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2008 Campaign

Family Security Matters does not stand behind or endorse any candidate for president (or any other public office). However, as the President is also Commander-in-Chief and is responsible for setting national security policy, we will be publishing a variety of articles on both the Republican and Democrat candidates for President during this election year. As always, the opinions of our Contributing Editors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Family Security Matters.

IN THIS SECTION

September 12, 2008

Exclusive: Obama and Palin – Side by Side

The Editors

How do they stack up?

Barack Obama is supposed to be running against John McCain, but with the entrance of Sarah Palin onto the national political stage, it seems as though the race is now between these two political powerhouses.

Much has been made of Obama’s judgment to lead in spite of his youth and relative inexperience. Likewise, much has been made of Palin’s unfitness to be first in line to the presidency because of her youth and relative inexperience. Therefore, it might be helpful for voters to take a look at their qualifications on key issues side by side in order to make a more informed choice at the polls in November.

	Sarah Palin	Barack Obama
Age	44	48
Current Job	Governor of Alaska	Junior Senator from Illinois
Candidate for…	Vice president	President
Other public jobs/positions	Chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission; Chair of the National Governors Association Natural Resources Committee; Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; Mayor of Wasilla, AK; President of Alaska Conference of Mayors; Wasilla City Council member	Illinois state senator; senior law lecturer at University of Chicago Law School; ACORN community organizer
Executive experience	Governor for two years; mayor for 10 years	None
Foreign relations experience	Governor of a state that borders two foreign nations (Canada and Russia)	Chair of Senate subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session; took a trip to the Middle East and Europe during the campaign and made a speech in Germany; took a trip to Pakistan while in college; multicultural background: living in Indonesia for four years as a child; absentee father from Kenya
Military affairs experience	Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska National Guard	None
Private sector experience	Sportscaster; worked in her husband’s family’s commercial fishing business	Associate at a civil rights law firm
Troop support	Visited wounded troops in Germany; visited AK National Guard soldiers deployed to Kuwait; son deployed to Iraq on 9/11/08 as Army infantryman	Visited troops in Afghanistan and Iraq; cancelled a visit to wounded troops in Germany
“Maverick” credentials	Married to a non-Republican; exposed corruption within own party; endorsed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell in his run against pork-friendly GOP congressman Don Young; called on Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) to “come clean” about financial dealings that are under federal investigation	Most liberal member of the Senate in 2007, according to National Journal
Legislative accomplishments	Supported and signed a landmark ethics reform bill; used line-item veto to cut millions from state spending; prevented “bridge to nowhere” that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars	Major legislation sponsored is the Global Poverty Act, which would cost the American taxpayers $845 billion; voted “present” over 100 times as Illinois state senator
History of dealing with corruption	Exposed legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders; campaigned against corrupt GOP Representative; ran against and defeated corrupt incumbent governor in GOP primary	Launched political career in home of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers (and still refers to him as a part of “mainstream Democratic Chicago”); purchased home with help of convicted felon Tony Rezko
Second Amendment	Lifetime member of NRA and avid hunter	Worked to pass legislation in Illinois that would prevent all law-abiding citizens from owning firearms
Earmarks	Opposed “Bridge to Nowhere” project; said Alaska should avoid relying on federal money for projects; campaigned against porker Don Young (R-AK) in 2008 primary	Secured federal earmarks for wife’s employer and for campaign bundlers; asked for $740 million in earmarks over a three-year period
Abortion	Pro-life; gave birth to fifth child knowing that he would have Down’s syndrome	Pro-choice; while Illinois state senator voted against the Born Alive Infant’s Protection Act, which required medical care to be given to live infants who survived abortions (and lied about the reason for his vote)
Energy	Believes energy independence is a matter of national security; for drilling in ANWR, which is in her state; brokered a multi-billion dollar pipeline deal with a Canadian company	Says Americans should “get tune-ups” and “check tire pressure”; says “we can’t expect the world to be okay with” our use of heating and air conditioning; believes Americans would have gotten used to a “gradual adjustment”

Compiled from various internet sources.

Brought to you by the editors and research staff of FamilySecurityMatters.org.

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