Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton U.S. senator from New York
Following the Super Tuesday primaries— on Feb. 5— Sen. Clinton sits at 834 delegates, a virtual tie with Obama. Sen. Clinton won the Florida Democratic primary held on Jan. 29. Sen. Clinton finished second in the South Carolina Democratic primary held on Jan. 26. Clinton won the Nevada primary held on Jan. 19. Clinton won the New Hampshire primary held on Jan. 8. Clinton placed third in the Iowa Democratic Caucus held on Jan. 3.
Iraq: Would begin a phased re-deployment of U.S. troops from Iraq within her first few days in office. Would direct the U.S. defense leaders to draw up a clear, viable plan to begin bringing U.S. troops home within the first 60 days in office.
Economy: Would move toward a balanced federal budget. Strive to create budget surpluses. Initiatives for the creation of high-tech jobs. Would implement new budget rules requiring new expenditures to be funded with new revenues or cuts elsewhere. Supports the right of workers to unionize. Would ensure U.S. trade policies work for the benefit of middle Americans.
Social Security: Supports a 401k plan for all Americans partially supported with tax cuts.
Health Care: Health plan would guarantee all American are covered with health insurance and would provide tax credits to those who provide their own coverage.
Education: Would provide a $3,500 tax credit for families with a member in college, would increase Pell Grants.
Immigration: Supports comprehensive immigration reform. Would secure the border and promote efforts to reduce incentives for illegal immigration. Supports the DREAM Act which advocates citizenship in return for military service and higher education for children brought to the U.S. by their parents.
Taxes: Would lower taxes for middle class families.
Following the Super Tuesday primaries—on Feb. 5—Sen. Obama sits at 838 delegates, four delegates above his rival, Sen. Clinton. Sen. Obama finished second in the Florida Democratic primary held on Jan. 29. Sen. Obama won the South Carolina Democratic primary held on Jan. 25. Obama finished second in the Nevada primary held on Jan. 19. Obama finished second in the New Hampshire primary held on Jan. 8. Obama won the Iowa Democratic Caucus held on Jan. 3.
Iraq: As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002, Obama publicly opposed the Bush Administration’s plans to invade Iraq. If elected, Obama would bring one to two brigades of U.S. military personnel home per month and plan for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops within 16 months. Obama opposes the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.
Economy: Obama would provide tax cuts for working families and simplify tax filings for middle Americans. Would raise the minimum wage. Would promote policies which increased employment and investment in rural and other under-served areas. Would protect the rights of workers to unionize.
Social Security: Supports a payroll tax reform system that would create solvency in the Social Security program.
Health Care: Would make available a new national health care plan to all Americans.
Education: Would focus on early childhood education programs and make math and science education national priorities.
Immigration: Would work to create more secure borders and decrease incentives for people to enter the U.S. illegally.
(As of Jan. 30, former Sen. Edwards has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Would bring 40,000-50,000 U.S. troops home immediately with a phased complete withdrawal of U.S. troops within 10 months. Would leave 3,500 to 5,000 troops in Iraq to guard the U.S. Embassy and protect humanitarian workers.
Economy: Would repeal President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for households earning more than $200,000 per year, and would reverse many Bush trade policies. Would promote programs that help middle class families save, rescue their home mortgages and lower high-cost credit for the middle class. Edwards would raise the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2012.
Social Security: Would honor the promised benefits of Social Security. Favors a universal, portable retirement account to help families save for retirement.
Health Care: Supports universal health coverage with shared responsibility.
Education: Would drastically overhaul No Child Left Behind Act. Would create a national teachers university--a ’West Point’ for teachers who would be tasked with turning around the country’s worst schools. Would increase salaries up to $15,000 per year for teachers in under-served school districts. Would pay for the first year of college for poverty-level kids in return for part-time work.
Immigration: Would secure the border. Believes illegal immigrants already inside the U.S. should be allowed a path to U.S. citizenship if they avoid crime, learn English and pay a fine for their illegal entry. Would double the size of the Border Patrol. Would increase fines against businesses who violate U.S. immigration laws.
Taxes: Would establish the Get Ahead tax credit to match up to $500 per year in retirement savings for families earning up to $75,000 per year. Would more than double the Child and Dependent Care tax credit up to $2,500 per child per year. Would repeal Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
(As of Jan. 25, Rep. Kucinich has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: As Congressman, voted against the authorization for war in Iraq and voted against the continuation of the war. Would bring all U.S. troops and contractors home as soon as possible. Believes that the U.S. and Great Britain have a moral obligation to begin peace process in Iraq by funding reparations to Iraqi citizens to compensate them for lives lost, emotional and physical injuries and property damage.
Economy: Would raise the minimum wage to around $8 per hour. Would double the tax refunds and credits for Americans earning less than $80,000 annually by shifting the tax burden to the wealthy. Would create millions of middle class jobs with a new public works program combining the infrastructure and energy needs of the U.S. Would withdraw the country from NAFTA and from the World Trade Organization.
Social Security: Would honor the commitments of Social Security. Opposed to raising retirement age, opposed to privatizing Social Security.
Health Care: Supports a Universal, Single-Payer, Not-for-Profit health care system.
Education: Strong supporter of Head Start program. Would support a universal pre-kindergarten program. Opposes cuts in education funding.
Immigration: Favors giving illegal immigrants a road map to citizenship if they are hardworking and pay taxes. Believes border security should be left to Border Patrol and not the military or vigilantes.
Taxes: Would cut taxes for middle class and shift tax burden to the wealthy.
(As of Jan. 10, Gov. Richardson has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Would end the U.S. occupation, would bring all U.S. troops in Iraq home as soon as possible, no later than 2009. Believes the Iraq War has distracted the U.S. from the war against al Quaeda, which Richardson believes are headquartered along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, not in Iraq. Believes that only when the Iraqis begin to see U.S. troops leave Iraq will they begin to view the U.S. as partners rather than occupiers.
Economy: Would seek to restore a balanced federal budget and budget surpluses to try to rein in America’s $9 trillion in debt. Would invest in job force development.
Health Care: Working families and small businesses would be able to purchase healthcare through the same system that members of Congress currently use.
Education: Would eliminate the No Child Left Behind Act. Opposes school vouchers, favors school choice. Would have the government forgive two years of costs for college tuition and fees for each year of full-time community service.
Immigration: Would secure the border, increase the size of the Border Patrol, allow a path to citizenship for illegals already residing inside the U.S.
(As of Jan. 4, Sen. Dodd has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Would begin a complete re-deployment of all U.S. troops in Iraq to be completed within 10 months. Would leave some U.S. forces in Iraq to continue to train Iraqi military and help them combat terrorism.
Economy: Supports the restoration of American workers’ right to organize. Supports expansion of Family and Medical Leave Act with paid leave.
Social Security: Would protect the Social Security payment promises. Opposed to privatization of Social Security.
Health Care: All Americans would become covered during his first term. Would create a health insurance marketplace called Universal HealthMart that is based on Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). Every American would have access to the same plans that members of Congress have. Alternatively, people and businesses would be able to keep their existing insurance arrangements if they wanted.
Education: Would reform the No Child Left Behind Act, would raise the Pell Grant, and would create a competitive auction for the federal loan program to drive the student loan interest rates down.
Taxes: Supports tax-deferred home ownership savings accounts.
(As of Jan. 4, Sen. Biden has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Would divide Iraq into three regions, one each for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. The Iraqi central government would be in charge of the pivotal common interests of border defense, foreign policy, oil production and revenues. U.S. would bring troops home by summer 2008 but would leave a 20,000-troop force to train Iraqi security forces, serve as a deterrent to Iraq’s neighbors and help maintain stability.
Economy: Would increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25, would create Green Collar jobs, and protect the right of workers to organize. Would repeal George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans. Would use a pay-as-you-go budget philosophy. New expenses would have to be funded with new revenues or cuts elsewhere.
Social Security: Would safeguard the Social Security program, opposed to privatizing Social Security.
Health Care: Favors universal health care.
Education: Would extend the number of years a pupil invests in the public education system, would focus on reducing class sizes and training and retaining quality teachers.
Immigration: Would increase border security and would hold employers accountable for violating current U.S. immigration laws.
Taxes: Would reform the Alternative Minimum Tax, would repeal the George Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and the Bush tax cuts for oil businesses.
Following the Super Tuesday primaries—on Feb. 5—Sen. McCain holds 703 of 1,191 (just over 59 percent) needed for the Republican nomination for president. McCain's next nearest challenger, former Gov. Romney, sits at 269 delegates overall. McCain won the the Florida Republican primary on Jan. 29 and took the lead in number of Republican delegates. The U.S. Senator won the South Carolina primary and finished third in the Nevada primary — both held on Jan. 19 McCain finished second in the Michigan Republican primary held on Jan. 15. McCain won the New Hampshire primary held on Jan. 8. McCain tied for third with Fred Thompson in the Iowa Republican Caucus held on Jan. 3.
Iraq: Believes the U.S. must not fail in Iraq. Supports the troop surge and in the past has advocated even larger U.S. troop increases. Quick U.S. withdrawal would lead to Iraqi civil war, an unstable Middle East and ultimately would harm U.S. security, McCain believes. Wants to keep U.S. troops inside Iraq until the Iraqi government, society and military are all stable and secure.
Economy: The U.S. government must curtail excessive borrowing and deficit spending. Wants to end congressional earmarks, also called pork barrel projects, in the federal budget.
Social Security: Pledges to fight to save the future of Social Security and believes the government can save future benefits without raising taxes. Supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts.
Health Care: Believes fundamental problem is rapidly rising health care costs. Bringing costs under control is only way to stop erosion of affordable health insurance and to save Medicaid and Medicare. Would reform tax code to give $2,500 ($5,000 for families) tax credit to increase incentives for insurance coverage.
Education: Believes U.S. education system should ensure skills for our younger workers, and retraining and assistance programs for displaced workers must be modernized so those workers can pursue those opportunities best suited for modern industry.
Immigration: Would secure the U.S. border. Believes the U.S. government has failed in its responsibility to secure the border. Believes tight border security includes not just the entry and exit of people, but also the effective screening of cargo at U.S. ports and other points of entry.
Taxes: Would repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. Would aim to keep taxes as low as possible. Would make it harder to raise taxes.
Romney placed second in the Florida Republican primary on Jan. 29. The former Massachusetts governor won the Nevada primary and finished fourth in the South Carolina primary — both held on Jan. 19. Romney won the Michigan Republican primary held on Jan. 15. Romney finished second in the New Hampshire primary held on Jan. 8. The former governor finished second in the Iowa Republican Caucus held on Jan. 3.
Iraq: Would bring the U.S. troops home from Iraq as soon as possible, but not so soon that it would cause de-stabilization in the region.
Economy: Believes government spending at all levels of government has gotten out of control. Would establish strict spending limits, institute a presidential line-item veto, reform entitlements and implement a super majority (60 percent) of congressmen to approve any new tax increase.
Health Care: Would promote innovation in Medicaid, seek to reform the medical liability system and deregulate the state markets regarding insurance regulations.
Education: Would promote school choice, a federal tax credit for home schooling families, and would improve upon and enhance the No Child Left Behind Act.
Immigration: Would seek to end illegal immigration by supporting a border fence, rejecting amnesty for illegal immigrants, improve interior enforcement of existing immigration laws, and would punish (by reducing their federal funding) cities who provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants.
Taxes: Would make the Bush tax cuts’due to expire in 2011’permanent. Would eliminate taxes on savings for middle class Americans. Would eliminate inheritance taxes.
The former Arkansas governor finished second in the South Carolina primary and tied for fourth (with Fred Thompson) in the Nevada primary — both held on Jan. 19 Huckabee finished third in the Michigan Republican primary held on Jan. 15. Huckabee finished third in the New Hampshire primary held on Jan. 8. Huckabee won the Iowa Republican Caucus held on Jan. 3.
Iraq: Opposed to a time line of withdrawal of U.S. troops. Committed to retaining U.S. troop presence in Iraq until victory is achieved. Supports a regional summit so that Iraq's neighbors become militarily and financially committed to stabilizing Iraq.
Economy: Supports the FairTax. Would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service. Believes the federal government must significantly reduce spending. Believes in a balanced budget without increased taxes, fair and free trade, and the presidential line-item veto.
Health Care: Against universal health care mandated by the government. Advocates policies that encourage the private sector to bring health care costs down.
Education: Supports home schooling and public school choice. Would return more control over school choice to parents and return more education curriculum decisions to the states.
Immigration: Would mandate the construction of a border fence by July 1, 2010, increase the border patrol, prevent amnesty, and enforce U.S. immigration laws on employers.
Paul finished second in the Nevada primary held on Jan. 19.
Iraq: Believes Iraq War was sold to American public with false information. Wants to bring U.S. troops currently in Iraq back to the U.S. as soon as possible.
Economy: Would seek to restore the gold standard on U.S. currency. Believes the lack of a gold standard and Federal Reserve Bank’s excessive printing of currency are main causes of U.S. inflation and de-valued U.S. dollar. Would seek to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Social Security: Believes excessive government spending has caused the Social Security insolvency crisis. As a U.S. congressman, has introduced legislation that would repeal taxes on Social Security benefits and would mandate that all money paid into Social Security could only be used for Social Security benefits, thus returning Social Security to its original intent of being a trust fund. Believes only those Americans who pay into Social Security should be eligible to draw benefits from it.
Health Care: Opposes nationalized health care. Would support tax credits for insurance and prescription drugs and would favor allowing foreign imports of prescription drugs.
Education: Supports giving educational control back to parents. Would reduce federal government’s role in education. Favors a $5,000 tax credit to parents who send their children to private, parochial, religious or home schooling. Would give full-time elementary and secondary teachers a $3,000 annual tax credit to motivate them to remain in the education career field.
Immigration: Supports a border fence. Would seek to enforce border security immediately. Opposes amnesty for illegal aliens and birthright citizenship.
Taxes: Believes in lowering taxes for all Americans and significantly reducing and controlling government spending.
Iraq: Would not have made invasion of Iraq a strategic priority in the war on terror. Would relegate democracy building and society building to the United Nations and focus the U.S. military on only the military victory and security of Iraq.
Economy: Believes in saving the family farm system in America, reduced government spending and reducing or eliminating the government’s ability to borrow money on credit. Supports a balanced budget.
Social Security: Believes in Social Security reform based on two premises: Promises must be kept and future generations must have more choice (through market investments) and a higher return on Social Security savings.
Health Care: Does not believe in government-controlled health care. Favors putting individuals in charge of health care plans in overall goal of driving health care costs downward. Supports President George W. Bush’s call for tax-deductible medical savings accounts. Supports imports of prescription drugs from foreign countries.
Education: Supports decreasing government control over education while returning school choice to parents. Believes in prayer in public schools.
Immigration: Should reduce illegal immigration by enforcing the existing immigration laws. Believes in securing the border. Against amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Taxes: Would abolish income taxes and replace them with a national sales tax.
Iraq: Believes the U.S. military should not leave Iraq until the Iraqis are able to protect themselves from both internal and external threats. Level of foreign-initiated violence in Iraq should dictate the U.S. withdrawal timeline.
Economy: Believes all Americans should take home entire paycheck with no taxes on it.
Social Security: Begin phasing in voluntary private retirement accounts.
Immigration: Lock down the U.S. border with Mexico. Use “whatever means necessary” to secure the border. Empower U.S. Border Patrol agents with more aggressive rules of engagement.
Taxes: Believes in the FairTax plan which abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, Alternative Minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment taxes and replaces them with one federal sales tax to be administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.
Iraq: Believes the Iraq War should have been fought more decisively with U.S. commanders making all the decisions in Iraq until the war was won. The war should have been short. Believes the Iraqi government must fix their own country.
Economy: Supports middle class tax cuts to increase purchasing power of the U.S. middle class. Supports a balanced budget and debt reduction plan as linchpins to strengthening U.S. economy.
Health Care: Would encourage a private sector initiative to promote cost-effective preventative and excellent medical care for all. The responsibility for this initiative would lie in the individual, not the government.
Education: Would strengthen educational programs from elementary school through higher education. Would “encourage a renaissance in American literature, music, art, history, science, and mathematics.” Would promote critical thinking skills and ethics and moral development in all Americans.
Immigration: Would uphold current U.S. immigration laws. Does not subscribe to the “One World” philosophy. Would encourage large and small U.S. businesses to hire and produce within the United States.
Taxes: Believes tax cuts would stimulate economy and help keep the U.S. economy more stable.
(As of Jan. 30, former NYC Mayor Giuliani has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Against an “artificial” timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Believes a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops would only embolden enemies. Believes winning the war on terror is the “great responsibility of our generation.”
Economy: Controlling spending and cutting taxes are keys to sound economy.
Health Care: Believes the country can reduce health care costs and improve care by enhancing marketplace competition of health care providers.
Education: Would ensure every American child has access to a quality education by restoring real school choice to parents.
Immigration: Would seek to identify every non-citizen in the U.S. Would seal the border, supports a border fence. Believes all immigrants should learn to read, write and speak English. Supports a tamper-proof, biometric ID card and national registry for all non-citizens entering the United States.
Taxes: Seeks to make the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent.
(As of Jan. 22, former Sen. Fred Thompson has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Supports President Bush's current approach to the Iraq War. Believes the U.S. military should remain in Iraq until the country is stable.
Economy: Believes in balancing the federal budget without raising taxes. Believes the ever-increasing federal debt could spell economic catastrophe in the near future.
Social Security: Favors reducing growth of Social Security benefits.
Health Care: Opposes nationalized health care. Favors increased competition and consumer choice while streamlining regulations through free-market solutions that benefit individuals and reduce costs for employers.
Education: Favors giving parents power over school choice, school vouchers and a review of all federal government subsidies to education.
Immigration: Believes in securing the border. Against amnesty for illegal immigrants. Believes English should be the official language of the U.S.
Taxes: Would dissolve the Internal Revenue Service. Supports lower taxes for all Americans. Supports tax reform and a revision of the U.S. tax codes.
(As of Jan. 19, Rep. Hunter has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.)
Iraq: Believes it serves America’s security interests to have an ally like Iraq in the Middle East, an Iraq that has even a “modicum” of representative government and a “modicum” of freedom for its people. Iraq should stand up all 129 of its military battalions immediately. U.S. forces can begin to withdraw as Iraqi battalions secure Iraq. U.S. intelligence assets are the keys to preventing future terrorism aimed at U.S.
Economy: Believes in fair and equitable trade with other nations. Promotes keeping American industry and jobs within the U.S. Supports a balanced federal budget.
Health Care: Promotes U.S. citizens buying their own health insurance and tailoring their plan to meet their own individual needs.
Education: Supports school vouchers and home schooling. Believes curriculum prerogatives should be returned to state control.
Immigration: Supports border fence. Opposes amnesty program for illegal immigrants.
Taxes: Supports reform of Alternative Minimum Tax. Supports tax relieve and tax cuts, believes all Americans deserve tax relief. Supports efforts to reform tax code.
(Tancredo officially withdrew from the presidential primary race in early January.)
Tancredo's former candidate Web site (www.teamtancredo.com) is no longer accessible since Tancredo has officially withdrawn from the presidential primary race.
Tancredo is a conservative Republican Congressman from Colorado who emphasized his opposition to illegal immigration as the main plank of his presidential primary platform.
Tancredo claimed his goal in running for the Republican nomination for president in 2008 was to force other candidates to seriously address the nation's immigration policy. Tancredo has been described as a "man convinced that porous borders provide an entrance for trouble of all kinds."
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