2012 presidential candidate breakdown | The Sojourn

Presidential election introduction by Emily Coll
Candidates? stance on major issues by Ali Cravens
Reviewed by SGA academic representative for the Social Sciences Division Caleb Bowers (so), as recommended by assistant professor of political science Kris Pence

Every four years, American citizens choose for their nation a new leader. Fall 2012 brings the 45th presidential election, and with it the decision to either re-elect the current Democratic candidate, President Barack Obama, for a second term or bring a new face into office, such as Republican candidate Mitt Romney, or any of those in the array of third party and independent candidates.

According to Grant County Government officials, only 70 percent of registered voters actually vote.

Voters must be 18 years of age or older and register with their home state in order to vote. Registration forms are available online at registertovote.org. Instructions to completing forms are featured on the site, along with information concerning Nov. 4 polling locations.

The past year has been filled with campaigns, promotions and advertisements on the multiple presidential candidates. But on voting day, focus will shift from the voices of the politicians to the voices of the people.

Further information on candidates and additional political issues can be found online at 2012.presidential-candidates.org.

More information can also be provided from 6-8 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Commons, political science professor Jonathan Conrad?s American government and foundations of political science classes are having a ?Meet the Candidates? presentation, with Q-and-A on various candidates, including those from the third party.

Presidential Candidates

Obama

Religion:
According to a story by CNN on Obama?s walk of faith, although the president was a practicing Christian before he began his life at the White House, he has had extreme growth since then, such that it is visible to those around him. ??There is a deepening development in his relationship with God,? says Joel Hunter, a Florida-based pastor who has been in touch with Obama nearly every week since he took office. ?He chooses to stay faithful in daily habits of study and prayer and consistent times of interchange with spiritual leaders,?? CNN reported.
In addition to these more evangelical habits employed by the president within the last four years, Obama also now has a circle of pastors he is praying with before big events.

Education:
ABC News reported: ?[Obama] has approved waivers freeing states from the most [burdensome] requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. ?Race to the Top,? [Obama?s Department of Education] grant competition, has rewarded winning states with billions of dollars for pursuing education policies Obama supports. [He] won approval from Congress for a $10,000 college tax credit over four years and increases in Pell Grants and other financial aid.?

Abortion:
Obama is pro-choice, as found on CNN.

Marriage Rights for Homosexuals:
According to the press conference posted on whitehouse.gov, Obama said, ?This administration, under my direction, has consistently said we cannot discriminate as a country against people on the basis of sexual orientation,? citing as an example its making sure same-sex couples are provided with federal benefits.
?I think we?re moving in a direction of greater equality and I think that?s a good thing,? Obama said at the press conference.
On a more succinct note, Judy Woodruff of PBS News said, ??The president came out and said he?s in favor of gay marriage.??
As far as DOMA goes, ABC News said, ?Obama has long said he opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, and has called for its repeal.?
The press conference found him saying the act is ?unconstitutional.?
He also said: ?We cannot defend the federal government poking its nose into what states are doing and putting the thumb on the scale against same-sex couples.?
?Asked if he would use his second term as a platform to extend same-sex marriage to more states,? according to ABC News, ?the president demurred, saying he viewed it as an issue for the states to decide.?
According to Mark Shields of PBS News, ?[Obama is] for same-sex marriage, but he wants to do it on a state-by-state basis, not the traditional Democratic approach to most problems.?

Contraception:
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law commonly referred to as Obamacare, which was signed into law under Obama on March 23, 2010, there are ?regulations requiring women?s contraceptive services to be covered by insurance policies,? according to CBS News.
?The Catholic Church had sought a broad exemption for the many Catholic institutions in the country to recognize its canonical opposition to artificial birth control. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services excluded only religious employers that primarily employ members of their own faith communities. The exception protects those who work directly for Catholic churches, but not Catholic universities, hospitals or social-service agencies,? CBS said.

Marijuana Legalization:
?I am not in favor of legalization,? said Obama during his YouTube Q-and-A event, as posted on CBS News. ?I am a strong believer that we have to think more about drugs as a public health problem. ? Typically we?ve made huge strides over the last 20-30 years by changing peoples? attitudes. And on drugs I think that a lot of times we have been so focused on arrests, incarceration, interdiction, that we don?t spend as much time thinking about ?How do we shrink demand?? This is something that within the White House we are looking at very carefully.?

Health Care:
Obama?s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, is a ?mandate for almost everyone to have health insurance ? along with all the coverage protections that flow from that,? according to NPR News.
According to Scott Horsley of NPR: ?Mr. Obama stressed some popular features of the law are already making a difference: allowing young adults to stay on their parents? insurance plans, for example, and reducing seniors? costs for prescription drugs. The provision at the center of the court battle ? the requirement that nearly everyone have health insurance ? has not yet taken effect. But Mr. Obama says that measure is inextricably linked to one of the law?s most popular features ? preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to people who are already sick.?
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners: ?The health insurance reforms adopted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and the subsequent reconciliation bill, are phased-in over the next few years. Most provisions will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2014. However, some new protections were implemented when plans renewed after Sept. 23, 2010.?

Economy:
According to ABC News: ?[Obama?s term is] marked by high unemployment, a deep recession that began in previous administration and officially ended within six months, and gradual recovery with persistently high jobless rates of above 8 percent, until the rate dropped to 7.8 in September, the same as it was in February 2009, Obama?s first full month in office. ? [Obama] responded to [the] recession with a roughly $800 billion stimulus plan, expanded auto industry bailout begun under George W. Bush, inherited and carried forward Wall Street bailout.

Romney

Religion:
According to an article by CNN on Mitt Romney?s faith journey, Romney began missionary training at the age of 19 in 1966 and flew out to France that same year to begin his missions work, later taking charge of their entire Mormon missions team in that field with the help of a missionary companion. Coming from a long line of Latter-day Saints, Romney is now a former missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as a former ward bishop (part-time pastor) and stake president for the Boston area, which he served as in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Facing mixed opinion as to his Mormonism, Romney said, according to the CNN article: ??Almost 50 years ago [John F. Kennedy] from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president,? Romney said. ?Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith. ? A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States. ? I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs. Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it.??

Education:
According to ABC News: ?[Romney] supported federal accountability standards of [Bush?s] No Child Left Behind law. [He] has said the student testing, charter-school incentives and teacher evaluation standards of Obama?s ?Race to the Top? competition ?make sense? although the federal government should have less control of education. [He] says increases in federal student aid encourage tuition to go up, too. [He] wants to see private lenders return to the federal student loan program.?

Abortion:
According to ABC News, despite a seemingly back-and-forth stance upon abortion, Romney is pro-life, with ?exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,? according to Paul Ryan, vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

Marriage Rights for Homosexuals:
?I made it very clear that in my view we should not discriminate in hiring policies, in legal policies,? said Romney in the video of the GOP debate in New Hampshire on the CBS News site. ?At the same time, from the very beginning in 1994, I said to the gay community, I do not favor same-sex marriage. I oppose same-sex marriage and that has been my view. But if people are looking for someone who will discriminate against gays or will in any way try and suggest that people that have different sexual orientation don?t have full rights in this country, they won?t find that in me.?
According to Judy Woodruff and Mark Shields of PBS News, Romney is in favor of gays being able to adopt, but more specifically, when considering his belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he?s for unwed parents having children.
Romney is also ?for a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage,? said Shields, but ?he doesn?t want to do it by states? right. He wants to do it with a federal mandate.?

Contraception:
Citing the Constitution?s First Amendment ?right to worship God in the way of our own choice,? as Romney put it, Romney is against Obama?s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act?s regulation ?requiring women?s contraceptive services to be covered by insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act,? as stated by CBS News, although ?the policy does not require individuals to use or prescribe contraception.? This is in reference to the Catholic Church?s canonical opposition to artificial birth control.

Marijuana Legalization:
According to NPR News, ?Most Republicans still oppose legalization. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney vows to enforce federal law,? which means he is opposed to making pot legal.

Health Care:
According to USA Today, Romney?s first act will be to oust Obamacare: ?In place of Obamacare, Mitt will pursue policies that give each state the power to craft a health care reform plan that is best for its own citizens. The federal government?s role will be to help markets work by creating a level playing field for competition.?
As found on NPR News: ??The president?s plan assumes an endless expansion of government, with rising costs and, of course, with the spread of Obamacare,? Romney says. ?I will halt the expansion of government, and I will repeal Obamacare.??

Economy:
According to ABC News, Romney wants ?lower taxes, less regulation, balanced budget, [and] more trade deals to spur growth. [He would] replace jobless benefits with unemployment savings accounts, [and] proposes replacing certain provisions of the law toughening financial-industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. [Romney also] proposes changing the law tightening accounting corporate regulations to ease requirements for mid-sized companies.?

Both

Drones:
According to CNN News: ?A decade ago, the United States had a virtual monopoly on drones. Not anymore. According to data compiled by the New America Foundation, more than 70 countries now own some type of drone, though just a small number of those nations possess armed drone aircraft. The explosion in drone technology promises to change the way nations conduct war and threatens to begin a new arms race as governments scramble to counterbalance their adversaries. ? But without an international framework governing the use of drone attacks, the United States is setting a dangerous precedent for other nations with its aggressive and secretive drone programs in Pakistan and Yemen, which are aimed at suspected members of al Qaeda and their allies. ? In November 2010 at the Zhuhai Air Show, [China] unveiled 25 drone models, some of which were outfitted with the capability to fire missiles. It remains unclear just how many of China?s drones are operational and how many of them are still in development, but China is intent on catching up with the United States? rapidly expanding drone arsenal.
?When President George W. Bush declared a ?War on Terror? 11 years ago, the Pentagon had fewer than 50 drones. Now, it has around 7,500.
?Only the United States, United Kingdom and Israel are known to have launched drone strikes against their adversaries, although other members of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, such as Australia, have ?borrowed? drones from Israel for use in the war there.?
For a more in-depth look at drones, see the CNN article, ?A dangerous new world of drones.?
According to CNN Newsroom, Obama has authorized more than 1,400 drone (pilotless airplane) strikes so far, six times more than President George W. Bush did in his eight years in office. ?[Obama] has sort of relentlessly expanded the use of drones throughout his presidency,? said Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod. ?The President has for the last two years, or the administration, has been making an argument in favor of drones. It?s been basically saying that we can use these virtually at any time and at any place to protect our interests. That has been a consistent argument on the part of the administration.?
According to CBS News: ?Both support the continued use of drone strikes on terror suspects, despite criticism of the Obama administration for doing so. ?Well I believe we should use any and all means necessary to take out people who pose a threat to us and our friends around the world,? Romney said. ? ?And it?s widely reported that drones are being used in drone strikes, and I support that [entirely], and feel the president was right to up the usage of that technology, and believe that we should continue to use it, to continue to go after the people that represent a threat to this nation and to our friends.??

China:
According to Greg Myre, a former foreign correspondent with the New York Times and the Associated Press and current foreign editor for digital news at NPR, this coming November, China will be going through once-a-decade leadership changes, placing the next U.S. president with the decision on how to start their relationship, especially regarding their fight over trade and currency. Obama says he has been tough on China concerning the latter, while Romney says Obama hasn?t been tough enough. With China holding more U.S. debt than any other country, however, some analysts have noted that getting tough with them may be a bit tricky.
Iran?s nuclear weapons: ?Obama and Romney both say they will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. ? Both candidates say military action against Iran should be a last resort,? said Myre. CBS News said, ?Both expressed support for the sort of crippling sanctions the president has already put in place.?

U.S. military:
According to Myre: ?Obama believes military spending needs to come down after a major expansion in the 11 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has emphasized smaller operations. ? Obama oversaw the end of the U.S. war in Iraq and set an exit date in Afghanistan.?
Myre said, ?Romney says Obama?s policy is a recipe for a declining U.S. role in the world. He opposes military cutbacks and believes the military should be larger in many areas.?
According to CBS News: ?Romney has vowed to mandate that military spending be set at 4 percent of gross domestic product. If the economy doesn?t tank, that means a significant increase in military spending ? $2.3 trillion over 10 years, according to an estimate.?
A portion of this spending will go to ?Romney?s support for expanding the Navy,? according to CBS News. ?His desire to build more Naval ships, like his desire to spend more on defense, is tied to a belief in the importance of a robust U.S. military presence around the world. The president wants the military to focus more on nontraditional threats like al Qaeda, and no longer wants the United States to serve as the world?s policeman.?

Afghanistan:
With thousands of U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, Obama plans to have ?U.S. forces home by the end of 2014 and put the Afghans in charge of their own security,? according to NPR?s Myre.
CBS News said Romney supports pulling the forces out by the end of 2014. However, Myre said Romney criticizes Obama?s particular approach, ?saying the U.S. should not tell the Taliban when the U.S. plans to leave because it just encourages the insurgents to bide their time until the American departure.?

Syria:
CBS News said, ?Neither candidate wants the U.S. military involved in the conflict.

Israel:
CBS News said, ?Both men say they would have the U.S. ?stand with? the country if it is attacked.?

For more straightforward summaries, see ABC News? article ?Obama and Romney: Where They Stand on the Issues.?

Source: http://www.iwusojourn.com/2012/11/01/2012-presidential-candidate-breakdown/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2012-presidential-candidate-breakdown

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