This is the seventh article in our “issues” series being written in conjunction with Dave Schuler’s series at The Glittering Eye. The first article in the series, on Foreign Affairs, can be found here. The second article, on Fiscal Policy, can be found here. The third article, on Economic Policy, can be found here. The fourth article, on Health Care Policy, can be found here. The fifth article, on Energy Policy, can be found here. The sixth article, on civil liberties issues, can be found here.

Image Credit: Simon Davison

One of the starkest differences between the two major party candidates for President arise when you examine their approaches to values or social issues. This is in part because, over the last decade and a half, the two major political parties have been slowly defining themselves by these issues. Abortion, gay rights, separation of church and state–for the most part, these are issues where lines are drawn in the sand and are often the hardest for people to pass over if they are priority issues.

Abortion

Despite the complexity and moral ambiguity which surrounds abortion, this election provides for a very, very clear choice on the subject. Barack Obama has, throughout his career, been a staunch supporter of abortion rights. Both he and his running mate, Joe Biden, have a long record of voting to protect them, and both support and agree with Roe v. Wade. In addition, Barack Obama has stated in the past that he would support a version of the Freedom of Choice Act, which is Federal legislation geared towards codifying the provisions of Roe v. Wade and preempting state regulation of abortion should Roe v. Wade ever be overturned.

John McCain, on the other hand, pretty much represents the opposite view. He has a consistently pro-life record throughout his time in Congress, he supports nominating judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade, and he even supports outlawing abortion on the state level. His vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, is opposed to abortion under all circumstances except to save the life of the mother.

Despite these differences, though, the reality is that abortion law is this country isn’t likely to change very much regardless of who wins the election. Obviously, the status quo of Roe v. Wade will be preserved if Obama becomes President. However, if John McCain becomes President, it is very unlikely that he would be able to nominate a Supreme Court Justice to overturn Roe–there are simply going to be too many Democrats in the Senate. So despite what your opinion on abortion may be, the fact of the matter is that the status quo is likely to remain the same under either candidate.

Gay Marriage

On the face of it, it might seem that no matter which presidential candidate you choose, gay marriage loses. All four candidates–Obama, Biden, McCain, and Palin–are on the record as accepting the historically false claim that traditional marriage is between “one man and one woman” and none support recognizing marriage for gay couples.

That said, for supporters of gay marriage, Barack Obama is the slightly better candidate. Obama is on record as supporting a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and is also opposed to a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. John McCain is also opposed to a Constitutional Amendment, however, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. Additionally, Obama and Biden are on the record as staunch supporters of civil unions, whereas McCain’s record is more mixed and Palin’s record is against them. So despite the fact that both candidates oppose gay marriage, Obama is the slightly superior candidate on this issue.

Church-State Issues

For those Americans concerned about the separation of Church and State, neither Obama nor McCain is a very appealing candidate. Both Obama and McCain support the expansion of “faith-based” initiatives–in other words, the direct federal funding of religious groups so that they perform charitable works. In my mind, this contravenes the Establishment Clause, but I suppose that neither one asked me.

Both Obama and McCain had seemingly little compunction about making their first televised appearance as candidates at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Chruch, where both candidates primarily talked about their faith and religious issues. This is pretty much unprecedented in the past 60 years or so, and demonstrates that neither candidate has too much concern about the co-mingling of state and religion.

Conclusion

On social issues, both Obama and McCain have similar views on both gay marriage and separation of church and state issues. While the two candidates have the most striking differences on abortion, the fact of the matter is that neither candidate can or will do much to change the status quo on this issue. So as far as social issues go, the candidates are pretty much a wash. These issues shouldn’t be much of a priority when you’re out there voting.