Abortion rights
Bush: Only in cases of rape, incest or when a woman's life is endangered; signed bill banning procedure opponents call partial-birth abortion.		Kerry: Supports; would nominate only Supreme Court justices who support abortion rights; voted against partial-birth ban.
Budget
Bush: 2004 deficit of $413 billion; government had a $127 surplus three years earlier; says deficit can be halved in five years but has not fully explained how; proposes Congress limit discretionary spending in programs outside defense and homeland security to a 0.5 percent increase next year.		Kerry: Would cut deficit by half, at least, in first term, but has not fully explained how he would do so given major proposals on health care, education and defense; repeal of Bush tax cuts for wealthier Americans would cover some costs.
Education
Bush: 2002 overhaul education toughened standards for teachers, schools and student achievement and spurred education spending overall; budget proposal would increase spending on poor school districts, children with disabilities, Pell grants and experimental private-school voucher programs. The plan would cut spending on vocational education, a family literacy program, arts in education, dropout prevention and more.		Kerry: Establish a plan for high school students that would qualify them for the equivalent of their states' four-year public college tuition if they perform two years of national service; provide a tax credit for college tuition; opposes private-school vouchers; backed 2002 changes but says insufficient money was spent on them and too much emphasis is placed on testing; wants to establish $200 billion education trust fund.
Economy and taxes
Bush: Wants $3,000 re-employment accounts to help the unemployed with job-search expenses; wants to make tax cuts permanent; ease business regulations; pursue more free-trade deals; increase domestic energy production; limit class-action lawsuits and medical malpractice liability; give tax breaks, regulatory relief and investment incentives to needy communities.		Kerry: Keep tax cuts for middle- and low-income people but raise taxes on people earning more than $200,000; would increase child-care tax credit by $1,000; spend on highways, school construction, pollution cleanup, energy projects and more to create 3 million jobs in 500 days; provide $50 billion in two years to states struggling with budget deficits.
Environment and energy
Bush: Plans to change clean air laws to use a market-based approach to reduce pollution from power plants, including first national cap on mercury emissions; cut spending next year on low-interest loans for local clean water projects; increase federal support for development of hydrogen-fueled car; open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.		Kerry: Re-engage Òin the development of an international climate change strategy to address global warming;Ó no explicit endorsement of Kyoto treaty; no drilling in Arctic refuge; toughen fuel economy standards for vehicles; goal of 20 percent of electricity from renewable or alternative sources by 2020; goal of independence from Middle East oil in 10 years.
Gay rights
Bush: Supports constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; has continued former President Clinton's policy allowing gays to serve in military if they are not open about their homosexuality.		Kerry: Opposes gay marriage and constitutional amendment against it; supports right to civil unions; would ban job discrimination against homosexuals; extend hate-crime protections to gays.
Health care
Bush: Number of Americans without health insurance has risen to nearly 45 million in 2003, up from nearly 40 million in 2000; achieved prescription drug benefit for older Americans that subsidizes costs for low-income patients and encourages private insurance companies to offer coverage for the elderly willing to opt out of traditional Medicare; new tax-free medical savings accounts can be opened by people under 65 who meet certain conditions; monthly Medicare premiums for doctor visits are rising a record $11.60 next year, or 17 percent; independent study finds family health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored plans up 11 percent, averaging $9,950 annually for family of four.		Kerry: Expand existing insurance system for federal employees to private citizens through tax credits and subsidies; unemployed would get 75 percent tax credit to help pay for insurance; people aged 55 to 64 could buy into federal employees' health plan; government would help companies and insurers pay an employee's catastrophic medical costs if the firms would agree to hold down premiums; federal support to expand access to state-administered health insurance for children; independent analysts estimate plan would cost $653 billion to $1.25 trillion over 10 years, covering roughly 25 million of the uninsured.
Stem-cell research
Bush: Signed executive order in August 2001 limiting federal research money to embryonic stem-cell lines then in existence; no controls on private embryonic stem-cell research		Kerry: Would reverse restrictions and put money into research; aides say Kerry would not support creation of embryos specifically for research but would finance study of embryos leftover from infertility treatments.
Guns
Bush: Favors granting gun makers immunity from civil lawsuits; backed congressional maneuvers letting the assault-weapons ban expire, while saying he supports it.		Kerry: Supports ban on assault weapons and requiring background checks at gun shows; opposes granting immunity to gun makers.
Retirement and Social Security
Bush: Offer younger workers the option of putting part of their payroll tax into personal retirement accounts, giving them a chance to make a higher return on that investment in return for smaller Social Security benefits.		Kerry: Opposes partial privatization of Social Security; would require companies switching to cheaper lump-sum pension plans to offer retiring workers the choice of staying with traditional company pension.
Issue questions source: Cal Woodward/Associated Press