Barack Obama (D)
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| Short Bio: | A little more than two years since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama is widely considered a frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. With parents from Kansas and Kenya, Obama was born in Hawaii, spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, and now calls Chicago home. He's served only two years in the U.S. Senate, but previously served as an Illinois state senator, an attorney, and a Chicago-area community activist. | |
| Current Job: | Senator from IL | |
| Hometown: | Honolulu, HI | |
| Iraq: | Supports capping troop levels, and wants full US withdrawal by March 2008. While not a Senator at the time, he has opposed the war from the start 1 | |
| Foreign Affairs: | Supports more monitoring of nuclear technology to make sure it stays out of terrorist hands. Believes more needs to be done to stop conflict in Africa 8 | |
| Homeland Security: | Wants Homeland Security money targeted more towards high-risk areas. Supports better protection for chemical plants. Wants more tracking of spent nuclear fuel so it doesn't end up in terrorist hands 8 | |
| Immigration: | Supports a fence along Mexican border. Supports tougher laws to keep illegals from finding jobs. Supports granting citizenship to illegals already here as long as they pay fines and back taxes 21 | |
| Economy: | Supports tax incentives to companies that keep jobs in the US. Believes NAFTA needs to be renegotiated to protect American economy 21 | |
| Education: | Supports rewarding good teachers with better pay, and expanding summer learning programs. Wants to increase federal grants for college education 48 | |
| Energy: | Supports more renewable energies, and wants to look into clean coal uses to get the US away from foreign oil dependency. Proposed giving automakers help with health coverage in exchange for more hybrid production 48 | |
| Climate Change: | Believes global warming will bring devastating consequences if it's not stopped. Supports capping emissions with incentives to corporations that cut greenhouse gases 8 | |
| Health: | Supports universal health care, and believes government should buy prescription drugs in bulk to reduce costs. Wants hospitals to be graded on performance and make a switch to cost-effective, computerized record-keeping 3 | |
| Social Security: | Opposes privatization, and believes the system can be fixed with minor changes 40 | |
| Stem Cell Research: | Supports embryonic stem-cell research 19 | |
| Same Sex Marriage: | Supports civil unions, but not same-sex marriage 52 | |
| Abortion: | Pro-choice 3 | |
| Gun Control: | Supports bans on assault weapons and concealed weapons 49 | |
