Main Issues
Barack Obama
John McCain
Economy
While describing it as “flawed”, Obama supported the Bush administration’s $700 billion plan bailout plan. However, he said it was outrageous that taxpayers should have to bail out Wall Street.
He had called for an independent oversight board, protection for taxpayers and measures to ensure Wall Street executives did not profit from the deal.
In addition, he had pushed for aid for struggling homeowners and a provision to give taxpayers a share of any profit from the purchase and subsequent sale of distressed assets.
Obama would let Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy expire in 2010. For the middle class, he proposes a $500-per-person tax credit, or $1,000 per family, to offset payroll taxes. He has said he would eliminate taxes for elderly people earning less than $50,000. He also proposes raising capital gains tax rates.
He would ensure affluent workers pay more in taxes to ensure that Social Security is fully funded.
He has called for greater government regulation of the US financial system and proposed a new $30 billion plan to help homeowners. This includes a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund to help people keep their homes and $10 billion in relief for state and local governments hit hardest by housing crisis.
Obama has urged the renegotiation of the NAFTA to strengthen provisions on employment rights and environment. He supports pressuring the World Trade Organisation to better enforce existing agreements.
Economy
McCain, who also agreed to the plan, had similarly argued called for greater moderation of the Bush administration's proposed bailout of US financial markets, saying the $700 billion plan needed broader supervision.
Mr McCain said the plan meets his demand for an oversight body to monitor the treasury secretary and limits the compensation of executives of financial institutions applying for loans.
McCain wants President George W. Bush's current programme of income tax cuts for those earning over $250,000 per annum extended. He would require a 60 per cent majority in Congress to increase taxes. He advocates cutting the corporate tax rate by 10 per cent to 25 per cent and supports moves to allow businesses to immediately write off capital expenses.
He advocates simplifying the tax system, pledging to introduce two tax bands and phasing out the Alternative Minimum tax, which threatens to ensnare millions of middle class taxpayers along with the wealthy. He would also cut government spending and reform Social Security. He has proposed a suspension of federal fuel taxes during the summer. McCain wants to allocate $10 billion to allow some homeowners to trade high-interest, adjustable-rate mortgages for safer, fixed-rate loans.
McCain supports negotiating a new free trade pact with the European Union and opposes changing the North American Free Trade Agreement agreement.
Health
Obama wants to cut the cost of health insurance to encourage more people to take out policies. He supports universal health coverage for the 47 million Americans without insurance, although he would only require mandatory coverage for children. He favours more government provided health care and more regulation.
He wants all but the smallest employers to be required to provide health insurance. Companies to don't would be compelled to pay into a national fund covering these uninsured workers.
Health
McCain would use tax credits of up to $5,000 for families to help shift from employer-based insurance coverage to an open market system where people can choose from competing policies.
He also wants to tighten laws to make it more difficult to sue doctors and allow individuals to buy health insurance from any state.
Foreign Policy
Obama favours negotiation over military action. He has said he would hold talks without preconditions with leaders of states including Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela.
Foreign Policy
McCain advocates a more vigorous US role in international diplomacy after the two terms of President George W. Bush. He has pledged to rebuild frayed relations with America's allies.
Iraq
Obama opposed the Iraq war before he was elected to the Senate.
He has said there is "no military solution" promised he would withdraw US troops on a phased basis within 16 months of taking office. He wants a UN convention to facilitate national reconciliation.
Iraq
McCain voted in favour of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He says US troops should stay "until the war is won". He recently said 2013 was a reasonable date for achieving that goal and ending US involvement. He supports indefinitely maintaining a peacekeeping military presence in Iraq to prevent 'genocide' and has criticised Obama's promises for a quick withdrawal as "reckless".
Iran
Obama has said he would be willing to meet Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and says keeping Iran free of nuclear weapons would be one of his top priorities in the White House. He has also said he would respond "forcefully and swiftly" to an Iranian attack against Israel or any other US ally.
Iran
McCain says the US cannot accept a nuclear-armed Iran and backs much tougher financial and trade sanctions against Tehran.
He also supports military action if Iran poses a "real threat" to Israel.
Afghanistan
Obama wants Pakistan to shut down al-Qaeda training camps and has said he would be willing to attack al-Qaeda inside Pakistan without Pakistani approval. He has called on other European countries to bolster their support for US and British forces in Afghanistan. He said he would send at least two more US combat divisions to the country and would provide at least $1 billion a year in extra non-military aid.
Afghanistan
McCain, who has said success in Afghanistan is vital in the fight against Islamic terrorism, wants Pakistan to do more to tackle al-Qaeda and the Taliban within its own borders. He wants more Nato participation within Afghanistan. He would send three additional US brigades to Afghanistan and double the size of the Afghan army to 160,000 troops.
North Korea
Obama has called for an "international coalition" to tackle the threat of North Korea and supports "sustained, direct and aggressive diplomacy" as an option for dealing with the nuclear issue.
North Korea
McCain takes a hard line on North Korea and is sceptical about Pyongyang's pledge to dismantle its nuclear programmes.
Russia
Obama has said Russia is neither an enemy nor a close ally and the US should not shy away from pushing for more democracy, transparency and accountability there. He says the US must work with Russia to make sure its nuclear weapons and materials are secured.
Russia
McCain has been a vocal critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and has accused Russia of seeking a de facto annexation of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Guantanamo
Obama supports closing Guantanamo, but says US civilian courts and the traditional military courts martial system can handle detainee trials. He opposed the Military Commissions Act and says he will adhere to the Geneva Conventions, which bans the use of torture on war prisoners.
Guantanamo
McCain has called for the camp to be shut down and for prisoners to be moved to the US military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He supported the Military Commissions Act, signed into law by President Bush in 2006, which provides military trials for some of the detainees and allows the use of evidence obtained through torture.
China
Obama says he would threaten to limit Chinese access to the US market as a bargaining tool to force Beijing to stop manipulating its currency.
China
McCain says he would keep pressure on China to improve its human rights record but would expand China-US ties.
Environment
Obama would cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050, reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and require fuel suppliers to cut carbon content by 10 per cent by 2020. He has pledged to double fuel economy standards within 18 years and says he would reduce overall US oil consumption by at least 35 per cent, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030.
Environment
McCain favours a cap-and-trade approach to carbon dioxide emissions. He sponsored legislation in 2007 to cut emissions by 30 per cent by 2050. McCain has set no specific on oil consumption targets. He has said he will unveil a strategy to reduce reliance on foreign oil sources.
Immigration
Obama has pledged to overhaul US immigration policies. He voted in favour of the Safe Fence Project in 2006 which would see the erection of a 1,100-kilometre fence along the US-Mexico border. The project was dropped due to lack of consensus.
He supported a bill last year that would establish a pathway to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA that includes learning English and paying fines. The bill was not passed.
Obama has said employers need to do more to check the legal status of their workers and has called for a new employment eligibility verification system.
Immigration
McCain has pledged to overhaul US immigration policies. He voted in favour of the Safe Fence Project in 2006 which would see the erection of a 1,100-kilometre fence along the US-Mexico border. The project was dropped due to lack of consensus.
He supported a bill last year that would establish a pathway to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA that includes learning English and paying fines. The bill was not passed.
McCain was accused by Obama of hardening his line on immigration in recent months to appease more right-leaning Republican voters.
Abortion
Obama opposes a constitutional amendment or federal law banning abortion and is also against moves to have Roe Vs Wade overturned. He also criticised the Supreme Court decision that upheld the ban on partial-birth abortions. Obama voted against the bill to on making it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent to bring a minor across state lines to have an abortion.
Abortion
McCain was supportive of the Roe Vs Wade decision in the past but now wants it overturned. He supported the Supreme Court decision that upheld the ban on partial-birth abortions. He also voted in 2006 to make it a federal crime for anyone other than a parent to accompany a minor across state lines to get an abortion. The bill was not passed.
Gay Rights
Opposes same-sex marriage, but also opposes a constitutional ban. While he has said decisions on same-sex marriages should be left to individual states, Obama is in favour of civil unions that would give same-sex couples the benefits enjoyed by married couples, including health insurance coverage, employment rights and property and adoption rights. Obama has also advocated legislation which would expand federal hate crimes laws to include discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gay Rights
McCain has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman but is opposed to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He has said he is in favour of allowing gay men and lesbians to "enter into contracts" but stopped short of endorsing civil unions. He also supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.
Gun Control
Obama wants tighter criminal checks on those wishing to buy guns and the reintroduction of a ban on assault weapons. In addition, he wants parents to be held criminally responsible if children injure someone with a gun found at home.
Gun Control
McCain opposes gun control, arguing that it is a "proven failure in fighting crime". He opposes the imposition of waiting periods for prospective buyers of weapons and reinstating a ban on assault weapons.
