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Clinton vs. Obama Face Off Heats Up Before Texas and Ohio Primaries
Last week’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and these last few days on the campaign trail have highlighted key differences between the two candidates’ platform and positions.
Key policy and programmatic differences in the Clinton vs. Obama Face Off concern domestic issues – such as healthcare, immigration, and retirement - and foreign affairs issues – including diplomacy, free trade, and the war in Iraq. The summary below also includes links to the corresponding questions on Select2008.
Foreign Affairs – Clinton and Obama have strongly disagreed on several foreign affairs-related issues:
- Obama stated his support in favor of talking with leaders of 'rogue' nations without preconditions, including the Iranian leadership and the newly-nominated Cuban leader, Raul Castro;
- the two candidates further disagree on normalizing relations with Cuba;
- Clinton supported the Senate resolution on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, while Obama asserted that the Senate resolution on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was paving the path for a military engagement with Iran;
- The two candidates also disagree on having the U.S. join the International Criminal Court;
Free Trade – Free trade was a divisive issue during the primaries campaign, as candidates faced a softening economy; this issue is particularly sensitive ahead of the Ohio primaries. Although both candidates supported the Peru free trade agreement, they disagree on key free trade issues: negotiate new free trade agreements and renegotiate NAFTA;
War in Iraq – Clinton and Obama have had differences over the War in Iraq from the onset back in 2002; the two candidates also disagree on the way forward on Iraq, either by federalizing Iraq along sectarian lines, or by following the conclusions from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, as well as the size and mission of the U.S. “residual” force in Iraq;
Universal Healthcare – Both candidates have come out in favor of Universal Healthcare. However, Clinton’s Universal healthcare plan differs quite significantly from Obama’s healthcare plan, including on issues as fundamental as:
- universal coverage for all Americans,
- mandatory coverage for all Americans,
- means-tested tax credits for healthcare insurance,
- health insurance for small business employees, and
- access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
Immigration – On immigration, the two candidates have disagreed on mainly two issues: the support for driving licenses for undocumented immigrants and the scope of an earned legalization program for undocumented immigrants.
Retirement – Both Clinton and Obama have made proposals on retirement to ensure Social Security’s future, guarantee its defined benefit pensions, and facilitate retirement savings. However, the candidates have disagreed on key measures to maintain Social Security’s funding into the future, such as raising or eliminating the cap on Social Security taxable income to prevent benefit cuts for future retirees, and levying Social Security taxes on income revenues higher than $200,000/year.
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