Image by Beverly & Pack via Flickr 
Taxes
• Give a tax break to 95% of Americans.
• Restore Clinton-era tax rates on top income earners.
• "If you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime. Not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. Nothing."
• Dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes.
• Give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create in the U.S.
• Eliminate capital gains taxes for small business and startup companies.
• Eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000.
• Expand the child and dependent care tax credit.
• Expand the earned income tax credit.
• Create a universal mortgage credit.
• Create a small business health tax credit.
• Provide a $500 "make work pay" tax credit to small businesses.
• Provide a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to families.
Energy
• Spend $15 billion a year on renewable sources of energy.
• Eliminate oil imports from the Middle East in 10 years.
• Increase fuel economy standards by 4% a year.
• Weatherize 1 million homes annually.
• Ensure that 10% of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012.
Environment
• Create 5 million green jobs.
• Implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Get 1 million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015.
Labor
• Sign a fair pay restoration act, which would overturn the Supreme Court's pay discrimination ruling.
• Sign into law an employee free choice act — aka card check — to make it easier for unions to organize.
• Make employers offer seven paid sick days per year.
• Increase the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2009.
National security
• Remove troops from Iraq by the summer of 2010.
• Cut spending on unproven missile defense systems.
• No more homeless veterans.
• Stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.
• Finish the fight against Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terrorists.
• Work in a "bipartisan way to preserve Social Security for future generations."
• Impose a Social Security payroll tax on incomes above $250,000.
• Match 50% of retirement savings up to $1,000 for families earning less than $75,000.
Education
• Demand higher standards and more accountability from our teachers.
Spending
• Go through the budget, line by line, ending programs we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.
• Slash earmarks.
Health care
• Lower health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year.
• Let the uninsured get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress get.
• Stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
• Spend $10 billion over five years on health care information technology.
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Issue | Democrats | Republicans |
|---|---|---|
Health Care | 47% | 37% |
Education | 44% | 37% |
Social Security | 43% | 37% |
Abortion | 41% | 41% |
Economy | 39% | 45% |
Taxes | 39% | 44% |
Iraq | 37% | 45% |
Nat'l Security | 36% | 51% |
Gov't Ethics | 29% | 35% |
Immigration | 29% | 43% |
In the long run, will the U.S. mission in Iraq be seen as a success or a failure?
|
| Feb. 2009 | Aug. 2008 |
| Success | 43% | 38% |
| Failure | 35% | 41% |
| Not sure | 23% | 21% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
While the mass media continues to feature wars and terrorism, the overall trend continues away from such unpleasantness. Such stories are anathema to the mass media, because they do not attract eyeballs, and revenue. That's the way people are, and the result is a distorted view of trends in global violence.
Worldwide, violence continues to decline, as it has for the last few years. Violence has also greatly diminished, or disappeared completely, in places like Iraq, Nepal, Chechnya, Congo, Indonesia and Burundi. Even Afghanistan, touted as the new war zone, is seeing less violence this year than last.
The Strategy Page
As you may know, the U.S. has sent a troop surge to Iraq. From what you have heard or read, would you say the troop surge is making the situation in Iraq better, making it worse, or is it having no impact on the situation in Iraq so far?
| Sept. 2008 | Sept. 2007 | |
| Better | 50% | 30% |
| Worse | 10% wtf? | 14% |
| No impact | 30% | 51% |
| Unsure | 10% | 5% |
Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the U.S. have stayed out?
| Sept. 2008 | Sept. 2007 | |
| Right thing | 42% | 39% |
| Stayed out | 54% | 53% |
| Unsure | 4% | 8% |
Source: CBS News / New York Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,133 American adults, conducted from Sept. 12 to Sept. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Do you think the United States is or is not making significant progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq?
| Sept. 2008 | Aug. 2008 | Jul. 2008 | |
| Is | 52% | 50% | 46% |
| Is not | 40% | 46% | 51% |
| Unsure | 7% | 4% | 3% |
All in all, considering the costs to the United States versus the benefits to the United States, do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting, or not?
| Sept. 2008 | Aug. 2008 | Jul. 2008 | |
| Worth it | 36% | 35% | 36% |
| Not worth it | 61% | 63% | 63% |
| Unsure | 3% | 2% | 1% |
Source: TNS / ABC News / Washington Post
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,133 American adults, conducted from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
As you may know, the U.S. has sent a troop surge to Iraq. From what you have heard or read, would you say the troop surge is making the situation in Iraq better, making it worse, or is it having no impact on the situation in Iraq so far?
| Aug. 2008 | Mar. 2008 | Feb. 2008 | |
| Better | 46% | 42% | 39% |
| Worse | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| No Impact | 32% | 34% | 39% |
| Unsure | 11% | 11% | 8% |
Source: CBS News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 906 registered American voters, conducted from Jul. 31 to Aug. 5, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Split Sample - Would you favour or oppose sending additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist operations in that country?
| Jul. 2008 | Aug. 2007 | |
| Favour | 59% | 56% |
| Oppose | 38% | 38% |
| Unsure | 3% | 6% |
Split Sample - Would you favour or oppose moving U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan in order to fight al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist operations in Afghanistan?
| Jul. 2008 | Aug. 2007 | |
| Favour | 57% | 52% |
| Oppose | 36% | 37% |
| Unsure | 7% | 10% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,007 American adults, conducted from Jul. 25 to Jul. 27, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Sen. Barack Obama's office engaged in six months of negotiations with a company controlled by convicted criminal Tony Rezko to lobby the U.S. government to push through a nixed $50 million contact to train Iraqi security personnel at a site in Chicago.The contract was awarded to Rezko's company while Aiham Alsammarae, a long-time, close Rezko friend and a contributor to Obama's campaign, served as Iraq's U.S.-appointed electricity minister, the senator's office confirms.
"The majority of refugees that we resettle face fear of persecution in one way or another," Lipovac said.
"But Iraqis who receive special immigrant visas generally speak good English, have a good education and have previously held good jobs. We face challenges with their career placement — matching their expectations with the reality of the jobs that are available."
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey also found that 46% believe the U.S. should intervene militarily if Israel is attacked by Iran. On that point 32% disagree. Men overwhelmingly support a military response while women are evenly divided.
But, the number of voters who think it’s at least somewhat likely that the U.S. will be at War with Iran in the next year has fallen to 43%. Last October, 53% thought such a war was at least somewhat likely. In October, 19% thought war with Iran was Very Likely, that figure is down to 13% today.
—Rasmussen Reports
"Everyone is very happy to have this safely out of Iraq," said a senior U.S. official who outlined the nearly three-month operation to The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
How likely is it that the U.S. would win the War in Iraq if McCain is elected president? | |
|---|---|
Very Likely | 23% |
Somewhat Likely | 26% |
Not Very Likely | 23% |
Not At All Likely | 19% |
Not Sure | 9% |
