Comparing the candidates on the issues

On healthcare

McCAIN: We need to put healthcare records online. The V.A. [Veteran Affairs] does that. That will reduce costs. We need to have more community health centers. We need to have walk-in clinics. The rise of obesity amongst young Americans is one of the most alarming statistics that there is. We should have physical fitness programs and nutrition programs in schools. . . . Every parent should know what’s going on there.... We -- we need to have -- We need to have employers reward employees who join health clubs and practice wellness and fitness. But I want to give every American family a $5,000 refundable tax credit. Take it and get anywhere in America the health care that you wish.

OBAMA: If you don’t have health insurance, then what we’re going to do is to provide you the option of buying into the same kind of federal pool that both Senator Sen. McCain and I enjoy as federal employees, which will give you high-quality care, choice of doctors, at lower costs, because so many people are part of this insured group. We’re going to make sure that insurance companies can’t discriminate on the basis of pre-existing conditions. We’ll negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs. . . . And we are going to make sure that we manage chronic illnesses, like diabetes and heart disease, that cost a huge amount but could be prevented. We’ve got to put more money into preventive care.

--

On abortion rights

McCAIN: “Health for the mother.” You know, that’s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That’s the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, “health.” . . . Look, Cindy and I are adoptive parents. We know what a treasure and joy it is to have an adopted child in our lives. We’ll do everything we can to improve adoption in this country. But that does not mean that we will cease to protect the rights of the unborn. Of course, we have to work together, and, of course, it’s vital that we do so and help these young women who are facing such a difficult decision, with a compassion, that we’ll help them with the adoptive services, with the courage to bring that child into this world and we’ll help take care of it.

OBAMA: I am somebody who believes that Roe vs. Wade was rightly decided. I think that abortion is a very difficult issue, and it is a moral issue and one that I think good people on both sides can disagree on. But what ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers advisors, are in the best position to make this decision. And I think that the Constitution has a right to privacy in it that shouldn’t be subject to state referendum, any more than our First 1st Amendment rights are subject to state referendum, any more than many of the other rights that we have should be subject to popular vote. . . . I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there’s an exception for the mother’s health and life.

--

On education

McCAIN: Now, throwing money at the problem is not the answer. You will find that some of the worst school systems in America get the most money per student. . . . So I believe that we need to reward these good teachers. . . . Now, as far as the No Child Left Behind is concerned, it was a great first beginning, in my view. It had its flaws, it had its problems, the first time we had looked at the issue of education in America from a nationwide perspective. And we need to fix a lot of the problems. We need to sit down and reauthorize it. . . . And I’ve got to tell you that vouchers, where they are requested and where they are agreed to, are a good and workable system.

OBAMA: In some cases, we are going to have to invest. Early-childhood education, which closes the achievement gap so that every child is prepared for school, every dollar we invest in that, we end up getting huge benefits with improved reading scores, reduced dropout rates, reduced delinquency rates. I think it’s going to be critically important for us to recruit a generation of new teachers, an army of new teachers, especially in math and science, give them higher pay, give them more professional development and support in exchange for higher standards and accountability. And I think it’s important for us to make college affordable. . . . And that’s why I’ve proposed a $4,000 tuition credit, every student, every year, in exchange for some form of community service, whether it’s military service, whether it’s Peace Corps, whether it’s working in a community.

--

On the campaign’s negative tone

McCAIN: Well, this has been a tough campaign. . . . And I regret some of the negative aspects of both campaigns. But the fact is that it has taken many turns which I think are unacceptable. . . . Every time there’s been an out-of-bounds remark made by a Republican, no matter where they are, I have repudiated them.

OBAMA: I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings during the course of the campaign than addressing the issues that matter to them so deeply. . . . That’s the stuff that campaigns should be made of.

--

On cuts each would make because of the weak economy

McCAIN: I would have, first of all, across-the-board spending freeze, OK? Some people say that’s a hatchet. That’s a hatchet, and then I would get out a scalpel, OK?. . . . I know how to save billions of dollars in defense spending. I know how to eliminate programs. . . . One of them would be the marketing assistance program. Another one would be a number of subsidies for ethanol. . . . I would eliminate the tariff on imported sugar-cane-based ethanol from Brazil.

OBAMA: We spend $15 billion a year on subsidies to insurance companies. It doesn’t, under the Medicare plan, it doesn’t help seniors get any better. It’s not improving our healthcare system. It’s just a giveaway. We need to eliminate a whole host of programs that don’t work. And I want to go through the federal budget line by line, page by page,. programs Programs that don’t work, we should cut.