A look at the policies of Republican President George W. Bush and
Democratic challenger Sen. John F. Kerry.

Kerry Profile		Bush Profile
Education: bachelor’s degree, Yale University, 1966; law degree, Boston College, 1976 Military Service: Navy, 1966-1970; Naval Reserves, 1972-1978 Career: Assistant district attorney, Middlesex County, 1977- 1979; attorney, 1979-1982; Massachusetts lieutenant governor, 1982-84; U.S. senator Gay marriage: Against same-sex marriage, backs benefits, rights for same-sex couples Increase size of Army: Recruit more service members; start Community Defense Service. Energy policy: Set goals, incentives to reduce dependence on fossil fuels Prescription drugs benefit: Tighten rules on drug companies; focus on seniors, vets Suing HMOs: Allow patients to sue HMOs, collect money for damages Patriot Act: Backs letting act expire without congressional approval Immigration: Speed immigration process; unite families; patrol borders War in Iraq: Supported the war; later said Bush misled nation Iraqi reconstruction: Involve other nations more in Iraqi rebuilding, security Pre-emption policy: Denounces threat of pre-emption; would seek global consensus Afghanistan: Boost international efforts to secure peace, beat al Qaeda Middle East: Improve social, economic, political conditions in region Abortion: Supports a woman’s right to an abortion; planning resources Death penalty: Opposes death penalty Drug policy: More police; aggressively target traffickers; fund treatment Gun control: Close gun show loophole; require child safety locks Education reform: Bar vouchers; fully fund NCLB, special ed., school building Supreme Court: Appoint judges committed to law, civil and abortion rights State fiscal crisis: Give priority to giving states fiscal aid to resolve crises Tax cuts: Repeal tax cuts for wealthy; increase child tax credit Budget deficits: Undo deficit trend with eye on corporate loopholes, spending Job creation: Assist small businesses; train workers; infrastructure jobs		Education: bachelor’s degree, Yale University, 1968; master’s degree, Harvard University, 1975 Military Service: Air National Guard, 1968-1973 Career: Founder/CEO of oil and gas company, 1975-1987; managing general partner, Texas Rangers baseball team, 1989- 1998; Texas governor, 1994-2000; U.S. president Gay marriage: Backs constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Increase size of army: Has not proposed increasing the Army’s size Energy policy: Supports market-based solution to improve air quality Prescription drugs benefit: Supports adding drug benefit to Medicare Drug costs: Supports reducing drug costs for low-income patients Suing HMOs: Would place limits on patient lawsuits against HMOs Patriot Act: Supports Patriot Act Immigration: Proposed increasing budget to enforce immigration laws War in Iraq: Authorized war to oust Saddam Hussein regime Iraqi reconstruction: Initially opposed U.N. involvement; now warming to idea Pre-emption policy: Announced new policy of pre-emption in June 2002 Afghanistan: More than $1 billion proposed for reconstruction Middle East: Co-sponsored “Road map” plan for peace process Abortion: Opposes except cases of rape, incest or to save woman’s life Death penalty: Supports death penalty Drug policy: Reduce illegal drug usage by 10 percent over two years Gun control: Protect gunmakers from lawsuits Education reform: Signed No Child Left Behind Act; federal budget has not fully funded legislation Supreme Court: Has cited Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia as model justices Social Security: Supports investing some Social Security taxes in stocks State fiscal crisis: Allocated funds to help states pay increased security costs Budget deficits: Reduce deficit by holding spending increases to 4 percent Job creation: Says 2001, 2003 tax cuts have helped keep economy going Tax cuts: Signed two tax cut bills so far; more tax cuts unlikely