An Overview of the Presidential Candidates

John Sidney McCain
Political Party: Republican
Age: 72
Education: United States Naval Academy (1958)
National War College (1973)
Military Service: United States Navy (1958-1981)
Career: United States Senate (1987-Present)
Budget: He will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including social security.
He wants affluent participants in the Medicare Drug Program to pay higher premiums.
Economy: He supports lowering taxes to support small businesses. He would cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. He wants to establish a permanent tax credit for research and development.
Social Security:  He believes that social security is failing because it is raided to fund other government programs. He supports allowing workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which individuals would manage themselves.

Barack Hussein Obama
Political Party: Democrat
Age: 47
Education: Columbia University in New York (1987)
Harvard Law School (1991)
Career: United States Senate (2005-Present)
Budget: He would require disclosure of all congressional pet projects and force lawmakers to pay for any new spending or tax breaks through new revenue or cuts in other programs.
Economy: He supports tax incentives for companies that keep jobs in the United States. He suggests a $75 billion plan for the economy, would offer a $500 tax rebate to families and a $250 Social Security Supplement to Seniors, and put more money into unemployment insurance.
Social Security:  He opposes privatization of the Social Security System. He believes the system is faulted but can be fixed with relatively minor changes.