Platforms

Both Clinton and Obama used their time on the campaign trail as a way to explain to Americans the way that they envision a more perfect United States of America. With an oncoming recession, a war with no ends in sight, and a major immigration problem, both candidates found that solving what they consider to be problems brought on by a Republican held office was the way to get to the general election.

Barack Obama ran his 2008 campaign on the notion of change, with the words "Change You Can Believe In" as his main political slogan. He asked voters to "Believe. Not Just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." The way he envisions change and the platforms he ran his campaign on include but are not limited to:

Civil Rights Obama has always been a fighter for those who have a hard time helping themselves. If elected to office, his plans include strengthening civil rights enforcement and convictions while at the same time ending racial profiling. Obama also has stated his plans to expand the hate crime status and fight employment discrimination. According to Obama's campaign website, women in the workplace are still only receiving 70 cents to every dollar that males make for the same positions. His civil rights platform also includes expanding the use of drug courts around the nation and ending the deceptive voting practices used within the Congress and throughout the nation.

The Economy In a time where recession is near, voters are looking for the economy to be fixed. Obama's plan for the failing state of the economy includes making tax relief for middle class Americans, advancing technology and innovation, and using those advancements to create jobs, increase employment rates, eliminate mortgage fraud, and reform bankruptcy laws

Education As an activist and proclaimed believer in the ideals of education Obama's plans for education if he gains the Presidential nomination include reforming early childhood education in order to make sure that all children get the proper education during their critical learning years. This leads to recruiting, retaining, and awarding the teachers of America.

Another part of his platform includes making higher education more affordable while at the same time making financial aid for this education more accessible. This type of accessibility could eventually spur on better results for the economy and enrich people's lives in ways that would otherwise be impossible.

Ethics With Obama's community government ideals, his ethics platform includes getting the government involved with the people again by requiring officials to hold town meetings and give periodic governmental updates as to what is going on in Washington. He even wants to let the public review any emergency bills before he even gets a chance to sign them.

Obama also wants to see the influence of lobbyists decrease greatly when it comes to controlling the federal government and the way that the Congress votes. He wants to clean up the government by fixing the process in which federal contracts are handed out along with corporate tax breaks.

Another key point of the Obama ethics platform includes the idea that all government agency employees must be hired based on merit and not because of political association. Then before taking the offered position, they must sign a contract correlating that they indeed earned their titles the right way. This is the same case when it comes to appointing the heads of any of these agencies.

Fiscal Policy To fix the fiscal problem faced by the government, Obama wants to decrease the national debt by putting the government back on a responsible budget and by making the tax system more efficient and fair.

Foreign Policy Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the United States has had rocky relations with the rest of the global world. To fix this problem, Obama proposes that the war in Iraq is ended, a better relationship is formed with Iran, and a solid relationship is formed with Israel. Then he proposes to help end the genocide in Darfur and end the bloody conflicts in the Congo.

Obama also thinks that the United States must be prepared for 21st Century style attacks. This means that the military must be revamped and prepared for any type of war, whether it is based on chemicals, weaponry, or nuclear attacks.

HealthCare In 2008, healthcare was barely affordable for the public. Some states make it mandatory for every resident to have insurance, but medical insurance is certainly not cheap. To alleviate these problems, Obama stands by the idea of modernizing the system to lower costs and provide affordable, quality, and portable insurance to all citizens.

Homeland Security In order to protect the safety of the future, Obama proposes that spent nuclear fuel is tracked, chemical plants have better protection, public drinking water is totally protected, and radioactive releases are better protected.

In addition, Obama would like to formulate a sound plan for helping the less fortunate evacuated peoples in states of emergency. He also believes a similar plan should be made for reuniting families who were broken apart.

Immigration With the state of the economy and the influx of illegal immigrants, Obama proposes that secure borders are created, incentives geared towards illegal immigrants are taken away, and that Mexico is worked with to fix their part in the immigration problem.

Poverty In order for the citizens of the United States to keep their finances above the poverty line, Obama proposes that job access is expanded, minimum wage is raised, and every citizen is rightly compensated. He also wants affordable housing numbers to see a decrease.

Rural Life

In order to protect struggling farmers and those living in rural areas, Obama proposes that farmer families are protected with economic opportunity, that economic development is supported, and that improvement is made in the infrastructures of education, healthcare, and drug prevention.

Social Security With the raise in population rates and those entering retirement, Obama proposes that social security is protected and retirement savings are strengthened.

Veteran Services With the overwhelming amount of service people coming home wounded and in need of long-term help, Obama proposes that the 2003 ban on modest income veterans receiving government aid are lifted, mental health services are improved, and a 21st Century department of veteran affairs is developed in order to provide all the care and help that every veteran needs.

According to the 2008 campaign, Obama has a plan for change within each aspect of American life and government. This gives Democrats across the country a feeling of unity when it comes to this aspect of Obama's campaign because many want to see laws and proposals put forth by the Bush/Cheney Administration changed.