It is usually fairly easy to find differences between the Republican and Democratic parties- it may even seem harder to find things they agree on than disagree on. The presidential election gives people a chance to vote for the party or individual who they think embodies their ideals the best, but the primary elections can be a little different. It is much harder to see the differences between candidates of the same party because they agree on so many issues. With Super Tuesday coming up, KOMU decided to do a little research on each candidate's platforms. We will touch on several of the major issues in this election: abortion, the war in Iraq, same-sex marriage, healthcare, immigration, taxes, education and stem-cell research. We will tell you what the party line is, and if or how any of the candidates differ from each other and the party line.

Health care

One of the biggest issues in the upcoming election is healthcare. Both Obama and Clinton support federally mandated universal coverage that does not discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Clinton noted there are "so many people losing their jobs, losing their healthcare." Both plan on paying for this largely through eliminating Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy.

"Instead of providing tax breaks that go to the wealthiest Americans, we need to provide tax breaks to the middle-class and working-class families," Obama said.

Clinton and Obama voted against extending Bush's tax cuts through 2010. While the plans are similar there are a few differences: Hillary's ideal healthcare plan requires coverage for all Americans while Obama's plan only requires coverage for children and makes affordable coverage available to all Americans, but does not require it. Clinton criticized Obama's healthcare for not being truly universal, but Obama said he is striving for "a healthcare plan that provides coverage for all Americans." Another big difference is the cost. Clinton estimates her plan will cost about $110 billion annually. Obama's plan will supposedly cost $50-$65 billion a year, potentially less than half the cost of Clinton's.

The war in Iraq

The war in Iraq has been going on for about five years now, and while most Democrats disapprove of the war now, when it started both Republicans and Democrats alike voted to support it, Clinton included. She now maintains that voting to support the war was a mistake and that "waiting in that Oval Office will be a war to end in Iraq." Obama was not in Congress at the time of this vote, but he claims he disapproved of the war from the beginning and would have voted against it if he had been a congressman. Both Clinton and Obama voted for a war-spending bill that would have withdrawn most of the American troops in Iraq by March 2008. They also opposed Bush's plan to increase the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and hope to start withdrawing troops as soon as possible.

Education

Both Democratic candidates also hope to reform education at the K-12 level.

"We should be revamping how we teach science and math, and funding research and development much more extensively," Obama said.

They also hope to reduce the cost of college tuition through tax credits "for every family, for every child, for every year to help afford going to college," Clinton said. At the K-12 level Clinton hopes to eliminate the current No Child Left Behind Plan. Obama, on the other hand, wants to reform the No Child Left Behind plan rather than get rid of it completely. He hopes to do this by increasing funding of the law and improving assessments. In higher education, Obama's $4,000 proposed tax credit for off setting college costs is slightly higher than Clinton's $3,500 proposed tax credit.

Immigration

Because of 9/11 and the war, immigration laws have become important to many Americans. Both of the Democratic candidates call for immigration reform and supported Bush's plan to increase spending and border control while providing a way for some illegal immigrants to gain citizenship. They also voted to approve the construction of a 700-mile long fence along the U.S-Mexican border. Both Clinton and Obama call for reforms that would help immigrant families to stay together and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Abortion, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research

Three major topics have dominated talk of morality in the past few election cycles- abortion, same-sex marriage, and stem-cell research. These issues have not been discussed as much this year as in the past, but they are still important to many voters. When it comes to abortion, Democrats are known for taking a "pro-choice" stance, which means they support giving women the ability to choose whether or not they will have an abortion. They may not officially endorse same-sex marriage, but they do support civil unions, and they are against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Both Obama and Clinton fall pretty much right on the party line when it comes to these issues. Clinton takes the abortion issue one step further than Obama saying she would try to sign into law an act that would make Roe v. Wade federal law.

This is where each candidate differs from the others:

Clinton

-Requires health coverage for all Americans

-Wants to eliminate No Child Left Behind

Obama

-Makes health coverage available for all Americans, but doesn't require

-Wants to reform No Child Left Behind

Click on the links to the left to see an interactive comparison of the candidates' stances on issues when compared to the party line. Also, you can link to the comparison of the Republican candidates.