I believe in a smaller federal government.  The decision makers closest to the problem should address it.  This usually means the state and local level. 

The role of the federal government should be to address the needs of the country as a whole and that cannot be fulfilled at the state or local level.

Abortions will occur regardless of whether they are illegal or not.  The only difference is the issue of safety.  Since abortions cannot be eliminated, the goal of the country should be to eliminate the need for abortions. 

As president I would favor comprehensive sex education with instruction on all methods to prevent pregnancy as well as detailed discussion of the impact of having children.

I believe in minimal government involvement in the economy.  We are a capitalist country and it is in every citizens best interest that good business survive and bad ones fail.  The more the government does, the more likely they will screw it up.

That said, I believe regulation is still required in some cases.  I would try to limit this regulation to removing the incentive of personal profit over good business decisions.

Education is best addressed at the local level.  The current "no child left behind" but too much emphasis on passing standardized tests.  Standardized testing means teaching to pass tests, not teaching to learn or how to learn.  Resources are taken away for other areas of study.  Every child will not go to college, nor should they.  All students should have the opportunity to take a course of study that will help their future, not just college-bound students.

Eliminate dependence on unstable areas of the world for our energy needs.  This means increasing the CAFE mileage standards and well as developing alternative energy sources, including the move to more electricity based transportation.  Moving towards electricity means more flexibility in energy sources.  This will not be easy as there as advancements are needed to make electric vehicles acceptable to the general public. 

The United States has the opportunity to become a technology leader in new energy, resulting in new jobs throughout the nation.  Because of its impact on National Security, I favor federal incentives for research and solar installation at homes and businesses (including shopping malls).  I no longer support nuclear energy due to the long term danger of the spent nuclear fuel.

I would favor keeping it as opposed to losing it.

Currently the scientific community believes global warming is a real threat.  I favor the adoption of new standards to reduce emissions.  Again, the US can be a technological leader if it chooses.  So while some environmental controls will cost money, it will create jobs.

I favor having one.  However, that policy should be one that treats other countries as equals and favors negotiation and partnership over invasion.  Foreign leaders find the US a convenient target to rally their people.  We don't need to make it easier for them.  As the world goes, so do we.

Marriage is a religious institution.  As such, if your religion allows it, have at it.

Currently, marriage gives certain benefits to the spouse.  These benefits should either be eliminated for all or offered to all couples.  I would support the elimination of the automatic benefits for married couples and replaced with the ability to assign benefits through standard contractual methods.  This will seperate the religous and contractual elements of marriage.

I would support the creation of a basic health plan for all citizens.  Increased levels of service would be available through separate insurance.

I would also support the policies to reduce costs for uninsured.  Currently, the amount uninsured individuals pay for services is substantially more than the insured because of the huge discounts given to insurance companies.  This means those who are least able to pay are paying the most, causing needless hardships.

The discounts providers give to large insurers must be capped.  Because providers will not want to lose the insurers business, they will be forced to reduce the costs for the uninsured.

The only immigration should be legal immigration.  For too long the government has ignored the problem.  It is obvious there is a need for new labor to keep the economy growing, however, instead of putting the systems in place to allow for foreigners to immigrate legally, they looked the other way allowing illegal immigration to flourish.

I do not support immediate amnesty.  The systems must be put in place to handle the volume of legal immigration that is required.  Then illegal immigrants will have to return their country for a set period of time before starting the process of becoming legal immigrants.  This cannot happen all at once to keep the economy stable, but over a period of years.

In the mean time. the federal government must put programs in place to allow verification of identity, or at least to flag potential identity theft.  At that point, employers can be held responsible for employing illegal immigrants.

We shouldn't have gone there but now that we have we need to balance the need to cleanup vs the need to exit.

A timetable must be set for withdrawal so that the Iraqi people know they will be responsible for their security and future.  During that time, we must provide the equipment to allow existing Iraqi security to train others.

Only the people of Iraq can decide what will now become of their country.

I support a strong defense. We must retain our ability to protect ourselves through any means necessary.  That does not mean going to war without a direct threat to the United States.

I support an increase in the regular army, with the majority being direct defense of our borders and the security of the country.  The National Guard must be returned to their original duties.

I support the missile defense shield and monitoring of ports.  I also support a drastic reduction of our nuclear arsenal.  I support the continued development of technologically advanced weapons for use.  Just because I do not support most actions overseas, does not mean we should allow our military to become too weak and out of date to defend ourselves.

Any action overseas, except to protect the immediate safety of United States citizens, must be approved by Congress by declaring war.  It has become too easy to go to war without declaring war.

I would also make access to Homeland security funds more strict.  Too often of homeland security money has been used to subsidize local activities not directly related to homeland security.  Homeland security funds must be used specifically to increase security of the country.

I support a simplification of the tax code and a reduction in taxes.  The federal government is taking too much money and distributing it unfairly throughout the country.  The individual states and localities should decide what is important to them and collect taxes accordingly.  The federal budget should not be used to force policies on the states.

To support the reduction of taxes, the non-discretionary budget must be reduced by elimination of state programs supported by the federal budget.

The social security system will not survive the next 40 years.  In that time, employees who have contributed their whole lives will have nothing or a negative rate of return on their investments.  I support the creation of investment accounts so that at least half of the contributions can go towards a funded system to ensure some money is available in the future.  Over the next 50 years, I support a gradual increase in the funded percentage until we have a fully funded system.  During that time, social security taxes must reduced to return more money to individuals.

The non-discretionary budget must be cut.  Federal taxes should not be used to subsidize state's projects.