2012 Presidential
Campaign
Candidates
and Issues
Barack Obama
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Born August 4, 1961
Married with 2 Children (ages
7 and 10)
Grew up in Hawaii, Indonesia,
and New York City
Graduated from Columbia
University in 1983
Earned Law Degree from
Harvard University in 1991
Life in Chicago
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Worked in Chicago
as a community
organizer
Practiced law as a
civil rights attorney
Taught
Constitutional Law
at the University of
Chicago Law
School
Political Career
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Elected to the Illinois State Senate in
1997
Elected to United States Senate in
2004 (with 70% of the vote)
Elected President of the United States
in 2008
Political Achievements - Senate
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Required tax dollar spending to be posted
on the Internet
Has pushed for Ethics Reform legislation
Member of the Veterans Affairs Committee
Visited Russia to assist in WMD
nonproliferation efforts
Has promoted the use of alternative fuels
to reduce dependence on foreign oil
Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on
European Affairs
Political Achievements - President
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Signed the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009
Signed the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (aka – ObamaCare)
Ended US military involvement in Iraq
Ordered the military operation that led to
the killing of bin Laden
Became the first sitting president to
publicly support same-sex marriage
Willard “Mitt” Romney
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Born March 12, 1947 in
Detroit, Michigan
Married with 5 children
and 18 grandchildren
Grew up in Bloomfield
Hills, MI and attended the
Cranbrook School
Graduated from Brigham
Young in 1971 and
Harvard Law and Harvard
Business Schools in 1975
Lives in Belmont, MA
Business Experience
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Co-Founder of Bain Capital – an
investment company
Built the company into one of the most
successful in the country
Worth about $190 – 250 million
Has used the money he earned through
his business to finance his political
campaigns
Political Career – Governor of
Massachusetts
Eliminated a $3 billion deficit without
raising taxes or borrowing money
 Added new jobs and state
unemployment rate dropped from
5.6% to 4.7%
 Focused on making it
easier for small
businesses to operate
in Massachusetts
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Achievements – 2002 Winter
Olympics
Brought in to manage the 2002 Salt Lake
City Olympic Games
 Helped to set up security
for the athletes and
visitors following the
September 11 attacks
 Trimmed the budget to
stop the event from
going bankrupt
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Issues – Who Do You Agree With?
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The following slides introduce some of
the major issues being discussed in
the 2012 campaign
Use your chart to keep track of your
opinions about the following issues
See which candidate you agree with
most consistently
Military
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Obama
• Ended the Iraq War
• Increase troops in
Afghanistan
• Approved use of
U.S. air power to
help rebels in Libya
• Supports cuts in
funding for Army
and Marine Corps
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Romney
• Endorses 2014 end
to combat forces in
Afghanistan
• Supports increasing
strength of armed
forces
• Supports additional
$100 billion to the
military budget in
2016
Terrorism
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Obama
• Approved the raid
that killed bin
Laden
• Set policy to no
longer use harsh
interrogation
technidques
• Increased use of
unmanned drone
strikes in Pakistan
and Yemen
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Romney
• No constitutional
rights for foreign
terrorism suspects
• In 2007, refused to
rule out
“waterboarding”
terrorist suspects
• Does not consider
waterboarding
“torture”
Immigration
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Obama
• Immigrants brought
illegally into the US
as children are
exempt from
deportation
• Record number of
illegal immigrants
were deported
during his first term
in office
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Romney
• Favors US-Mexico
border fence
• Opposes education
benefits to illegal
immigrants
• Establish
immigration-status
verification system
and punish
employers for hiring
illegal immigrants
Guns
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Obama
• Signed laws letting
people carry
concealed weapons
in National Parks
and in checked
bags on Amtrack
trains
• Voices support for
renewed ban on
assault-type
weapons
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Romney
• Opposes stricter
gun control laws
• Favors tougher
enforcement of
existing gun laws
• Signed a ban on
assault weapons in
Massachusetts in
2004
Foreign Policy
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Obama
• Opposes near-term
strike on Iran but
won’t rule it out in
the future
• Sought penalties
against China for
unfair trade
practices
• Chastised Israel for
continuing to build
new housing in
near Palestinian
border
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Romney
• Supports more
aggressive stance
against Iran
• Pledges more
military support to
Israel
• Has pushed for
stronger sanctions
against China for
manipulating
currency
Economy
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Obama
• Term marked by
high unemployment
• Responded to
recession with a
$800 billion dollar
stimulus package
• Proposes tax breaks
for companies that
create new jobs in
the U.S. or bring
jobs back from
overseas
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Romney
• Supports lower
taxes
• Supports Balanced
Budget Amendment
• Replace jobless
benefits with
unemployment
savings accounts
Education
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Obama
• Has approved
waivers freeing
states from
elements of No
Child Left Behind
• Created Race to the
Top program to
encourage
educational reform
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Romney
• Supports
accountability
standards of No
Child Left Behind
• Believes the federal
government should
have less control
over education
Energy
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Obama
• Ordered temporary
stop to deep water
drilling after BP oil
spill
• Supported historic
increase in fuel
consumption
standards for cars
• Spent heavily on
developing “green”
energy
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Romney
• Supports increased
drilling for oil in the
Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans and Alaska
• Supports increased
permits for areas
that have already
been approved for
drilling
• Says “green”
energy is not yet
viable
Health Care
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Obama
• Achieved overhaul
of U.S. health
insurance
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Can’t deny coverage
for pre-existing
conditions
Tax credits to
subsidize premiums
Small businesses get
help for offering
coverage
Moving toward
universal coverage
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Romney
• Promises to fight
for repeal of
“ObamaCare”
• Says states should
be in charge of
managing policy
concerning the
uninsured
• Supports medical
savings account
plans
Taxes
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Obama
• Wants to raise
taxes on the
wealthy to at least
30%
• Supports continuing
tax cuts for people
making less than
$200,000
($250,000 for
couples)
• Allow top tax
brackets to go back
to 39.6% and 36%
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Romney
• Drop tax rates for
all income levels
• Reduce top tax rate
to 28% from 35%
• Eliminate capital
gains tax for
families making less
than $200,000
• Cut corporate tax
rate to 25% from
35%
Issues – Who Do You Agree With?
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Visit the following website to learn
more about some of the main issues
in this year’s campaign
Select the issues and positions you
agree with the most
See which candidate you agree with
most consistently
Vote Smart Survey