Candidate Wrap-up

Throughout our campaign coverage, there have been a few important topics we have not touched on.  Read up on all these issues so you can be an extra informed voter (or pre-voter) on November 4th.

Immigration

The economy may top pollsters’ lists of critical 2008 U.S. election campaign issues, but immigration is not far behind. Where the presumed presidential candidates stand on immigration could determine who wins the 2008 election -- partly because many Latinos, the largest minority group in the United States, are expected to go to the polls. Anti-immigration rhetoric has galvanized immigrant voters, bringing them to the streets in protest and to the polling booth. 

Immigration is a divisive issue. A July Gallup Poll reported 39% of Americans think immigration should be kept at its present level, while 39% favor a decrease and only 18% wanted an increase. And Americans are nearly split evenly over whether to build a fence along the Mexican border to deter illegal immigration – a fence that is being built anyway.

The need to overhaul immigration policies is widely acknowledged. The responsibility for leading that reform could be determined by immigrant and ethnic “swing” voters in November.

Senator Barack Obama

• Hopes to create secure borders by adding more personnel, infrastructure and technology at our borders and points of entry.
• Plans to increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet demand for jobs that employers can’t fill.
• Will reduce incentives to enter illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers.
• Wants to do more to promote economic development in Mexico so immigrants don’t have to come to the U.S. for work.

 Senator John McCain

• Feels strongly that Americans cannot have a system that creates a group of second class citizens. To that end, McCain will work towards having all illegal immigrants either leave the country or follow a path to legal citizenship.
• Plans to implement temporary worker programs to adapt to the labor needs of the U.S. in the high-tech and low skilled sectors, and maintains that he can do this while still protecting employment opportunities for American workers.
• Plans to prosecute “bad-actor” employers who continue to hire illegal immigrants.
• Will monitor illegal employees and their employers using an “Electronic Employment Verification System,” which will update the current databases of government agencies that help with employment verification and provide responses to employers who need to know the status of their employees or potential employee citizenship.
• To address the issue of the huge number of undocumented people already living and working here, McCain will require them to enroll in a program to resolve their status. The program will:
• Assure that they learn English, pay back taxes and pass a citizenship course;
• Guarantee that no one will receive a green card before they have been legally waiting outside of the country;
• Ensure families are reunited;
• Address the status of people brought here as minors with no will or intention of their own.

Second Amendment rights and Gun control

Gun control was thrown into the national spotlight in July when the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. What’s scary is that recent research revealed that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even more frightening is that gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years.

So where do the candidates stand on gun control?

Sen. Barack Obama

• Vows to protect the rights of hunters to use guns.
• Believes in upholding the Second Amendment and protecting the right to purchase, own, transport and use guns.
• Hopes to create new access for hunting grounds and fishing areas.

Sen. John McCain

• Opposes restrictions on assault rifles.
• He recently opposed an amendment to ban 19 types of firearms including assault rifles.
• Supported laws requiring gun manufacturers to include gun safety devices like trigger locks.
• Does not believe in banning certain types of ammunition, as he thinks it’s just another way to undermine Second Amendment rights.
• Supports instant criminal background checks to help stop criminals from buying firearms.
• Believes in stiffer penalties for criminals who use firearms in their crimes.

Foreign Policy

Since 9/11 no one would question the importance of a presidential candidate's foreign policy credentials in this election, but since the Wall Street crisis, this issue has been put on the back burner.

But there are still two wars going on. The Iraq issue is not going away any time soon. McCain plans a commitment to American involvement with indefinite end while Obama plans a phased withdrawal over the course of 16 months. Then there's Afghanistan, where both candidates are calling for a change in strategy and much remains to be done.

There have also been recent developments in the world that should concern Americans, like the continued refusal of Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear ambitions and the recent joint naval exercises carried out by Russia and Venezuela.

We should also not forget the fact that the current economic crisis is global in nature. Stock markets and government bailout plans in other countries affect what happens here.

What this all adds up to is that America can't afford to become complacent about foreign affairs at a time when we face challenges on many different fronts. Whoever is elected president will have to deal with more than just the domestic economy.

The topic of foreign policy spans all sorts of issues – everything from nuclear weapons policy to the crisis in Darfur. We selected only a few to whet your appetite and encourage you to do your own research.

Pakistan/Afghanistan

Sen. Barack Obama

• Promises to shift attention from Iraq to address the growing threat of terrorists in Afghanistan.
• Hopes to launch small Special-Operations-like incursions into Pakistan to weed out terrorists training there and attacking U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
• Plans to give more aid to Pakistan (a U.S. ally) to deal with terrorists training within its borders and in the tribal regions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
• Promises to invade Pakistan if necessary to get Al Qaeda.

Sen. John McCain

• Believes the U.S. should employ the same “winning strategy” in Afghanistan as in Iraq.
• Does not agree with threatening Pakistan with an attack because Pakistan, though a U.S. ally in principle, is harboring terrorists. He insists that this is what terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan want to happen and he will not give them that satisfaction. However, he believes it would be “naïve” to exclude the option of attacking Pakistan or invading in some capacity.
• Would like to keep troops in Afghanistan.

Darfur

Sen. Barack Obama

• Plans to increase pressure on the Sudanese and hold the government to uphold its commitments under a peace accord they signed.
• Co-sponsored and worked to pass the
• Co-sponsored several measures to help protect Sudanese citizens and hold the government responsible for the genocide, including:
• Darfur Peace and Accountability Act in 2006 which directed the president to identify and target those who are responsible for the genocide.
• Civilian Protection Act urging the president to take several steps to protect civilians in Darfur, and calling on the UN Security Council to approve a force in Darfur in the near future.
• No-Fly Zone Resolution which called for the UN to deploy peacekeeping troops to Darfur.
• China Resolution, which called on China to use its influence and money to stop the genocide.

Sen. John McCain

• Believes a proposed “League of Democracies” of more than 100 democratic countries could act where the U.N. failed to act in Darfur.
• Did not co-sponsor the Darfur Accountability Act, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, or the China Resolution.
• Did co-sponsor the No-Fly Zone Resolution.

Global poverty

Sen. Barack Obama

• By the end of his first term, he plans to double the annual investment in foreign aid from $25 billion to $50 billion and meet the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015.
• Plans to fully fund debt cancellation for “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries.” In other words, he is for letting poverty-stricken countries off the hook for debts they owe to other countries.
• Plans to invest at least $50 billion by 2013 to fight HIV/AIDS, a huge problem in impoverished countries.

 

Sen. John McCain

• Believes that too many people in this world are excluded from the benefits of globalization.
• Strongly asserted that monetary aid alone is not the answer since many the governments of many developing countries are run by corrupt leaders who pocket foreign aid money.
• Hopes to address the issues of tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS in order to increase prosperity in countries.
• Hopes to promote economic growth and opportunities, especially for women, in developing nations.
• Believes that trade agreements restrict opportunities for poor farmers and workers abroad to help themselves, and hopes that by promoting free trade this will change.

Capital Punishment

In 2007, there were 42 executions in U.S. Those in support of the death penalty argue that it deters crime and ensures that criminals do not become repeat offenders. Opponents argue that it does not deter crime and cheapens human life. In defense of their opposition, they site studies that find racial disparities in death penalty cases, specifically, that African-American defendants receive death penalty at three times the rate of white defendants in cases where the victims are white.

Sen. Barack Obama

• Believes “some heinous crimes” justify the death penalty.
• Believes death penalty should be enforced fairly and with caution.
• Has voted against the death penalty.

Sen. John McCain

• Pro-death penalty.
• Voted yes on rejecting racial statistics in death penalty appeals.
• Voted yes on limiting death penalty appeals.

Faith

Sen. Barack Obama

• Believes there is a need for a deeper more substantive discussion about the role of faith in American life.
• Believes religious people need to translate their concerns into universal (not religion specific) values during public debate.

Sen. John McCain

• Believes the nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and that the American people should keep that in mind when choosing a leader.
• Believes one of the greatest religious tragedies of the 21st centuries is that extremists have perverted the religion of Islam.

Sources:America.gov, BarackObama.com, JohnMcCain.com, Ontheissues.org, WashingtonPost.com, NYtimes.com, Votesmart,org