President George Bush and Senator John Kerry are the two key running mates for this year's race to the White House. Bush and Kerry differ on many issues, some big and some small. They differ on how the economy should be handled, energy and environmental issues, health care matters, national security, and education standards. Comparing these issues may help you decide how you this fall.
             The President has repeatedly called on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, saying failure to do so would amount to a tax hike and threaten the economy in generating new jobs. He believes that speeding up the tax cuts will increase the pace of economic recovery and job creation. He wants to provide dividend and capitol gains tax relief to give small business incentives to grow. He proposes that each state will receive $20 billion in aid for these services. John Kerry on the other hand has different views. To pay for broad health care reform, Kerry has called for repeal of the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $200,000 a year. However, he would keep the tax cuts for the middle class. He says he can cut the half-trillion dollar budget by the end of a four year term, even while spending $72 billion a year to extend health care to 27 million of the 40-plus million uninsured (www.wesh.com).
             Energy and Environmental issues also show differences between the candidates. President Bush believes the threat of global warming should be addressed through new economic growth and efficiency. He also favors drilling for oil in Alaska's Artic National Wildlife refuge, and he supports to reduce air pollution and acid rain by a proposed budget of $1.7 billion to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Bush also supports more domestic oil, natural gas, and coal production. He also wants to increase logging in national forests as a way to prevent forest fires. Kerry favors U.S. participation in an international climate change program to curb glob...