BOOK SUMMARY by OnTheIssues.org:

This book puts OnTheIssues' web content into book form -- a direct comparison of issue stances -- not personal biographies, not political horserace analysis, not scandal histories. Each headline below is backed up with a referenced citation, in context, so you can compare for yourself what each candidate says. The comparisons are made convenient in a side-by-side layout, with book reviews and a VoteMatch issue summary at the end.

• Domestic Issues
• Economic Issues
• Social Issues
• International Issues
• Book Reviews
• VoteMatch questionnaire
• Other books in this series

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  Domestic Issues	Ron Paul	Barack Obama
  Hate Crime:	Replace "hate crime" with equal penalties for equal assaults	Lack of enforcement sets tone for more hate crimes
  Alternative Sentencing:	Funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons	Supports alternative sentencing and rehabilitation
  Death Penalty:	Too many capital convictions have been proven errors	Battled legislatively against the death penalty
  Gun Rights:	Opposes the DC Gun Ban; it's not just a "collective right"	Respect 2nd Amendment, but local gun bans ok
  Drugs in Society:	We don't need laws to tell us to not use heroin	Expand drug courts; help prisoners with substance abuse
  Marijuana Legalization:	Legalize industrial hemp	Not first candidate to use drugs, but first honest about it
  Nuclear Waste:	No nuclear waste in Yucca Mt.; it's other states' garbage	Opposes Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste storage
  Animal Rights:	Scored 14% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection	Scored 60% on Humane Society Scorecard on animal protection
  Net Neutrality:	NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet)	Ensure net neutrality: no corporate-tiered Internet
  Outer Space Policy:	Militarizing outer space impoverishes America	Cancel moon program; develop human mission to Mars
  Privacy Rights:	Gov't computer snooping makes National ID Card inevitable	Personal privacy must be protected even in terrorism age
  Health Mandate:	States CAN mandate insurance, but it's a bad idea	Zero fines & no mandate for small business
  Medicare:	Let people opt out of Medicare	Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities
  ObamaCare:	ObamaCare is only as socialized as Bush's & Nixon's reforms	Repealing healthcare reform would cost $250B
  AIDS Policy:	Distribute sterile syringes to reduce AIDS and hepatitis	Advocated condom use to avoid AIDS at Saddleback Church

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  Economic Issues	Ron Paul	Barack Obama
  CEO Compensation:	Inflated currency benefits some industry's CEO salaries	I will raise CEO taxes, no doubt about it
  Financial Bailout:	Don't bail out banks; bail out homeowners	We all hated the bank bailout; but it was necessary
  Wall Street Reform:	Go after crony capitalism; defend real capitalism	Pay attention to Main Street, not just Wall Street
  Economic Stimulus:	Stimulus package means more printing & devaluing the dollar	$1T avoided Depression; but I took office with $8T debt
  Trickle-Down Economics:	1980s had huge deficits, despite Reagan's message	Not enough to help those at the top: it doesn't trickle down
  National Debt:	We've come to accept government debt & wealth confiscation	Freeze annual domestic spending for next five years
  Balanced Budget:	Supports Balanced Budget & on-budget accounting	Appoint bipartisan fiscal commission and re-establish PAYGO
  Earmarks:	Put 65 projects into 2006 bills, worth $4B to his district	Some earmarks are defensible, if done in full light of day
  Unions:	Right to organize; but no special benefits for unions	FactCheck: Yes, wants to limit secret balloting for unions
  Unemployment Extension:	No extending unemployment benefits from 39 to 59 weeks	$4,000 tax credit for companies who hire unemployed workers
  Social Security Privatization:	System is broke; allow young people to get out	What do we do with the losers of privatizing?
  Trust Fund:	Never voted to spend one penny of Social Security money	Must capture new revenue; no new Social Security Commission
  Tax-and-Spend Policies:	Tax code is the symptom; spending is the problem	We need a tax code where everybody pays their fair share
  Death Tax:	Phaseout the death tax	2011 budget proposed to raise Death Tax to 45%
  	Ron Paul on Social Issues	Social Issues

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  Social Issues	Ron Paul	Barack Obama
  Abortion Morality:	Abortion causes inconsistent moral basis for value of life	Moral accusations from pro-lifers are counterproductive
  Stem Cells:	Embryonic stem cell programs not constitutionally authorized	Stem cells hold promise to cure 70 major diseases
  Judicial Activism:	Nominate only judges who refuse to legislate from the bench	No litmus test; nominate to Court based on their fairness
  Welfare State:	Welfare state isn't in the Constitution	Cut poverty in half in 10 years, with faith-based help
  Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell:	Don't ask, don't tell is a decent policy for gays in army	Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell
  Defense of Marriage Act:	No need for Marriage Amendment; DOMA is enough	Decisions about marriage should be left to the states
  Affirmative Action:	No affirmative action for any group	Include class-based affirmative action with race-based
  College Loans:	Student loan program is a total failure and unconstitutional	$10K college tax credit; forgive loans for public service
  Religious Values:	School prayer is not a federal issue	Listening to evangelicals bridges major political fault line
  Evolution:	Evolution doesn't support atheism nor diminish God	Evolution & science aren't incompatible with Christian faith
  School Vouchers:	Competition helps, but vouchers invite bureaucratic control	Vouchers don't solve the problems of our schools
  Parental Leave:	NO on four weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees	Help families with paid sick days and better family leave
  Tea Party:	Breaks one-day fundraising record: $6M at "Boston Tea Party"	92% of Tea Partiers: "Obama is moving US toward socialism"
  Principles of Liberty:	Liberty promotes peace, and peace promotes prosperity	No Obama Doctrine; just democracy, security, liberty
  Racism:	Accused of racist remarks in 1980s newsletters	Speaks about racial anxiety from personal experience
  	Ron Paul on International Issues	International Issues

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  International Issues	Ron Paul	Barack Obama
  Climate Change:	Absurd to let global bureaucrats try to manipulate climate	Aggressively address accelerating climate change
  Oil Drilling:	Big Oil profits ok; Big Oil subsidies are not	We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil
  China Trade:	China trade not contingent on human rights & product safety	China is a competitor but not an enemy
  Illegal Alien Deportation:	No amnesty, but impractical to round up 12 million illegals	Stop expelling talented undocumented workers
  Guest Workers:	Give illegals limbo status: a green card with an asterisk	Anti-immigrant bitterness stems from joblessness
  American Exceptionalism:	Exceptionalism shouldn't mean using force around the world	American exceptionalism is same as any other exceptionalism
  North Korea:	Get out of South Korea and let two Koreas unify	2007: Pledged to meet with leaders of Iran & North Korea
  Iranian Sanctions:	Israel won't attack Iran, and neither should we	Iran is more isolated and will face growing consequences
  International Diplomacy:	Right to spread our values, but wrong to spread by force	The UN has succeeded in avoiding a Third World War
  Foreign Aid:	Foreign aid wastes billions, with unintended consequences	Global Poverty Act: spend 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid
  Patriot Act:	The Patriot Act is unpatriotic; it undermines our liberty	The politics of fear undermines basic civil liberties
  Defense spending:	We can blow up the world 20 times and we can't cut a penny?	Grow size of military to maintain rotation schedules
  Sources of Terrorism:	We believe Osama's threats, so why not believe his reasons?	Battling terrorism must go beyond belligerence vs. isolation
  Iraq War:	The Iraq war was not worth the price in blood and treasure	Iraq has distracted us from Taliban in Afghanistan
  Torture Policy:	Waterboarding is torture: illegal, uncivilized, and immoral	No torture; no renditions; no operating out of fear

  OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

  Budget & Economy     Ron Paul: Obama economic stances compared to Paul's.

  Education     Ron Paul: Obama's education stances compared to Paul's.

  Foreign Policy     Barack Obama: Obama's international stances compared to Paul's.

  Health Care     Barack Obama: Ron Paul's healthcare stances compared to Obama.

  
  

  Click for quotations from other sources by:
  • Barack Obama
  • Ron Paul

  The above quotations are from Obama vs. Paul On The Issues:
  Side-by-side stances on the issues
  by Jesse Gordon of OnTheIssues.org.

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  VoteMatch Social Issues	Paul	vs.	Obama
  Abortion is a woman’s right	opposes		strongly favors
  Require companies to hire more women & minorities	strongly opposes		strongly favors
  Same-sex domestic partnership benefits	favors		favors
  Teacher-led prayer in public schools	favors		opposes
  Parents choose schools via vouchers	favors		favors
  VoteMatch Domestic Issues	Paul	vs.	Obama
  More federal funding for health coverage	opposes		strongly favors
  Death Penalty	strongly opposes		opposes
  Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws	opposes		opposes
  Absolute right to gun ownership	favors		opposes
  Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it	strongly opposes		opposes
  VoteMatch Economic Issues	Paul	vs.	Obama
  Privatize Social Security	strongly favors		strongly opposes
  Make taxes more progressive	strongly opposes		strongly favors
  Stricter limits on political campaign funds	opposes		strongly favors
  Allow churches to provide welfare services	favors		favors
  Replace coal & oil with alternatives	strongly opposes		strongly favors
  VoteMatch International Issues	Paul	vs.	Obama
  Illegal immigrants earn citizenship	strongly opposes		favors
  Support & expand free trade	opposes		opposes
  The Patriot Act harms civil liberties	strongly favors		strongly favors
  Expand the armed forces	opposes		favors
  US out of Iraq & Afghanistan	strongly favors		favors

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