Phoenix and Christ Lutheran School in Phoenix. McCain's children attended both of those schools. The John & Cindy McCain Family Foundation also donated to Arizona Humane Society, CARE, North Phoenix Baptist Church, Operation Smile and other recognized charities.
2007 CONTRIBUTIONS: BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA
- $240,370 or appx. 5.68% of their combined income that year.
The Obama's donate their money directly to charity. The two largest recipients in 2007 were the United Negro College Fund and CARE, the international relief organization. Other organizations receiving money included Boys and Girls Club, Central Illinois Food Bank, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Trinity United Church, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, and the United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area.
2007 CONTRIBUTIONS: JOHN & CINDY MCCAIN
- $210,933 or appx. 3.26% of their combined income that year.
The majority of the McCain's donations were made to the John & Cindy McCain Family Foundation, which distributed $78,250 to charities in 2007. The two largest recipients in 2007 were Operation Smile and The Halo Trust. Other recipients included the Arizona Humane Society, Connections Equine Therapy, Craniofacial Foundation, North Phoenix Baptist Church, School of American Ballet, Scottsdale Christian Academy and Xavier.
Information on George W. Bush is included as a point of interest.
CAME FROM A FAMILY OF POWER
- GEORGE W. BUSH: YES. Family of oil wealth and politics.
- JOHN MCCAIN: YES. Family of high ranking Naval status. Father and grandfather were Navy Admirals.
- BARACK OBAMA: NO. Father left when he was two, mother used food stamps at one point, raised from age of 10 by maternal grandmother and grandfather (who went to college on the GI Bill and purchased their first home with help from the Federal Housing Authority).
PARTIED AS YOUTHS
- GEORGE W. BUSH: YES. Drugs and alcohol.
- JOHN MCCAIN: YES. Frequented strip clubs and bars, dated a stripper nickname "Marie the Flame of Florida"
- BARACK OBAMA: YES. Admitted to drug use in his best selling book Dreams From My Father.
HIGH PERFORMING STUDENTS
- GEORGE W. BUSH: NO.
- JOHN MCCAIN: NO. Graduated from Annapolis 894 out of 899 students.
- BARACK OBAMA: YES. Went to school on scholarship and loans. Graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude (with great honors) and was the first black student to be president of the Harvard Law Review.
POWERFUL FATHERS & GRANDFATHERS
- GEORGE W. BUSH: YES. Father George H. Bush is former President; grandfather Prescott Bush was a U.S. Senator.
- JOHN MCCAIN: YES. Father and grandfather were 4-star Navy Admirals.
- BARACK OBAMA: NO. Father left when he was two. Maternal grandfather who raised Obama from the age of 10 was WWII veteran who went to college on the GI Bill.
USED FAMILY TIES TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS
- GEORGE W. BUSH: YES. Worked in family's oil business and used family connections to succeed in politics.
- JOHN MCCAIN: YES. Despite being a poor student and mediocre pilot (lost five aircraft, though only two accidents were deemed his fault) this son of an admiral received regular promotions in the Navy. Later used second wife's money and the political and business connections of her father to help achieve political success.
- BARACK OBAMA: NO. Earned school scholarships, job as a community organizer and political positions on his own merits.
Sources:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/03/mccain-and-flame-of-florida/...
http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2008/05/senator_obamas_2.html
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1727868,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/2007/candidates_books/mccain/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush
http://www.time.com/time/2007/candidates_books/obama/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama
http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/69733
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gF1ulxhgHBB7Fr0LKa4pA0zVeXCQD912TUT80
http://www.ontheissues.org
http://www.johnmccain.com
http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainfinancial/
http://www.barackobama.com
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