U.S. presidential candidates´ views on key issues

On Trade:

McCain is a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and U.S. free trade agreements with other countries. He believes that the United States should engage in multilateral efforts to reduce trade barriers to provide Americans with more opportunities to sell their goods and services abroad.

Obama said he would, if elected, ensure that every trade agreement has the labor standards, the environmental standards and the safety standards to protect workers and consumers. He opposed NAFTA, saying he will act forcefully to make sure labor and environmental sidebar agreements are enforced effectively.

On Health Care:

McCain said that he would offer 2,500 dollars of tax credits to those who do not receive health insurance through their employer, and seek to allow Americans to keep their health insurance after they switch jobs or more between states. He believes health care costs can be lowered by encouraging greater competition among providers.

Obama's health care plan would require all children to have health insurance and all employers to contribute to their employees' health insurance costs. He also aims to cut health care costs for the average American family by 2,500 dollars. He will require health care providers to publicly report on their expenses so as to reduce the costs.

On Iraq War:

McCain believes it is "strategically and morally essential for the U.S. to support the Iraqi government to become capable of governing itself and securing its people." He said "a precipitous "withdrawal of American troops would send Iraq to civil war and energize al-Qaeda.

He has said he planned to bring home all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by 2013 and did not want to keep troops in Iraq "a minute longer than necessary to secure our interests there."

Obama has been consistently a critic of the Iraq war, saying it diverts attention from fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He supports withdrawing all combat troops within 16 months after he takes office and redeploying resources in Afghanistan. He also noted the need to expand humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei