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	Mitt Romney	Barack Obama
  Alternative Sentencing:	One Strike, You're Ours: lifetime GPS tracking	Supports alternative sentencing and rehabilitation
  Death Penalty:	Supports death penalty in heinous murders	Battled legislatively against the death penalty
  Gun Rights:	Ok to ban lethal weapons that threaten police	Respect 2nd Amendment, but local gun bans ok
  Drugs in Society:	Combat the ruthless narco-terrorists in Colombia	Expand drug courts; help prisoners with substance abuse
  Marijuana Legalization:	Opposes legalization of recreational or medical marijuana	Not first candidate to use drugs, but first honest about it
  Nuclear Waste:	Compensate Nevada for nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain	Opposes Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste storage
  Environmental Philosophy:	Clean environment will be a campaign theme	Genesis teaches stewardship of earth: sacrifice for future
  Emissions Standards:	States should be able to have their own emissions standards	Let states define stricter-than-federal emission standards
  Energy Efficient Cars:	$20 billion package for energy research & new car technology	Let's build a fuel-efficient car in America, not abroad
  Infrastructure Investment:	Invest in infrastructure from growing economy by lower taxes	National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank: $60B in 10 years
  Outer Space Policy:	Mining the moon costs too much	Cancel moon program; develop human mission to Mars
  R&D Spending:	National R&D spending OK; picking winners not OK	Space-race-level investment in R&D; biotech; & green tech
  Health Mandate:	Personal responsibility instead of employer mandates	Zero fines & no mandate for small business
  Medicare:	Reform Medicare, but don't cancel prescription program	Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities
  ObamaCare:	I stand by what I did in Massachusetts; but not ObamaCare	Repealing healthcare reform would cost $250B

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  Economic Issues	Mitt Romney	Barack Obama
  Corporation Policy:	Corporations are people	I will raise CEO taxes, no doubt about it
  Financial Bailout:	Bailout program wasted money; let companies go bankrupt	We all hated the bank bailout; but it was necessary
  Wall Street Reform:	I was CEO at mainstream businesses, not Wall St.	Pay attention to Main Street, not just Wall Street
  Economic Stimulus:	Key to economic stimulus: get companies to buy more stuff	$1T avoided Depression; but I took office with $8T debt
  Trickle-Down Economics:	Lowering taxes, like Bush tax cuts, grows the economy	Not enough to help those at the top: it doesn't trickle down
  National Debt:	The "Party of No" is ok when it comes to spending	Freeze annual domestic spending for next five years
  Balanced Budget:	Cap how much government can spend as a percentage of GDP	Appoint bipartisan fiscal commission and re-establish PAYGO
  Campaign Finance Reform:	McCain-Feingold hurt our party and hurt the First Amendment	Public campaign financing with free television & radio time
  Card Check:	"Card check" is a massive imposition on worker freedom	FactCheck: Yes, wants to limit secret balloting for unions
  Unemployment:	Replace jobless benefits with unemployment savings accounts	$4,000 tax credit for companies who hire unemployed workers
  Social Security Privatization:	Favors private accounts; prepared to be entirely bold	What do we do with the losers of privatizing?
  Trust Fund:	Congress taking money from Trust Fund is criminal	Must capture new revenue; no new Social Security Commission
  Entitlement Policy:	Rein in the excessive growth in entitlement programs	Good health care and tax reform will save entitlements
  Tax-and-Spend Policies:	Reduce the tax burden on middle-income families	We need a tax code where everybody pays their fair share
  Death Tax:	Death tax just doesn't make sense	2011 budget proposed to raise Death Tax to 45%

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  Social Issues	Mitt Romney	Barack Obama
  Partial-Birth Abortion:	No punishment for women who have partial birth abortions	Trust women to make own decisions on partial-birth abortion
  Stem Cells:	Stem cell research lofty goals don't justify destroying life	Stem cells hold promise to cure 70 major diseases
  Judicial Activism:	Firmly pro-life; including Court nominations	No litmus test; nominate to Court based on their fairness
  Welfare State:	Opportunity is in our DNA; dependency is death to initiative	Cut poverty in half in 10 years, with faith-based help
  Welfare-to-Work:	Would require welfare recipients to work	Welfare recipients know how to succeed but need help
  Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell:	Don't ask, don't tell sounds silly, but it's effective	Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell
  Defense of Marriage Act:	MA Constitution, by John Adams, has no same-sex marriage	Decisions about marriage should be left to the states
  Affirmative Action:	Failure to educate minorities is a civil rights issue	Include class-based affirmative action with race-based
  College Loans:	China & India graduate more science & engineering PhDs	$10K college tax credit; forgive loans for public service
  No Child Left Behind:	Changed from closing Education Dept. to supporting NCLB	We need real commitment to education; instead we got NCLB
  School Vouchers:	Supported means-tested vouchers for public & private schools	Vouchers don't solve the problems of our schools
  the Fathers In Families:	Child development enhanced by having a mother & father	I know what it means to have an absent father
  the Tea Party:	Me & Tea Party are both for small government & low spending	92% of Tea Partiers: "Obama is moving US toward socialism"
  Personal Faith:	My faith would inform my presidency	I am a person of faith; and I reach out to people of faith
  Religious Values:	Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom	Listening to evangelicals bridges major political fault line

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  International Issues	Mitt Romney	Barack Obama
  Climate Change:	They don't call it "America warming" but "global warming"	Aggressively address accelerating climate change
  Oil Drilling:	Develop alternative energy but also drill in ANWR	We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil
  Nuclear Power:	Develop energy technology like nuclear or liquefied coal	Nuclear power ok if we safeguard against waste & terrorism
  China Trade:	China doesn't want to have a trade war; so push hard	China is a competitor but not an enemy
  Immigrant Benefits:	Turn off the magnet that attracts immigrants	Pathway to citizenship, but people have to earn it
  Guest Workers:	I like legal immigration; let business determine visas	Anti-immigrant bitterness stems from joblessness
  American Exceptionalism:	American Exceptionalism means America need not decline	American exceptionalism is same as any other exceptionalism
  Iranian Sanctions:	Unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation	Iran is more isolated and will face growing consequences
  International Diplomacy:	Encourage others to welcome democracy, without military	The UN has succeeded in avoiding a Third World War
  the Patriot Act:	FBI wiretaps and spying on immigrants OK	The politics of fear undermines basic civil liberties
  Defense spending:	Increase defense spending to at least 4% of GDP	Reduce defense spending 1% in 2013; add 2% per year after
  Sources of Terrorism:	To win the war on jihad, we need friends in Muslim world	Battling terrorism must go beyond belligerence vs. isolation
  Torture Policy:	Best to not say whether waterboarding is torture or not	No torture; no renditions; no operating out of fear
  Guantanamo Prison:	Closing Gitmo leaves America vulnerable to another 9/11	OpEd: Promised to close Guantanamo but it's still open
  Afghanistan War:	Stay in Afghanistan until our generals say to leave	Troops will begin to exit Afghanistan in July 2011

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

  Budget & Economy     Barack Obama: Obama economic stances compared to Romney.

  Education     Barack Obama: Romney education stances compared to Obama.

  Health Care     Mitt Romney: Romney healthcare stances compared to Obama.

  Homeland Security     Mitt Romney: Obama defense issue stances compared to Romney.

  
  

  Click for quotations from other sources by:
  • Barack Obama
  • Mitt Romney

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

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  VoteMatch Social Issues	Mitt Romney	vs.	Barack Obama
  Abortion is a woman’s right	opposes		strongly favors
  Require companies to hire more women & minorities	strongly favors		strongly favors
  Same-sex domestic partnership benefits	opposes		favors
  Teacher-led prayer in public schools	strongly favors		opposes
  Parents choose schools via vouchers	strongly favors		favors
  VoteMatch Domestic Issues	Mitt Romney	vs.	Barack Obama
  More federal funding for health coverage	neutral		strongly favors
  Death Penalty	strongly favors		opposes
  Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws	strongly favors		opposes
  Absolute right to gun ownership	opposes		opposes
  Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it	strongly favors		opposes
  VoteMatch Economic Issues	Mitt Romney	vs.	Barack 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	opposes		strongly favors
  VoteMatch International Issues	Mitt Romney	vs.	Barack Obama
  Illegal immigrants earn citizenship	opposes		favors
  Support & expand free trade	neutral		opposes
  The Patriot Act harms civil liberties	strongly opposes		strongly favors
  Expand the armed forces	strongly favors		favors
  US out of Iraq & Afghanistan	strongly opposes		favors

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