War in Iraq

Obama: Spoke out against giving President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq in 2002, before Obama was in the U.S. Senate. Supports ending the war by removing troops under the direction of military commanders on the ground in consultation with the Iraqi government in a process that is expected to take 16 months.

Kaine: Calls the Bush administration's rationale for invading Iraq "very, very flimsy." Has said an eventual withdrawal is inevitable, but its timing must be predicated on the training of the Iraqi police and military.

The economy

Obama: Supports additional tax rebates to stimulate the economy; a foreclosure-prevention fund; relief for state and local governments whose budgets are hardest hit by the housing crisis; expanded unemployment insurance; implementation of trade policies that benefit American workers and increase exports; workers' right to unionize; and a higher minimum wage.

Kaine: Implemented cuts based on forecasts of reduced state revenue because of a slowing national economy; created Virginia's Foreclosure Prevention Task Force. Forbes magazine's most recent ranking rated Virginia the best state for business for the third year in a row.

Taxes

Obama: Supports reversing tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers but protecting those for poor and middle-class families; targeting tax shelters and offshore tax havens; closing special-interest corporate loopholes such as those for the oil and gas industry; simplifying tax filings for middle-class Americans, eliminating income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000. Kaine: Supports a simpler and more equitable tax code and tax relief for low-income working people. Supported the repeal of the estate tax and homeowner tax relief through a homestead exemption. Sought to raise taxes and fees by about $1 billion to fund transportation.

Offshore drilling

Obama: Opposes offshore drilling, saying it would harm the environment and would not lower the current price of oil because exploration and development could take years.

Kaine: Opposes offshore drilling for oil. Says Virginia would support exploration of waters more than 50 miles from the coast, but only to determine potential natural gas deposits.

Health care

Obama: Supports a new national health plan available to all Americans and a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. Supports expansion of the Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Kaine: Proposed expanded health-care access for the uninsured and a program to provide an affordable health insurance option for low-income workers. Supports tax incentives for small businesses that buy health insurance for their employees and the creation of a small-business insurance purchasing pool.

Abortion

Obama: Supports abortion rights.

Kaine: Opposes abortion personally but would resist "criminalizing" women and their doctors. Has supported some restrictions, including a ban on late-term abortion.

Capital punishment

Obama: Supports capital punishment in particularly heinous cases.

Kaine: Believes life is sacred but as governor has carried out executions in deference to the law.
Compiled by Wendy Addison, Times-Dispatch research librarian.