Presidential Election 08
The 2008 election is one of the most serious elections in recent times. The United States is in a situation where one wrong political move could be devastating. The economy is remembering many of the conditions before the Great Depression. Whether the next president is John McCain or Barack Obama, he will have to make many critical decisions on important issues that may affect our country for years to come.
John McCain was born in 1936 in Panama, but his hometown is Phoenix, Arizona. After receiving education from him, he became a Captain in the Navy. He served in the House of Representatives until 1986 when he finished his term. John won the Republican Party nomination in 2008 and now hopes to become President of the United States (Project Vote Smart).
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. He gained popularity among his peers and constituents when he spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. In 2005, he joined the United States Senate as a representative from Illinois, a position he currently holds. Barack won the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party and is now running against John McCain for the White House prize.
McCain is a defender of free trade. McCain has said that he would like to make a trade agreement with any country that is prepared to enter into a deal with the US, as long as they negotiate fairly. These changes in the tax structure serve to control and restrict trade with other nations. Barack wants to make changes to NAFTA and other trade agreements to make them more favorable to ordinary people.
Another gigantic issue is how they would handle the state budget. Barack Obama wants to change how finances are regulated. Barack believes that Bush is the cause of the great debt that the country has today. He says the government must focus spending on the middle class and cut costs in Iraq. He also says it might be helpful to limit Visa interest rates below 30 percent. He says that we must improve the economy to keep the military strong and that we cannot pass this huge financial burden onto America’s youth. To reduce taxes, the spending of nations must be brought under control. In 2003, he opposed Bush’s tax cuts because spending was out of control (On the Difficulties). McCain wants to increase the children’s tax exemption to $7,000 per child. John is also of the opinion that the United States requires a fairer tax setup, but is against fair taxes.
Barack Obama wants to cut taxes for ninety-five percent of the population; Excluding the top 5 percent, Barack thinks it’s okay for him to impose high taxes on higher-income voters because under Clinton they didn’t feel oppressed. Obama claims that he doesn’t need to give money back to people who don’t want it. He also said: ‘I will raise the taxes of the bosses, there is no question about it.’ Obama believes that tax subsidies to the middle class will help offset the rising costs of food and gasoline.
An issue that affects many US citizens is gay rights. Obama sees similarities between the gay rights movement and the civil rights movement. He knows that being gay is not a choice. Obama believes that gays should be allowed to join in civil unions, giving the same benefits and rights to same-sex couples. Although John believes that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, he suspects that the issue should be left to the states.
Every American expects to retire at some point, which is why Social Security is such a pressing issue. He also acknowledges that any solution would only be non-permanent because Social Security is not a long-term solution.
On the other hand, Obama opposes all attempts to privatize Social Security. He thinks it’s too dangerous for people’s retirements to depend on the stock market. He is also against reducing benefits or shooting up the retirement age.
Another issue that is vital for the improvement of the country is oil and energy. John McCain is in favor of nuclear energy. John believes that global temperature rise is a real problem and that nuclear power is the solution.
Barack Obama has just become a nuclear power fanatic. He also voted to reduce oil use by 40 percent by 2025 (On the Problems). He believes that steps must be taken to slow the effects of rising global temperatures.
The security of the nation is critical to the security of every American. He suspects the military needs to expand, and therefore college teams need to allow recruiters on campus. He also believes that torture should never be used.
John McCain is a war veteran and announces that he hates war. He thinks it is vital that the president has military experience so that he knows the great sacrifices that war entails. McCain held 0 percent of SANE, indicating an adept voting record in the military. John claims that both Bush and Clinton missed opportunities to capture Osama bin Laden.
A social issue on which the 2 presidential candidates have different opinions is abortion. Obama said, ‘We should trust women with partial birth decisions.’ He also thinks it’s acceptable for kids to cross state lines to get terminations. John disagrees with abortions in general and believes that they should only be used after rape. The two presidential candidates share identical views on some issues, but have completely different views on others. Regardless of who wins the upcoming election, the president will have great influence in the future.