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John McCain

Biography

McCain is a moderate Republican and  United States Senator from Arizona

John McCain has sponsored 473 bills since Jan 21, 1993, of which 307 haven't made it out of committee and 30 were successfully enacted. McCain has co-sponsored 811 bills during the same time period.

On Oct. 26, 1967, naval pilot John McCain was shot down over Vietnam and was held captive in the Hanoi Hilton. When he was released six years later, he returned to the U.S. and regained his active flight status. He retired from the Navy in 1981 [source: John McCain].

McCain's military experience played a big part in his campaign for president in 2008. It gave him an argument to become commander-in-chief. His military background also appeared to give him the kind of dogged persistence needed during a primary season that defied polls and proved to be the most expensive ever.

At age 71, McCain would be the oldest person to be sworn in as president in the country's history. This consideration has emerged as a topic of discussion in the media during his campaign. In one interview by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show," the host mentioned that action-star-turned-conservative-pundit Chuck Norris (a supporter of McCain's former rival Mike Huckabee) said publicly that he thought McCain was too old to be president. "Schwarzenegger is going to take care of him," McCain assured Leno of Norris' fate [source: USA Today].

At the least, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out in McCain's corner. He gave the candidate his endorsement, saying "There are people out there that talk about reaching across the aisle, but [McCain] has shown the action over and over again" [source: Los Angeles Times].

McCain's willin­gness to shake hands with the Democrats and occasionally vote against party lines has earned him the titles of "consensus-builder" [source: Everett Herald], "straight-shooter" [source: The Guardian], "maverick" [source: Los Angeles Times] and "traitor to the Republican Party" [source: Southern Political Report], among others.

It also makes it difficult to paint McCain with a single brush. He's the only candidate to have engaged in a publicity battle with heiress and socialite Paris Hilton [source: AP]. At a time when even some of his fellow Republicans lost their faith in the war in Iraq, McCain maintained his original stance in favor of it. While he's openly opposed to the use of gray-area torture, like water boarding, he also voted against a ban on its use, citing the CIA need for its use in interrogation [source: IHT]. On the topic of Iran, he spoofed the lyrics of the Beach Boys song, "Barbara Ann" with his own version -- "bomb Iran."

John Sidney McCain III was born in 1936 on an Air Force Base in the Canal Zone of Panama in Central America. Both his father and grandfather served in the U.S. Navy as admirals, and McCain began his own military career when he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958 [source: Pew Forum]. He became a fighter pilot for the Navy, and during his 23rd mission was shot down over Vietnam. His leg badly broken, he was captured by the North Vietnamese army, an event that "stopped the clock on his life" [source: John McCain].

Lt. Cmdr. McCain spent 1967 to 1973 as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. After he returned to the U.S., he wrote about his experience in the May 14, 1973, issue of U.S. News and World Report. His captors initially refused to treat his badly broken leg, but once they discovered McCain's father was a prominent admiral, his conditions improved. The Vietnamese hoped to gain military information from him: "They told a number of my friends when I was captured, 'We have the crown prince,'" [source: Free Republic].

Twenty-six years later, that same publication reported on a speech McCain gave in Washington, D.C., in March 1999. "As I was laying there in my prison cell in Hanoi having my legs broken by interrogators, one thought and one thought alone kept me going, that someday I would return home and do something about soft money," the candidate joked [source: U.S. News and World Report].

Despite poking fun at his detainment, McCain experienced torture, humiliation and psychological torment at the hands of the North Vietnamese. "I was at the point of suicide, because I saw that I was reaching the end of my rope," he wrote in the 1973 article [source: Free Republic].

As the war's end approached, McCain and his fellow prisoners were released. McCain remained in the Navy for another eight years, retiring in 1981. His last assignment was as liaison between the Navy and the Senate. By the time he retired, he had been awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross [source: John McCain].

McCain met his current wife, Cindy Hensley McCain, at a military reception in Hawaii in 1979. McCain was married at the time to Carol McCain, his wife since 1965, who had suffered a crippling car accident during McCain's tenure as a POW. Once he returned from Vietnam, relations between the couple began to show signs of strain [source: Arizona Republic].

In April 1980, their divorce was finalized. In May 1980, McCain and Cindy Hensley married. The couple has four children, one of whom is adopted. McCain also has three other children from his first marriage: His two eldest sons are from his first wife's first marriage, and McCain adopted them. One daughter, Meghan, created a blog about her life on the campaign trail with her father [source: McCainBlogette]. McCain is author of several books: "Character Is Destiny" (2005); "Hard Call" (2007); "Worth the Fighting For: A Memoir" (2002); "The Reminisces of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired)" (1999); "Why Courage Matters" (2004); and "Faith of My Fathers" (1999).

He was raised an Episcopalian but since the 1990s has attended North Phoenix Baptist Church. McCain has said that he's Baptist, not Episcopalian, though he's unbaptized and not born again. He settled the matter by commenting, "The most important thing is I'm a Christian" [source: Christian Science Monitor, CNN].

McCain has said that he concluded during his time at the Hanoi Hilton that one of the most important things a man can do in his life "is to make some contribution to his country." Read about McCain's contributions to the U.S. Congress on the next pag

Political Career

McCain first found his way to Washington as a Representative for Arizona in 1982. He served in the House from 1983 to 1987, when he ran for and was elected to the Senate. There, he began to make a name for himself as a Republican unwilling to toe the party line. McCain "has never hesitated to go against the grain of party wisdom on subjects ranging from immigration, global warming, gay marriage and campaign funding" [source: The Independent].

Going it alone served him well when he went after campaign finance reform. He and Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Russ Feingold worked jointly for seven years on the bill before the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was signed into law in 2002. "Campaign contributions from a single source that run to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars are not healthy for a democracy," McCain said the day the bill was passed by the Senate. "Is that not self-evident?" [source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Twelve years earlier, Sen. McCain found himself embroiled in a campaign finance scandal personally. During McCain's first year in the Senate, he and three Democratic senators intervened on behalf of savings and loan bank owner Charles Keating during an investigation by federal banking regulators. During Congressional hearings, it came to light that Keating had been a fundraiser for the four senators ($300,000 in total; $112,000 for McCain). The investigating committee exonerated McCain, finding him guilty only of "poor judgment" [source: Slate].

McCain generally enjoys his state's perennial support. According to Republican polling expert Margaret Kenski, who has worked for McCain, he generally gets a favorable rating from about 60 percent of the voters in Arizona [source: Salon]. In the 2004 Senate election, he garnered 77 percent of his state's votes [source: PBS].

Sen. McCain made his first run for the White House in the 2000 campaign. He established the "Straight Talk Express," the official nickname for his campaign during the 2000 primaries [source: CNN]. He faltered during the 2000 race, however, when he failed to come up with the Republican Party's support and enough money to compete nationally [source: BBC]. He also lost the support of the Christian right when he referred to Christian leaders Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance" [source: International Herald Tribune]. Following his loss in the 2000 election, McCain returned to his seat in the Senate.

Since February 1993, McCain missed 719 of the 4,085 votes cast in the Senate (18 percent), earning him an "Exceedingly Poor" rating in comparison to his peers [source: GovTrack]. On the campaign trail for the 2008 primaries, McCain missed 401 of the 632 votes cast in the 110th Congress from January 2007 to August 2008. McCain missed the most votes of any senator in the 110th Congress, including 100 percent of votes cast in the third quarter of 2008 [source: Washington Post, GovTrack]. In the votes that he did cast, he agreed with Republican consensus 88.3 percent of the time [source: Washington Post].

McCain has co-sponsored 1,227 bills since 1993, earning him an "Average" rating relative to his peers in the Senate. He's sponsored 537 bills during that same period, with 263 not making it out of committee ("Extremely Poor") and 31 becoming law ("Exceedingly Good") [source: GovTrack].

In the Senate, McCain has served on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; as chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs; and a member of the Armed Services Committee [source: Project Vote Smart].

Voting Scorecards of John McCain

A joint scorecard of the 110th Congress (2007) by the conservative family values organizations the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family gave Sen. McCain a 42 percent grade for his voting on issues such as hate crimes, embryonic stem cell research and health care for unborn children. Although McCain only voted against the organizations' shared opinion once, he missed three of the seven votes they considered key [source: FRC Action].

The nonpartisan organization Disabled American Veterans gave McCain a score of 20 percent for his votes in 2007. McCain's voted in line with the DAV's concerns one out of five times during the second session of the 107th Congress.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses gave McCain 100 percent grades for his votes in the 110th and 109th Congresses on issues like tax write-offs for small businesses and giving the president line item veto power over minimum wage increases. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave McCain an 80 percent grade on his voting record. Conversely, the AFL-CIO labor union gave McCain a 16 percent rating for his lifetime votes in the Senate [source: AFL-CIO].

McCain received an F from the progressive National Education Association for his voting record in the 109th Congress (2006) on merit pay for teachers, Head Start program changes and education funding [source: NEA]. McCain received a grade of 50 percent for his voting in the 110th Congress on issues American Civil Liberties Union considers key, including the national identification card and grassroots exemption from lobbying reform. Although McCain only voted contrary to the ACLU once (restoring habeas corpus to foreign detainees), he missed five of the seven votes the ACLU surveyed.

The Concord Coalition (CC), a fiscally conservative organization, gave McCain's voting a raw score of 59 percent in the second session of the 106th Congress (2000) on issues like tax cuts, debt reduction and a temporary suspension of the gas tax. On a curve, he ranked in the 98th percentile for voting that reflected values held by the CC. For his record in the 107th Congress, he received a score of 95 percent. For his votes in the 104th Congress (1995) -- the first year the Concord Coalition began scoring -- he received a raw score of 48 percent (54th percentile). Issues that year included a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget, reducing naval defense spending and welfare reform [source: Project Vote Smart].

The environmental group League of Conservation Voters gives McCain a score of 15 percent for his votes in the 104th Congress (1994) on issues including pesticide reduction, guaranteeing environmental protection, and renewable energy legislation. In 1998, on issues like increased funding for toxic waste cleanup, mining reform and family planning funding, McCain received a grade of 0 percent. During the 108th Congress, McCain's ratings went up to a grade of 56 percent for his votes on renewable energy, global warming and automotive fuel efficiency.

The National Taxpayers Union -- a nonpartisan group that seeks to limit taxes -- gave McCain an 88 percent grade (an A, making him "A Taxpayer's Friend") for votes in 2006, which included taxes, debt reduction and federal spending. In 1999, the NTU gave him another A (87 percent). In 1995, he received a score of 88 percent, and in 2000, he received another A (82 percent).

The liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) gave McCain a score of 15 percent in 2006 for his votes on 20 issues, including extending the Bush tax cuts. In 1989, he received a score of 5 percent for a flag desecration amendment, "Star Wars" defense system funding and a minimum wage hike. In 1998, McCain received a score of 20 percent from the ADA for votes on Social Security personal retirement accounts, NATO expansion and immigration expansion.

The American Conservative Union gives McCain a lifetime score of 82.3 percent. In 2006, he scored a 65 percent grade, however, for his votes on earmark disclosure, pork spending and damages caps for medical malpractice. McCain received a score of 43 percent for his votes in 2007 from another conservative group, the John Birch Society, on issues like the minimum wage increase, estate tax repeal and embryonic stem cell research [source: Project Vote Smart].

Voting Record of John McCain: National Security and the Economy

Beyond rhetoric, spin and messages, perhaps the truest means of establishing what a candidate values is his or her voting record. Here are some select important issues that came up for a vote during McCain's tenure in Congress.

The Iraq War/Military/National Security:

In 2007, McCain voted against the Senate's expression of its sense that the President should decrease the scope of the Iraq War to a "more limited set of missions" (S. Amendment 3876) [source: U.S. Senate].

On the Iraq War funding bill in 2007 (H.R. 1591), McCain voted against one version which included a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops (vote 126), did not vote on a second vote of a similar version of the same bill (vote 147), and voted in favor of a different bill that did not include a timetable for withdrawal (vote 181) [source: The Washington Post].

In 2007, he voted against S. Amdts. 3875 [source: U.S. Senate]; 3164 [source: U.S. Senate]; 2898 [source: U.S. Senate]; and 2924 [source: U.S. Senate], which called for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

McCain did not vote on S. Amdt. 1927 in 2007, which allows eavesdropping without a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court order [source: The Washington Post].

McCain voted in favor of the Iraq funding bill (S. 762) for April to September 2003 [source: Project Vote Smart].

In 1991, McCain voted in favor of using U.S. forces against Iraq in Kuwait (S.J. Res. 2) [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted yes on S. 1798 in 1989, an amendment that made murdering Americans abroad through terrorism a death penalty offense [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted in favor of S. Amdt. 935 in 1989, authorizing President George H.W. Bush to send troops into Panama and to remove President Manuel Noriega from power [source: U.S. Senate].

He did not vote on H.R. 6304, which supports the extension of the scope of FISA and provides retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that provided their customers' information to the U.S. government [source: U.S. Senate].

Economy/Government Finance:

McCain voted in favor of H.R. 2 in 2007, which increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 [source: The Washington Post].

In 2006, McCain voted in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans (H.R. 4297) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2005, he voted against the successful bill H.R. 2863, which provided $1.3 billion in emergency funding to states to help with the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program [source: Project Vote Smart].

He voted in favor of a successful bill that established the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005 [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against S. Amdt. 2804 in 2004, which called for ensuring funding for necessary services by closing corporate tax loopholes and repealing tax breaks for certain individuals [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2003, he voted for S. Amdt. 284, a bill which would have funded the No Child Left Behind Act by repealing tax breaks for wealthy Americans [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted for H.R. 333 in 2001, which made it more difficult to erase debt through bankruptcy [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1995, McCain voted in favor of a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1993, he voted for the implementation of H.R. 3450, the North American Free Trade Agreement [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted against killing a bill in 1989 which would have transferred $5 million in fines from unauthorized childcare operations to approved Head Start programs (S. Amdt. 828) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1989, he voted to increase the federal minimum wage (H.R. 2710) from $3.35 to $4.25 from 1989 to 1991 [source: U.S. Senate].

Voting Record of John McCain: Immigration and Health Care

Immigration:

McCain voted in favor of S. Amendment 1348 in 2007, a successful bill that declares English the national language of the U.S. government [source: Project Vote Smart].

Also in 2007, McCain voted against a failed amendment (S. Amdt. 2339) allowing more aliens with extraordinary skills or abilities to enter the country than the current limit [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted against killing an amendment in 2007 (S. Amdt. 3313) that would have set aside $75 million for funding of state and local law enforcement to combat illegal immigration [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against S. Amdt. 1197 in 2007, which would have required health care be provided for undocumented aliens with Z visas. The bill would have also allowed them to work in the United States while the government looks at their status [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against S. Amdt. 4114 in 2006, which grants visas to immigrants with advanced degrees [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (H.R. 6061), which granted $1.2 billion for the construction of a 700-mile (1,127-km) fence along the border with Mexico [source: The Washington Post].

He voted to kill S. Amdt. 2417 in 1998, which would have prevented employers from hiring a foreign worker within six months of laying off an American worker with similar skills [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1989, he voted against killing an amendment (S. Amdt. 1089) that included employers of seasonal and migrant workers in certain federal wage funding programs [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain missed a vote in 2007 on a rejected amendment to improve rural access to health care services by reducing the liability system associated with obstetrical and gynecological services (S. Amdt. 3673) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2007, McCain voted no on the unsuccessful bill (H.R. 976) to fund the State Children Health Insurance Program at $45 billion through 2011 by increasing the tobacco tax [source: Project Vote Smart].

McCain voted in 2005 against S. Amdt. 2259, which would have increased funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program by $74 million [source: Project Vote Smart].

In 2004, McCain voted against rejected S. Amdt. 2803, which called for providing $60 billion over five years for public and private health care coverage by repealing Bush tax cuts [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2003, McCain voted against S. Amdt. 349, which proposed a $5,000 tax credit for expenses related to ill Americans' long-term or chronic care needs [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against waiving S. Amdt. 3852 in 2000, which grants tax credits to small business owners for employee health insurance coverage [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1999, McCain voted for Patient's Bill of Rights in relation to health care coverage (S. Amdt. 1242 [source: U.S. Senate] and S. Amdt. 1344) [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted against S. Amdt. 5190 in 1996, which provided benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida, but would have required people seeking compensation for injury or death from VA care to first prove fault [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against S. Amdt. 5194 in 1996, which provides health care coverage be extended to mental illness [source: U.S. Senate].

Legal/Judiciary/Governance:

In 2007, McCain voted in favor of a failed amendment (S. Amdt. 2350) to require voters show photo ID when voting [source: U.S. Senate].

He introduced and voted in favor of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (H.R. 2356), which limited special interest influence in election campaigns [source: U.S. Senate].

McCain voted against S. Amdt. 3473 in 2000, which expanded the definition of hate crimes to include those made on the basis of sexual orientation [source: Project Vote Smart].

In 1993, McCain voted against the Brady Bill (H.R. 1025), which created a waiting period for gun purchases [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against S. Amdt. 1204 in 1993, which would have replaced the death penalty for certain federal crimes with life imprisonment without the possibility of release [source: U.S. Senate].

In 1993, McCain voted against the successful Feinstein amendment (S. Amdt. 1152), which banned the manufacture and sale of 17 models of assault rifles in the U.S. [source: Brady Campaign].

In 1990, McCain voted in favor of mandatory minimum sentences for violent, drug and firearms offenses, the "mandatory minimum laws" (S. Amdt. 2084) [source: U.S. Senate].

Presidential Agenda of John McCain

Sen. McCain surprised the public and his party when he named a political unknown to share his campaign ticket. McCain chose Sarah Palin, the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and first-term governor of that state. Palin, 44, is a former commercial fishing worker, a self-described “hockey mom” and avid outdoorswoman who enjoys hunting. She and her husband, Todd, had five children at the time of her nomination ranging in age from five months to 17 years.

McCain said he chose Palin because of her “grit and integrity and devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today” [source: Fox News]. Palin’s credentials included strong pro-life and family values and serving in an executive capacity as mayor and governor. She also brought controversy to McCain’s campaign, however. Palin allegedly fired the state public safety commissioner serving under her after he refused to fire Palin’s brother-in-law, a state trooper who was then in the midst of a divorce from Palin’s sister. News later emerged that Palin’s unmarried, 17-year-old daughter was pregnant. Palin and her husband released a statement saying they were proud of their daughter’s decision to keep her child [source: CNN].

Palin’s popularity made a swift contribution to McCain’s campaign, bringing McCain even with Obama in the polls. But the GOP candidate’s campaign took a hit in September. The U.S. economy slid into a recession, and many Americans concluded it was the result of poor management by a Republican government. With the Obama camp continuously linking McCain to the “failed policies of George W. Bush,” and the economy continuing its slide, McCain’s poll numbers slid as well. The campaigns entered October neck-to-neck, as they had been throughout the autumn. By the middle of the month, polls began to show Obama pulling ahead of McCain. One poll showed the Democratic nominee had a 49 to 43 percent lead over the GOP candidate [source: MSNBC].

The debates are another reason political observers pointed to as reason for McCain’s slide. Obama won all three presidential debates, according to CNN polls following each debate [source: CNN].

It’s difficult to count Sen. McCain out, however. After steering his campaign from the brink of oblivion, John McCain emerged as the Republican’s candidate for president in 2008. With a campaign as filled with surprises as McCain’s has been, there’s no way to predict how the general election will pan out.

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Barack Obama

Biography

Obama is a rank-and-file Democrat and United States Senator from Illinois

Barack Obama has sponsored 121 bills since Jan 24, 2005, of which 115 haven't made it out of committee and 3 were successfully enacted. Obama has co-sponsored 504 bills during the same time period.

  Barack Hussein Obama Jr. was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu. His parents, Ann Dunham, a white Kansas native and daughter of a World War II veteran, and his father, a black Kenyan and son of a goat herder, met while enrolled at the University of Hawaii. The senior Obama divorced his wife and left Hawaii for Harvard. He eventually moved back to Kenya, where he worked as an economist and oil consultant [source: Chicago Sun-Times].

His mother remarried and moved young Barack to her second husband's home in Indonesia. Here, he studied for two years at a local public school. Obama's attendance at the Muslim-run public school in Indonesia later became the foundation for rumors that he is a Muslim and that the school he attended was a madrassa, a school that teaches Islam. (This doesn't appear to be the case; CNN sent reporters to the school early in 2008 and reported that the school was not a madrassa [source: New York Times].)

Obama returned to Hawaii and was raised by his grandparents until his mother returned to the United States following her divorce from Obama's stepfather. Obama attended Occidental College, a liberal arts college in Los Angeles, before transferring to Columbia University in New York. He graduated from Columbia in 1983 with a B.A. in political science [source: The Des Moines Register].

Following his graduation from Columbia, he moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he became involved with church-based nonprofit groups that work to provide housing and support to poor families in the city [source: 60 Minutes]. He went on to Harvard Law School, where he received his Juris Doctorate in 1991 [source: Religion and Politics]. At Harvard, Obama became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, overseeing a monthly, student-run journal that publishes about 2,000 pages per issue [source: Harvard Law Review].

Obama married his wife, Michelle Robinson -- an earlier graduate of Harvard Law -- in 1992. The two met at a Chicago law firm where they both worked. Four years later, Obama wrote his 1996 autobiography "Dreams from My Father." In it, he revealed that during his teenage and college years he experimented with marijuana and cocaine [source: Washington Post]. When Steve Kroft from "60 Minutes" asked if he regretted making these admissions, Obama told him, "No. You know, I don't" [source: CBS News].

He began an earnest attempt to quit smoking cigarettes in 2007, after pledging to his wife that he would switch to nicotine gum to break his habit [source: ABC News]. In 1999, his first daughter Malia was born. His second daughter, Natasha, arrived in 2001.

In addition to practicing law, Obama also serves as a senior lecturer on law at the University of Chicago Law School [source: Chicago Sun-Times]. In addition to "Dreams from My Father," Obama also published the bestseller "The Audacity of Hope" in 2006.

In 1998, the candidate joined the United Church of Christ in Chicago, after being raised outside of religion by his mother, who he's described as a "lonely witness for secular humanism" [source: Chicago Sun-Times]. During his 2008 presidential campaign, his religious views were called into question. An e-mail about Obama began to circulate, focusing attention on his Muslim background. The e-mail paints Obama as a radical Muslim and suggests that he may be a puppet of terrorists. This e-mail was categorically debunked as a false claim by the online urban legend reference site Snopes.com. The concept was lampooned on the controversial July 21, 2008, cover of the New Yorker magazine. A drawing entitled "The Politics of Fear" depicted a turban clad Barack giving pounds to his militantly-dressed and afroed wife, Michelle, in the Oval Office, while an American flag burns in the fireplace beneath a portrait of Osama bin Laden [source: New Yorker].

Political Career of Barack Obama

Obama began his political career as an Illinois state senator, where he served from 1997 to 2004. He became known among Chicago political circles for using hardball political tactics. A Chicago Tribune article reported that he was able to get into the Illinois Senate by challenging the veracity of nominating petitions until his competitors could no longer legally be considered candidates and were knocked off the ballot.

There in office, he served the south side of Chicago, casting more than 4,000 votes [source: Los Angeles Times], including some on bills that required homicide interrogations be recorded, reformation of campaign finance, allocation of tax credits for the poor and elimination of racial profiling [source: New York Times].

Voting Scorecards of Barack Obama

Special interest groups rate Obama's and other candidates' voting records on key votes of concern to their organizations. Obama generally scores high among groups promoting civil liberties, the environment and pro-choice issues. He generally scores low among pro-business, Conservative groups and tax reform organizations.

The League of Conservation Voters awarded Obama a grade of 100 percent on seven votes it considers key to environmental policy (such as public health, energy and funding) in its 2006 National Environmental Scorecard. He received an 80 percent grade for his votes in the 110th Congress. He received an "A" grade from the Genocide Intervention Network on his 2007 voting record related to seven key votes on issues relating to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. He received a "C," an "A+," and an "88 percent" for votes considered "supportive of the middle class" for his voting record in 2005, 2007 and 2008, respectively from the progressive think tank Drum Major Institute's TheMiddleClass.org

Labor unions tend to favor Obama's record more than business organizations do. The National Federation of Independent Businesses gave Obama a 12 percent grade for his voting in the 109th Congress on issues like minimum wage, employee health insurance and the Death Tax. He received a grade of 100 percent from the AFL-CIO labor federation [source: San Jose Business Journal]. His voting record in 2006 regarding votes considered key by the United States Chamber of Commerce -- including port security, immigration and the Death Tax -- received a 55 percent grade by that organization. He received a score of 94 percent for his voting record in the 109th Congress on issues like funding for avian flu vaccine, immigration reform and voting rights from the health care-related Service Employees International Union; for the 110th Congress, Obama received a score of 74 percent after missing three votes considered key by that organization -- a health care funding bill, access to jobs for Americans and a bill on children's health care.

The conservative John Birch Society gave Obama a score of 0 percent for his votes in the 110th Congress on Constitutional issues, including embryonic stem cell research, the expansion of anti-hate crime programs and troop withdrawal from Iraq. A joint scorecard compiled by the conservative family values organizations Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council gave Obama a 0 percent score for his votes on issues like embryonic stem cell research, exemption of grassroots organizations from lobbying reform and SCHIP health care insurance for unborn children [source: FRC Action].

On the other side, he received a 75 percent from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action in 2007 for issues like the minimum wage increase, immigration reform, FISA and the troop surge in Iraq. Obama received a 100 percent grade for his voting record on key issues of concern from Planned Parenthood -- sex education, health care for low-income families and comprehensive family planning. He received an 83 percent grade on civil liberty issues -- voting ID requirements, torture, and a gay marriage amendment -- from the American Civil Liberties Union for his record in the 109th Congress.

The Iraq War and National Security:

In 2007, Obama voted in favor of restoring habeas corpus to detainees in American custody (S. Amendment 2022) [source: Project Vote Smart].

He voted against a successful bill in 2007 which funded the Iraq War without including a timetable for withdrawal (H.R. 2206) [source: The Washington Post].

In 2007, he voted against another successful bill which gave $120 billion in funding for the Iraq War (vote 181), but voted for two different votes on a separate failed bill (HR 1591), which appropriated similar amounts for the Iraq War but included timetables for American troop withdrawals [source: The Washington Post].

He voted in favor of HR 4939 in 2006, which granted $67 billion in emergency funding to the Department of Defense [source: Obama Senate].

Obama voted against the Military Commissions Act of 2006, (S. 3930) which granted legal immunity for CIA officials involved in acts of torture, outlawed certain acts of torture by U.S. agents, and barred detainees labeled enemy combatants from protesting their incarceration. He voted in favor of an amended version of this bill (S. Amdt. 5095), which included Congressional oversight of some CIA programs [source: ­U.S. Senate].

He voted in favor of providing $965 million in additional funding to increase port security in 2006 (S. Amdt. 3054) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2005, Obama voted against a House resolution to reallocate $36 million to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (HR 1268 # 93) [source: TPM Election Central].

Obama broke with the Democratic Party line when he voted in favor of H.R. 6304, a bill that supports the extension of the scope of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and provides retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies that provided their customers' information to the U.S. government [source: U.S. Senate].

Economy/Government Finance:

In 2007, Obama voted no (S. Amdt. 491) on an $18 billion decrease in funding for programs deemed ineffective -- including Border Patrol, rural education and Coast Guard search and rescue. He also voted against $40 billion in reduced spending over five years on programs including agriculture student loans and other programs, but allotted funds towards hurricane recovery [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against an amendment in 2005 (S. Amdt. 31) that would have capped the amount of interest allowed to be charged on credit at 30 percent [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against the successful passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005 [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2005, Obama voted yes on a bill (S. 5), which affected class action lawsuits filed in separate states, bringing them together into the jurisdiction of the federal government [source: The Washington Post].

Voted in favor of increasing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in 2007 (H.R. 1591) [source: The Washington Post].

Immigration:

In 2007, Obama voted yes on a bill that restricts commercial trucks from Mexico to commercial-only zones in the border area (S. Amendment 2797) [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted in favor of a failed bill for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 (S. 1639), which would have introduced guest-worker-visa and path-to-citizenship programs for illegal immigrants already residing in the country, as well as increased border security [source: U.S. Senate].

Obama also voted for the Secure Fence Act in 2006 (H.R. 6061), which approved $1.2 billion for a 700-mile-long (1,127-km) fence along the U.S./Mexico border [source: The Washington Post].

He voted in favor of S. Amdt. 1183, a failed bill that sought to reclassify spouses and minor children of legal immigrants as immediate relatives, giving them legal status in the U.S. -- so-called "chain migration" [source: U.S. Senate].

Health Care:

In 2007, Obama voted for an unsuccessful bill that would have expanded funding for the State Children's Healthcare Insurance Program (SCHIP) by increasing the tobacco tax (S. Amdt. 536 ) [source: U.S. Senate].

He voted against another unsuccessful bill in 2007, which eliminated federal payments matching state funds for non-pregnant adults via SCHIP, but allowed states to expand mental and dental coverage of children in SCHIP (S. Con. Res. 21) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2006, he voted in favor of an amendment to provide compensation for people who had been harmed by flu vaccines [source: Obama Senate].

Obama voted in favor of establishing a fund for reserving avian flu vaccine in 2006 (S. Amdt. 3114) [source: U.S. Senate].

In 2007, he voted in favor of S. Amdt. 990, which allows seniors to purchase and import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other countries [source: U.S. Senate].

Legal/Judiciary/Governance:

He voted for a bill in 2007 (S. 1) that provides more transparency in the legislative process, as well as for amendments to that bill that prohibit "lavish parties" for members of Congress thrown by lobbyists and increase restrictions on gifts and travel provided to Congress by lobbyists [source: Obama Senate].

Obama sponsored three bills related to government ethics reform in 2006: Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission Act (S. 2259), the Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act (S. 2261) and the CLEAN UP Act (S. 2179) [source: Obama Senate].

In 2006, Obama voted against an amendment to increase transparency in government lobbying (S. 2349) [source: U.S. Senate].

Obama voted against the confirmations of conservative Supreme Court Justices John Roberts in 2005 and Samuel Alito in 2006 [source: The Washington Post].

He voted with Republicans for a pro-business bill in 2005, which brings class action lawsuits filed in more than one state into the purview of the federal courts [source: The Washington Post].

Presidential Agenda of Barack Obama

Obama says he intends to "make government cool again" [source: Idaho Statesman]. Like some other candidates, including Republican challenger Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992, he's made his case for being cool on late-night talk shows. Obama's turn came when he delivered the Top Ten list on "Late Night with David Letterman" on Jan. 24, 2008. Obama offered his facetious "Top Ten Campaign Promises" to Late Night viewers -- No. 9: "I will double your tax money at the craps table" [source: CBS].

Most likely this is not Obama's actual plan to revive the United States economy. His official site states that his plan for economic reform will come in the form of tax relief, support for education and technological innovation, and tax breaks for small businesses.

On August 22, 2008, Obama announced he’d selected Delaware senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Sen. Biden had been a rival of Obama’s during the 2008 primaries, but had dropped out in the beginning of January 2008 after a poor showing in the Iowa Caucus. This was Biden’s second run for the White House, the first coming in 1988. He dropped out amid accusations of plagiarism in a speech he gave [source: MSNBC]. Obama said he selected Biden because he was “a statesman with sound judgment who doesn’t have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong” [source: NPR].

Obama selected Biden over Hillary Clinton, who many Democrats had hoped would end up as Obama’s running mate. Republicans also pointed out that Biden was a vocal critic of Obama’s lack of experience in foreign policy [source: MSNBC]. Biden served in the senate for more than 30 years, and was known for his “blue-collar roots, generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator” [source: AP].

With his vice president chosen, Obama turned his attention to the three presidential debates versus Sen. John McCain. Poll results showed that Sen. Obama won all three debates against his GOP rival; 51, 54 and 58 percent of respondents believing Obama came out on top in the three debates in CNN polls [source: CNN].

Please chose to use your right to vote November 4th!!