Weighing Up the Candidate Platforms
Written by Julie Stoddart
Hillary Clinton
The War in Iraq. For Hillary Clinton, America is apt for a chairman who will end the war in Iraq and a president who will honor our military by properly planning for the missions and tasks we ask our troops to endeavor. Illustrated by Clinton’s campaign Web site, if the Bush administration fails to, as president and commander, Clinton will end this war. The war in Iraq has imposed an astounding cost on our troops, their families, and our budget. Clinton opposes permanent bases in Iraq. She believes we may need to redeploy our troops from Iraq immediately, provide logistical support, and conduct counter terrorism operations. She also plans to implement a campaign to bring stability to the regions in and around Iraq within the first 60 days of her administration.
Health Care. According to the Clinton Campaign, America is ready for universal health care. Due to her history in the battle with health care for children, she has aggressively fought for affordable health care for everyone, regardless of any pre-existing conditions or employment. Nearly 45 million Americans -- including 9 million children -- don't have health insurance, according to the National Insurance Web site. Clinton is also focused on the costs of health care -- over the last six years, health care premiums have almost doubled. Clinton has plans to work with the insurance companies, work with members of Congress from all parties, and ensure that all Americans have the health care they need, regardless of their economical status. 
Environment. While in the White House, Clinton plans to stop global warming by investing in clean energy technologies, establishing a national market-based program to reduce global warming pollution, increasing our fuel efficiency, and restoring the United States' rightful place as a leader in international efforts to address the problem of climate change, according to her campaign Web site. Clinton introduced a plan to Congress to create a Strategic Energy Fund that would inject $50 billion into research, development, and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown bio-fuels, and other issues that affect our planet. Clinton believes we can create the fund without raising taxes by giving oil companies a choice: invest in renewable energy themselves or pay into the fund to provide new energy sources. She would also eliminate oil companies' tax breaks and make sure they pay their fair share for drilling on public lands.
Obama
War on Iraq. Before the war in Iraq ever started, Senator Obama believed that it was wrong in its conception. In 2002, then Illinois State Senator Obama said Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat to the United States and that invasion would lead to an occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences, according to the senator’s campaign Web site. Senator Obama has laid out a plan in Iraq that has largely been affirmed by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton, said the senator’s Web site. As a result of this war, our forces are under pressure as never before. Our National Guard and reserves have half of the equipment they need to respond to emergencies at home and abroad, according to the National Guard Web site.
”My plan for ending the war would turn the page in Iraq by removing our combat troops from Iraq's civil war; by taking a new approach to press for a new accord on reconciliation within Iraq; by talking to all of Iraq's neighbors to press for a compact in the region; and by confronting the human costs of this war.” – Senator Obama
Health Care. The U.S. spends $2 trillion on health care every year, and offers the best medical technology and scientific research in the world, according to the National Health Insurance Web site. Yet, the benefits of the American health care system come at a price that an increasing number of individuals and families, employers and employees, and public and private providers cannot afford.
Obama said he believes we live in the greatest country in the world and that when it comes to health care; America can and must do better. The Obama plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year. The Obama plan aims to both build upon and improve our current insurance system, upon which most Americans continue to rely, and leaves Medicare intact for older and disabled Americans.
Obama said he believes that protecting and promoting health and wellness in this nation is a shared responsibility among individuals and families, school systems, employers, the medical and public health workforce, and federal, state, and local governments.
Environment. Obama said he believes that we have a responsibility to our children to leave this Earth better than we found it. He has a plan to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to turn the global warming crisis into a time of opportunity for innovation and job creation, according to his Web site. And as president, he aims restore America's promise of a clean and healthy environment by cleaning up our air and water, building healthier communities with fewer toxins, and preserving our woods, forests, and other natural resources. In doing so, Obama plans to make he changes necessary to keep environmental laws and policies to balance America's need for a healthy, sustainable environment with economic growth.