Bush vs Kerry: Where they stand

ECONOMY AND JOB GROWTH

BUSH - The President has repeatedly called on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, saying failure to do so would amount to a tax hike and threaten prospects for a robust economic recovery capable of generating new jobs. Congressional analysts say that making the tax cuts permanent would cost about US$1.3 trillion ($1.95 trillion) over the next 10 years.

KERRY - Has called for repeal of the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than US$200,000 ($300,000) a year, in order to pay for broad health-care reform. However, he would retain the tax cuts for the middle class. He says he can halve the record half-trillion-dollar budget deficit by the end of one four-year term, even while spending US$72 billion a year to extend health care to 27 million of the 40-plus million uninsured. His campaign has provided no details.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

BUSH - Pulled the US out of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions and believes the threat of global warming should be addressed through new economic growth and efficiency. He also favours oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and backs legislation that would seek to reduce air pollution and acid rain by offering major polluters access to market-based incentives to reduce harmful emissions.

KERRY - Favours US participation in an international climate change programme to curb global warming and would cut mercury emissions by American utilities and plants. To encourage more renewable energy sources, he wants to create a renewable energy trust fund to reduce oil consumption by two million barrels per day - roughly the amount imported from the Middle East.

FOREIGN POLICY

BUSH - After straining relations with major European allies and the United Nations over war in Iraq, he has shifted his foreign policy focus to the spread of democracy by pushing a Greater Middle East Initiative that would aim to resolve the region's political, economic and social problems through democratic reform. The President, criticised for the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is also pursuing a policy that seeks to unravel the black market in nuclear components and block programmes in North Korea and Iran, countries he has labelled an "axis of evil" along with pre-war Iraq.

KERRY - While insisting he would never cede US security to any other nation and would use force when required, Kerry envisions "a new era of alliances" to replace what he sees as the White House's go-it-alone approach to foreign policy. He has pledged to restore diplomacy as a tool of US foreign policy, treat the UN as a "full partner" and pursue collective security arrangements.

IRAQ

BUSH - After seeing his plan to bring democracy to Iraq through regional caucuses scuttled by a leading Shiite cleric, Bush has succeeded in brokering an interim constitution for the oil-rich Arab nation and pledged to work with Iraqi leaders and the UN to prepare for full Iraqi sovereignty by June 30. The administration expects US troops to remain in Iraq indefinitely as a security measure against insurgents and sectarian violence.

KERRY - Voted in 2002 in favour of the war against Iraq, but has since attacked the Bush Administration for misrepresenting the military threat posed by Baghdad and for mismanaging the post-war occupation. He later voted against the appropriation of US$87 billion for the US-led effort, a move that has led some critics, including some in his own party, to accuse him of hypocrisy.

TRADE

BUSH - An avowed free trader, has embarked on a series of trade agreements with countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. But his Administration has also faced charges of protectionism over steel tariffs that the World Trade Organisation ruled illegal, and its reluctance to trim import barriers that protect US sugar, dairy and beef industries.

KERRY - Has promised a 120-day review of all existing US trade agreements upon taking office, and favours using the WTO to challenge China's currency practices. He also has pressed for stronger labour and environmental language than Bush has required in a growing collection of bilateral free trade agreements with countries around the world.

MIDDLE EAST

BUSH - A staunch defender of Israel, backs the stalled "roadmap" to Middle East peace that calls for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel by next year. The White House has also expressed concern about Israel's construction of a security barrier through Palestinian territory, ostracised Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and cautiously embraced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to dismantle Jewish settlements in Gaza.

KERRY - Says he would breathe new life into the moribund Middle East peace process and name a special presidential envoy to the Muslim world, who would seek to encourage moderate elements.

- REUTERS