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Candidate positions: Barack Obama

The following positions reflect those used for Barack Obama in the Select A Candidate survey. They come from the candidate's public statements, Web sites, and responses to Minnesota Public Radio questionnaires. In some cases, candidiates have failed to respond to inquiries, and their position is noted as "No known opinion."


Issue Question Candidate Position
Abortion What types of legislation would you support regarding legalized abortion? ANSWER OPTION
Support abortion rights. Require contraceptives to be available for free for women enrolled in workplace health plans, including access to morning-after pill. Support requiring girls 16 and under to get a prescription for the morning-after pill, available without a prescription for older women.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Debt What should be done about the federal debt? ANSWER OPTION
Tackle the debt with a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. Let Bush-era tax cuts expire for couples making more than $250,000, which would generate more than $700 billion over 10 years. Also, would set a 30 percent tax rate on taxpayers making more than $1 million, increasing taxes for some but not all millionaires and billionaires. That would generate about $47 billion over 10 years.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Economy What would you do to invigorate the economy? ANSWER OPTION
Propose tax breaks for U.S. manufacturers producing domestically or repatriating jobs from abroad, and tax penalties for U.S. companies outsourcing jobs. Supported $800 billion stimulus plan and Wall Street and auto industry bailouts begun under George W. Bush.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Education What changes would you make to federal education policy? ANSWER OPTION
Support waivers freeing states from the most onerous requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law with their agreement to improve how they prepare and evaluate students. Support reducing federal aid to colleges that go too far in raising tuition.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Energy What changes would you make to federal energy policy? ANSWER OPTION
Support drilling plan in Arctic Ocean opposed by environmentalists. Support a temporary moratorium on deep-water drilling after the massive BP oil spill but push for more oil and gas drilling overall. Propose Congress give oil market regulators more power to control price manipulation by speculators and stiffer fines for doing so. Embrace nuclear power as a clean source.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Environment What are your views concerning the environment? ANSWER OPTION
Support limits on carbon emissions. Reject Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas but support fast-track approval of a segment of it. Support government subsidies of green energy and tougher fuel economy standards.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Same-sex marriage Should same-sex marriage be legal? ANSWER OPTION
Yes.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP, Obama opposed the legality of same-sex marriage in 2008 presidential campaign - and in 2004 Senate campaign - while supporting the extension of legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples in civil unions. He has since reversed his stance. (More Info)
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Health care What changes would you make to federal health care policy? ANSWER OPTION
Support the federal health care law passed in 2010. Under the law, insurers will be banned from denying coverage to people with pre-existing illness, tax credits for middle-income and low-income people will subsidize premiums, people without work-based insurance will have access to new markets and small business gets help for offering insurance.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Immigration What are your views concerning immigration? ANSWER OPTION
Immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children should be exempted from deportation and granted work permits if they apply.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Social Security What should be done with the Social Security program? ANSWER OPTION
Propose adopting a new measurement of inflation that would reduce annual increases in Social Security benefits. The proposal would reduce the long-term financing shortfall by about 25 percent, according to the Social Security actuaries.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Obama has not proposed a comprehensive plan to address Social Security's long-term financial problems, the AP reports. (More Info)
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Taxes What would you do to overhaul federal tax policy? ANSWER OPTION
Raise taxes on the wealthy and ensure they pay 30 percent of their income at minimum. Supports extending Bush-era tax cuts for everyone making under $200,000, or $250,000 for couples. Support letting the top tax rates go back up 3 to 4 points to 39.6 percent and 36 percent, and raise rates on capital gains and dividends for the wealthy.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Terrorism How should the federal government fight terrorism? ANSWER OPTION
Support policy that U.S. would no longer use harsh interrogation techniques. Carry forward Bush's key anti-terrorism policies, including detention of suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Continue with military commissions instead of civilian courts for detainees and invocation of state secrets privilege in court. Expanded use of unmanned drone strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and Yemen.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
War How should the U.S. government handle its current wars? ANSWER OPTION
Have all troops out of Afghanistan by end of 2014. Support major reductions in the size of the Army and Marine Corps. Support use of U.S. air power in NATO-led campaign that helped Libyan opposition topple Moammar Gadhafi's government. Do not support air power commitment for Syrian opposition. Oppose a near-term military strike on Iran, either by the U.S. or by Israel, to sabotage nuclear facilities that could be misused to produce a nuclear weapon.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to the AP. (More Info)
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