Top issues for United States presidential candidates

Pradeep Gunawardhena

The main candidates have declared international relations, Iraq, security, energy and climate, Immigration, the economy, trade, education, and health care as top issues. Few opinions were comparable and the rest were differing from each other.

International Relations

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, greets supporters at a rally in Springfield, Saturday AP	Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (centre L) and his wife Cindy McCain (centre R) greet supporters during a campaign rally at Interstate Worldwide Relocation Inc. Saturday. AFP

McCain has been an advocate of promoting democracy in Africa and the Middle East. He sees Russia’s recognition of the independence of Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is “a significant and negative step.” He wants to create a league of democracies that could take action if the United Nations chooses not to. McCain has voted in favour of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement.

However, Obama says that it is important for United States to understand that the way it perceived in the world is going to make a difference, in terms of its capacity to get cooperation and root out terrorism.

He says that he is “willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend, and foe.” He supports U.S. assistance to Georgia and he also supports the European Union’s decision to postpone talks on a new European Union-Russia relationship until Russia honours its commitments in relation to Georgia.

Obama too, voted in favour of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement.

Iraq

McCain says he does not want to keep troops in Iraq “a minute longer than necessary to secure our interests there.” He believes that “a precipitous U.S. withdrawal would condemn Iraq to civil war” and energize al-Qaida.

He welcomed the handover of Anbar province from American to Iraqi forces, saying that American forces must continue assisting Iraqis so they succeed. But Obama is a critic of the Iraq war. He says it diverts attention from fighting al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He supports withdrawing combat troops immediately at the rate of one to two brigades per month so that most U.S. troops would be out of Iraq within 16 months of the U.S. presidential inauguration in January 2009. He says he would use some of these resources to fight the war on terrorism in Afghanistan by supplying more troops and more development resources to the region. If elected, Obama says he will provide at least $2 billion to expand humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees.

Security

John McCain says that “in a dangerous world, protecting America’s national security requires a strong military,” the U.S. Army must be enlarged and modernised with more advanced weapons systems to ensure it can meet a diverse set of security challenges. He supports the development and deployment of national missile defences and says they are essential to protect the United States from rogue regimes.

According to Barack Obama, the gravest danger to the American people is the threat of a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon and the spread of nuclear weapons to dangerous regimes. He pledges to lead a global effort to secure all nuclear weapons and nuclear material now housed at vulnerable sites within four years. Obama says the U.S. military and its alliances such as NATO need to be transformed to meet today’s needs.

Energy and Climate Change

McCain says that ensuring clean air, safe and healthy water, sustainable land use, ample green space ... is a patriotic responsibility. He supports developing clean-coal technologies, using nuclear energy and drilling for oil off U.S. shores to reduce the need to import oil. Believing there must be a global solution to global climate change, McCain says he would discuss environmental efforts with allies.

Joe Biden	Sarah Palin

Obama says fighting climate change is one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation. Obama has proposed a plan that would invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance bio fuels and promote renewable energy. He says he will improve energy efficiency 50 per cent by 2030, in part by creating a competitive grant programme to award jurisdictions constructing energy-efficient buildings. Obama says that he would create a Global Energy Forum that would bring together the largest energy-consuming nations to discuss environmental issues.

Immigration

John McCain says his top immigration priority is to secure U.S. borders. He believes it is important for immigrants to learn English, American history and civics. He says he will implement a “secure, accurate, and reliable” employment verification system to ensure individuals are hiring legal workers and temporary worker programs that will reflect the labour needs of certain U.S. business sectors.

Barack Obama has proposed legislation to create a new employment-eligibility system with which companies could verify that their employees are legal residents. He supports creating a legal pathway for undocumented immigrants that would allow illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes to stay in the United States if they pay a fine and learn English. He wants to add additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the U.S. borders and ports of entry.

The Economy

McCain says that he would enact a “Jobs for America” economic plan that “creates jobs, helps small businesses, expands opportunities, and opens markets to American goods.” The Republican candidate says he will keep 200,000 to 400,000 families from losing their homes by providing assistance to those struggling to make their adjustable-rate mortgage payments.

He says he will balance the government’s budget by the end of his first term by reducing the costs of large government programmes. McCain favours a financial package that shores up the U.S. financial system.

Obama’s economic plan calls for tax rebates, a foreclosure prevention fund and assistance to states hardest hit by the housing crisis that he says will help “jumpstart the economy.” The Democratic candidate would let several Bush-enacted tax cuts expire in 2010. He supports raising the minimum wage and increasing job training programmes that would help Americans find work in occupations related to clean energy.

Trade

McCain is a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He also supported the U.S.-Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and supports implementing the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade agreement.

He voted for normalising trade with Vietnam and China and supports expanding trade to developing countries. McCain believes the United States should engage in multilateral efforts to reduce trade barriers to provide Americans with more opportunities to sell their goods and services abroad.

Obama says that, if elected, he would ensure that “every [trade] agreement that the United States sign has the labour standards, the environmental standards and the safety standards that are going to protect not just workers, but also consumers”.

But Obama opposed the U.S.-Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) based on labour and environmental concerns. An opponent of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Obama says he will act forcefully, including a potential withdrawal from the treaty, to ensure labour and environmental sidebar agreements are enforced effectively. However, Obama supports implementing the U.S.-South Korean Free Trade Agreement.

Education

McCain says he will provide more funding to recruit better teachers and pay bonuses to teachers who agree to work in troubled schools. He also wants more federal funds to support development of online courses.

He believes that students should have the option of switching public schools in order to receive the best education and all federal financial support must be predicated on providing parents the ability to move their children, and the dollars associated with them, from failing schools.

Obama says, if elected, he would improve funding for the No Child Left Behind programme. He also says he would “make math and science education a national priority” and increase recruitment of teachers in these subjects.

In order to better recruit teachers, Obama proposes providing four-year scholarships to those in college who will teach for at least four years after graduation. He pledges to implement a $4,000 tax credit for those attending college.

Health Care

For those who do not receive health insurance through their employer, McCain says he will offer $2,500 tax credits to individuals and $5,000 tax credits for families to help make health insurance more affordable.

He also seeks to allow Americans to keep their health insurance when switching jobs or moving between states. McCain says health care costs can be lowered by encouraging greater competition among providers.

Obama’s health care plan would require all children to have health insurance and all employers to contribute to their employees’ health insurance costs. His campaign says that Obama’s plan would cut health care costs for the average American family by $2,500. To lower health care costs, Obama says he would require health care providers to publicly report on their expenses.

(The writer, a former Sri Lanka Consul General of California, is the Chairman of Lankapuvath Ltd, the National News Agency of Sri Lanka.)