What alternative fuel, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction policies would you seek to implement nationally and internationally by the end of your first term as President in January 2013?

THE CANDIDATES RESPOND:

Sen. McCain (R-AZ), alongside Joe Lieberman (I-CT), proposed the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act in 2005. The act, which would have established a “market-driven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances,” aimed to limit emissions and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. That act was never passed. In early 2007, McCain and Lieberman reintroduced the act (BosGlobe), saying that it would “harness the power of the free market and the engine of American innovation to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions substantially enough and quickly enough to forestall catastrophic global warming." McCain also said in a Foreign Affairs article that he would “greatly increase the use of nuclear power.”

Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has been one of the most outspoken members of Congress on the issue of climate change. With Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), McCain introduced the Climate Stewardship Act in 2003, which failed. Still, climate change expert Bill McKibben said this act was crucial (OnEarth Magazine) in that McCain “managed to force the first real Senate vote on actually doing something about the largest environmental peril our species has yet faced.” In 2007 he reintroduced the act, with bipartisan cosponsorship. The bill, McCain and Lieberman wrote in a February 2007 editorial, “would harness the power of the free market and the engine of American innovation to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions substantially enough and quickly enough to forestall catastrophic global warming.” (BosGlobe)

McCain's Legislative History re:

Energy Policy [1]

Environment: [2]

Global Warming: [3]

As President, how would you strengthen international cooperation to prevent nuclear capabilities from falling into dangerous hands and turn this failing grade into an “A”?

THE CANDIDATES RESPOND:

Sen. Obama (D-IL) has said the United States should seek “a world in which there are no nuclear weapons.” But he said in an October 2007 speech he does not believe the United States should pursue unilateral nuclear disarmament. “As long as nuclear weapons exist, we’ll retain a strong nuclear deterrent,” he said. If elected, he says he will seek “a global ban on the production of fissile material for weapons,” as well as an expansion of the U.S.-Russian intermediate-range missile ban. He also says he will “strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty so that nations that don't comply will automatically face strong international sanctions.”

Obama says if elected he will make ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty a priority. Though he says the United States should “lead the international effort to deemphasize the role of nuclear weapons around the world,” he has stopped short of opposing the building of a new Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). Instead, he said he is against (PDF) a “premature” decision to build an RRW .

Unfotunately, Obama also demonstrates certain ignorance with regards to his nuclear position. Last summer, while threatening unilateral military attacks against Pakistan, he attempted to soften the blow by pledging not use nuclear weapons against Al Qaeda. (For the record, was anyone planning to hit South Waziristan with nuclear weapons?) He then further demonstrated incompetence and ignorance by saying that he would not use nuclear weapons against civilians. (again, can nuclear weapons be used without taking countless civilian lives? Has he not heard of fall out or considered the fact that the U.S. tactical (as opposed to “counter-value” strategic) nuclear weapons include many Hiroshima-size A-bombs?

Clip of Obama on the Nuclear issue: [[1]

Obama's latest legislative action on nuclear terrorism: [2]]

As President, how will you actively engage China while encouraging it to become a stronger stakeholder in the international system?

THE CANDIDATES RESPOND:

Sen. Obama (D-IL) has expressed interest in cooperation with China, although he sees the country as a major competitor to the United States. At the April 2007 debate among Democratic candidates, Obama said China is “neither our enemy nor our friend. They're competitors. But we have to make sure that we have enough military-to-military contact and forge enough of a relationship with them that we can stabilize the region.”

In an April 2007 speech before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Obama said that if elected president, he would “forge a more effective regional framework in Asia,” building on “our strong bilateral relations and informal arrangements like the Six-Party Talks” on North Korea.

Obama has noted the problems with China’s revaluation of the yuan. He has said that although the United States should maintain a cooperative relationship with China, it should “never hesitate to be clear and consistent with China where we disagree—whether on protection of intellectual property rights, the manipulation of its currency, human rights, or the right stance on Sudan and Iran.” Obama will cosponsor a bill with Clinton to impose high duties on Chinese goods, intended to pressure China into revaluing its currency (FT).

How will you reaffirm America's global leadership in promoting human rights and the rule of law around the world?

THE CANDIDATES RESPOND:

Sen. McCain (R-AZ), himself a former longtime prisoner of war, is one of just two Republican candidates who say Guantanamo should be shut down. He thinks the prisoners should be moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

McCain sponsored anti-torture legislation, the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, and was a primary backer of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

McCain's Legislative History on Human Rights (Senate, 2007): [http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=f7b405a1-7e9c-9af9-7a83-369862b8356c&Region_id=&Issue_id=73379446-ed00-4a32-8ef1-9f1e12737746 http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=1154eeb6-1321-0e36-baf4-0b0924ee922c&Region_id=&Issue_id=73379446-ed00-4a32-8ef1-9f1e12737746]

How will you elevate both the level and effectiveness of US government development spending to advance our national security and foreign policy goals?

THE CANDIDATES RESPOND:

Obama's development strategy, unveiled in late November 2007, is titled [[“Strengthening Our Common Security by Investing in Our Common Humanity." His objectives include: expanding prosperity through investments in agriculture, infrastructure and economic growth, so the benefits and burdens of globalization are shared equally and economic policy is seen as central to security policy; Creating an Add Value to Agriculture Initiative to promote a Green Revolution in Africa in addition to other measures to increase poor farmers' access to agricultural markets; Establishing a $2 billion Global Education Fund for primary education to help eliminate the “global education deficit”; Launching a Global Energy and Environment Initiative, Creating an Emerging Market Energy Fund, and spur the creation of an open-source, real-time mapping system to forecast the impacts of climate change country-by-county to address climate change and other global environmental challenges; Leading efforts to reform the International Monetary Fund and World Bank; Developing a rapid response fund for societies in transition; Investing in global health infrastructure, including creating health care systems that train and retain health care workers; and (last but not least);Coordinating and consolidating the twenty-some U.S. agencies currently involved in U.S. foreign assistance (including the Millennium Challenge Account and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in a restructured and empowered U.S. Agency for International Development.

AIDs/AFRICA Senator Obama is very informed about global HIV/AIDS in general, and particularly its impacts on Africa. Although he recognizes the continent as the pandemic’s epicenter, Obama calls for a new $1 billion in U.S. HIV/AIDS assistance to be earmarked for other regions. He is a co-sponsor with Senator Clinton of the 2007 Microbicide Development Act, and proposes to enact a $2 billion global education fund in his first year of presidency. He touts a gender-sensitive approach that combines testing and treatment with comprehensive prevention strategies including ramped up microbicide research, and says he will work with drug companies to reduce anti-retroviral (ARV) costs and make generic drugs accessible. Obama also calls for a renewed emphasis on nutrition in understanding global health concerns.

For Senator Obama, the fight against HIV/AIDS is inseparable from the fight against global poverty in general, and he has expressed resistance to the idea of funding programs that exclusively target the pandemic. He stresses that good governance is a key to any U.S. development efforts, from trade deals to debt relief to foreign aid. Obama credits President Bush for “excellent work” with PEPFAR. He urges the expansion of this program while maintaining constant evaluation for improvement.