Presidential Election of 2008

The Issues at Stake

There are several issues that will be of great importance when voters decide who to cast their vote for in the presidential election of 2008. An issue of high importance will be the war in Iraq. All of the candidates will need to form positions on an Iraq exit strategy. Voters will need to decide which of these exit strategies they prefer when making the decision for whom to cast their ballot. Clinton and McCain both voted for war authorization and their positions will need to revolve around their decision to authorize war in Iraq in 2003. Obama was not yet in the Senate when the decision to authorize war was made.

Other issues of great importance are the U.S. economy, oil prices, immigration, abortion, healthcare, and Medicare. First, the U.S. economy is struggling to compete for growth in the world and needs to continue to grow or it will be eclipsed by other, faster-growing economies. Second, oil prices are increasing and this could wreak havoc on the American economy and U.S. consumers.

The American economy will struggle if oil prices continue to increase because businesses will suffer with additional costs; for example airlines will struggle to offer affordable plane tickets. The American consumer will suffer from increased heating and gasoline prices. If consumers and businesses both suffer from the increasing oil prices, then this will further hinder U.S. economic growth.

Third, immigration is becoming more salient in the minds of voters. With approximately 12 million illegal immigrants, the controversy surrounding the benefits and costs of illegal immigration is creating a sense of urgency in the American public. Fourth, abortion has been an extremely important issue since Roe v. Wade, but with the recent Supreme Court decisions upholding the partial birth abortion ban (Gon-zales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood) and the appointment to the Supreme Court of more conservative justices, abortion is becoming a polarizing issue in the American public. Finally, healthcare and Medicare have become important voting issues, as close to 50 million Americans have no healthcare insurance and Medicare's financial future remains uncertain.

The Democratic Hopefuls

Hillary Clinton, if elected president, would be the first woman president in U.S. history. In 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected president, Hillary Clinton took on the role of first lady. She served in this role for the eight years her husband was in office. In 2000, Hillary Clinton became a New York senator, the first woman to be elected to a statewide office in New York. She has served on the Education, Health, Labor and Pensions Committee, Environment and Public Works Committee, the Special Committee on Aging, and is the first New York senator to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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