Clinton - debate - Democratic - issues - Obama
Clinton vs Obama: the issues
Tuesday 26 February 2008
As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton face off Tuesday in what could be their last debate, we look beyond the personality contest to identify the key policy differences setting the two candidates apart.
Special Report The race to the White HouseTuesday 26 February 2008
By Priscille Lafitte and Moïna Fauchier Delavigne / FRANCE 24It can be difficult to pin Barack Obama’s programme down. The Democratic hopeful has consistently voted with the left of his party in the Senate since 2005. But now he’s working to draw voters from other political horizons – including Republicans. Critics have accused him of not giving enough details about his programme during campaign events.
His rival Hillary Clinton has taken a clearer stand on several issues. “We will underline the differences, compare, offer real choice,” Clinton tells voters. While the former First Lady stresses her expertise on economic and international issues, she is often criticized for the failings of the previous Clinton administration.
Visit their websites :
Buying power and slowing economy
On her Web site, Clinton has put the buying power of the middle classes high on her agenda. She pledges to help households impoverished by the subprime crisis and stop property seizures. She wants to cancel the tax cuts introduced by President George W. Bush for households earning over 250,000 dollars a year.
As economic difficulties brew in the US, Obama has tried to counter Clinton’s proposals. Much like her, he promises tax cuts for average-income households and the cancellation of Bush’s “tax package” for wealthier Americans. Unlike Clinton, Obama does not give figures. But he does pledge a 60-billion-dollar infrastructure package with money rerouted from the war effort in Iraq.
Medical insurance
Clinton is campaigning hard over medical insurance and backs compulsory medical insurance for all Americans. The cost of her project is estimated at 110 billion dollars per year and would be jointly financed by the government and by employers. Clinton had pushed - without success - for the creation of universal health insurance during Bill Clinton’s mandate.
Obama is campaigning for compulsory medical insurance for children only. His project would cost 50 to 65 billion dollars – half the cost of Clinton’s proposal. Like Clinton, he plans to finance his programme by taxing corporations and households which earn over 250,000 dollars a year.
The war in Iraq
Analysts say Obama has an edge over Clinton when it comes to the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. On Oct. 2, 2002, when Congress agreed to authorize Bush to send the US military to war in Iraq, Obama addressed an anti-war rally in Chicago. Clinton, on the other hand, was among the Democrats who voted for the authorization.
Obama spoke out against the war from 2002 onwards and voted against sending more troops to Iraq. Obama wants to quickly withdraw US forces from Iraq, leaving a small contingency to fight terrorism and work on Iraqi political reconciliation. “The solution is not military,” he says.
Clinton agrees with Obama on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. She has also announced a calendar for withdrawal, with US troops starting to leave Iraq within two months of the beginning of her mandate. She also promises that almost all of the troops would be back home by 2013. But analysts say she does not enjoy the same credibility as Obama on the issue because she approved of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The Iranian issue
Clinton and Obama both back economic sanctions on Iran and do not exclude military action. But Clinton refuses to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whereas Obama would meet him before demanding concessions.
Immigration
Both candidates are in favour of a massive legalization of illegal immigrants on US territory. Clinton encourages people to “come out of the shadows”. “We need to know who is living in our country,” she explains. Her programme includes tougher sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers. Both candidates are in favour of stricter US-Mexican border controls.
Free trade and globalization
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which established a free trade zone among the US, Canada and Mexico in 1994, is under fire, especially in states like Ohio that have been hard hit by losses in US manufacturing jobs. Obama has attacked Clinton on the issue by aligning her with her husband, who pushed for the accord when he was president. Obama has accused Clinton of trying to distance herself from NAFTA. “Hold on a second,” he said at a Feb. 24 meeting in Toledo according to the Honolulu Advertiser. “The Clinton administration championed NAFTA, passed NAFTA, signed NAFTA.”
Death penalty
Clinton is in favour of the death penalty. As First Lady, she backed a project to lengthen the list of crimes for which a prisoner may be executed. Obama says the death penalty doesn’t dissuade criminals, but he does not campaign against it.
Pour aller plus loin
Pour aller plus loin
