John Mccain vs. Barrack Obama

The two major party presidential candidates in the US, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Both Barack Obama and John McCain attract independents. Both have a candor that appeals to voters and media-types alike. Both ask their audiences to serve a cause greater than self-interest. Both offer a politics that is grand and inspiring. But they are very different men. Their policies obviously conflict, but their skills, world views and moral philosophies set them apart, too. One man celebrates communitarian virtues like unity, the other classical virtues like honor.(David Brooks:2008)

Brief historical background


John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona and presidential nominee of the Republican Party in the 2008 presidential election.McCain graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers.


McCain lost his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. He ran again for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, and gained enough delegates to become the party's presumptive nominee in March 2008. McCain was formally nominated at the 2008 Republican National Convention in September 2008, together with his chosen running mate from Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin.

On the other hand,Barack Hussein Obama II(born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 general election.Obama is the first African American to be nominated by a major political party for president. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.


After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.


Personal Attributes


Six months before the general election, public perceptions of the relative strengths and weaknesses of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic front-runner Barack Obama are relatively static, though recent shifts on leadership, empathy and personal ethics hint at the battles to come. The two months of campaigning in the time since we last checked in on perceptions of these two candidates have done little to change minds.

In comparing McCain and Obama on eight key candidate attributes in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll, McCain continues to be seen as the more experienced candidate and the one with better knowledge of world affairs, while Obama is broadly seen as the one who would do more to affect change, with the better personality for the job and with a clearer vision for the future.


McCain's progress on empathy comes largely from bringing Republicans back into the fold, in March, 55 percent of Republicans said he was the candidate who better understands their problems; now 66 percent do.And on personal and ethical standards, more than one in five partisans are "cross-overs," choosing the other party's standard bearer as the one with higher standards. Obama cedes more than a third of Clinton supporters on this question, while McCain surrenders a quarter of conservatives.

Health Care


John McCain Believes The Key To Health Care Reform Is To Restore Control To The Patients Themselves. We want a system of health care in which everyone can afford and acquire the treatment and preventative care they need. Health care should be available to all and not limited by where you work or how much you make. Families should be in charge of their health care dollars and have more control over care.

To Make Health Insurance Innovative, Portable and Affordable, John McCain Will Reform Health Care Making It Easier For Individuals And Families To Obtain Insurance. He will Reform The Tax Code To Offer More Choices Beyond Employer-Based Health Insurance Coverage.　He Proposed to make Insurance More Portable.


While Obama-Biden planned to provide affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing health care system, and uses existing providers, doctors and plans to implement the plan. Under the Obama-Biden plan, patients will be able to make health care decisions with their doctors, instead of being blocked by insurance company bureaucrats.
He wanted to make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses - Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies.The Obama-Biden plan will promote public health. It will require coverage of preventive services, including cancer screenings, and increase state and local preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

Security Jobs:


McCain calls for new reforms throughout the Federal Government. It is one of his many priorities. Thus, it is not strange for him to want to reform the Unemployment Insurance (UI) System. In his economic plan, McCain proposes the following reforms to bolster job security and assist displayed workers in America:


John McCain Believes We Should Have A Single, Seamless Approach To Job Transition Assistance. Workers will have access to a flexible training account that permits them to pay for training at a community college and use leftover funds to keep their health insurance.John McCain Will Provide Special, Targeted Assistance For Older Workers. Because training is often inefficient for older workers, those 55 years of age and older who have built up an LEB will be eligible for a Lost Earnings Supplement.

On the other hand,　Sen. Barack Obama delivered an unusual and inspiring campaign speech in which he outlined specific, outside-the-box plans to address the extreme financial challenges facing middle-class Americans.

Among the specific interesting points in Barack Obama's Agenda to Reclaim the American Dream were: Middle class tax cuts of up to $1,000 for working families. Guaranteed paid sick days for workers and expand the Family and Medical Leave Act. Help Americans buy and keep their homes. Reforming bankruptcy laws, predatory credit card policies, and abusive payday lending practices. Reduce health care costs by $2,500 for a typical family. Provide a $4,000 refundable tax credit for college tuition.

Terrorism


McCain primarily identifies terrorism with "violent Islamist extremism," especially as manifested in Al Qaeda. McCain believes Al Qaeda continues to represent a significant threat to U.S. security. His solution includes ensuring quality intelligence, being protected against attack and being able to respond to an attack quickly.　Our homeland security plans must also consider threats posed by major accidents, or nature itself. In each instance, John McCain’s strategy is to prevent those incidents we can, prepare for and respond to disasters of all kinds, and improve the recovery process for disaster victims.


On Obama’s part, He funneled many of his comments about the "war on terrorism" through his concerns with human and civil rights issues that it has raised. His campaign website establishes both small weapons proliferation and potential nuclear terrorism as significant U.S. priorities.
He joined critique of the bill's suspension of habeas corpus for potentially innocent detainees with the accusation that the government was not addressing the actual issues.




References:
http.//johnmccain.com
http.//www.nowpublic.com
http.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki.com
http.//barrackobama.com