Candidates for US President


The salary is $400,000 per year, term is four years and a two-term limit is in effect. Five names will appear on the Wyoming General Election ballot. Information about three was compiled by the League of Women Voters (of the United States) Education Fund (LWVEF) in late August, 2008; responses were limited to 50 words. Candidates McCain, Nader and Obama qualified for the ballot in enough states to potentially win a majority of Electoral College votes, so they met LWVEF criteria for inclusion. Biographical information about candidates Barr and Baldwin was compiled by the LWV of Laramie from a number of web sites.


1. Biographical Information


Charles "Chuck" Baldwin (Constitution) is founder and pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the Constitution Party nominee for Vice President in 2004. Baldwin hosts a weekly radio program and writes a weekly news column. His running mate is Darrell Castle, a bankruptcy and personal injury attorney from Germantown, Tennessee.


Bob Barr (Libertarian) is a former Georgia congressman (1995 – 2003). He now practices law and runs a consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and with offices in the Washington, D.C. area. His running mate is Las Vegas, Nevada businessman and author Wayne Allyn Root.


John McCain (Republican) graduated from the Naval Academy and served for 22 years as a naval aviator. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 and Senate in 1986. He has served as chairman of the Commerce Committee and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. His running mate is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.


Ralph Nader (Independent) an attorney, author, and consumer advocate was named by Time Magazine one of the “100 most Influential Americans in the 20th Century.” In his over four decades of public service, he helped establish the OSHA, EPA, Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and Freedom of Information Act. His running mate is San Francisco, California attorney Matt Gonzalez.


Barack Obama (Democrat) began his career as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side and headed a voter registration drive. Obama practiced civil rights law and taught constitutional law. He served eight years in the State Senate before his election to the US Senate. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law. His running mate is Delaware Senator Joe Biden.


2. What, if anything, do you believe the federal government should do to control global climate change?


John McCain (R): I support developing a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent by 2050, providing tax credits for alternative energy, promoting zero-carbon nuclear power, reducing the federal government’s carbon footprint, funding research into clean-coal technology, and offering incentives for America’s automobile industry to develop electric cars.


Ralph Nader (I): The government should stop subsidizing fossil fuels: oil, electric and coal mining interests and invest in renewable energy that is efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly: wind and solar power. Encourage more efficient automobiles, homes and businesses. Ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Create an independent Oceanic Protection Agency. Adopt a carbon pollution tax.


Barack Obama (D): I believe the federal government should pursue multiple paths to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the threat of global climate change, including implementing aggressive cap and trade requirements to reduce US emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels and invest heavily in clean energy and advanced vehicle technologies.


3. What should be done at the federal level, if anything, to combat the high cost of health care?


John McCain (R): Under my plan, American families will receive $5,000 tax credits to purchase insurance, either through employers or the private market—insurance that can follow them if they change jobs or leave the workforce. I will work for reforms to lower costs and provide coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions.


Ralph Nader (I): Adopt a private delivery, free choice of hospital and doctor, single payer public health insurance system. This would save $350 billion annually by eliminating exorbitant executive pay, advertising, computerized billing fraud and abuse, and apply those savings to comprehensively cover everyone without increasing taxpayer costs. Lower costs through bulk purchasing.


Barack Obama (D): My healthcare plan will make aggressive investments in cost-cutting technologies and will place more focus on prevention and chronic care management. The net result will be to bring down the costs of healthcare spending by $2,500 for a typical family, annually, and lower the expense of Medicare’s services.