The War in Iraq[/b]: Prepare a planned withdrawl of troops over course of several months. Part of this plan would involve insuring that Iraq has a well armed and trained police force, military, and medical emergency services before we finish leaving. Even after we leave though I'd still send Iraq material support and ask the U. N. to aid Iraq with any assistance they may need in rebuilding infrastracture. I don't think American companies and contracters belong over there.

Illegal Immigration: This is really 2 issues. 1 for the people already here, and secondly for the people wanting to cross the border.

Issue 1: is the problem of job competition. I would make it a requirement that all employes, legal or not, must be paid the same wage. I want to basically remove the concept of hiring illegals for cheap labor and sort of make it more fair for all workers applying for any job. Also I'd do this because I see paying illegals low wages is a kind of exploitation.

As for status they would be able to get seperate civilian licenses that include their Non-Citizen status on them. I would not give them voting rights though.

Issue 2: tighten border security and provide scouting helicopters to border patrol if they don't already have them or if they need more as well as Night/Thermal vision equipment.

Social Security: As part of my requirement of illegals getting paid a fair wage the same as everyone else then hopefully that would mean more FICA tax being paid. Probably not enough to solve the SS shortage but it help to prop it up a little bit.

Public Education: Let States determine the direction of the public education. I would still have a Federal Department of Education but it would be there as a resource that states could go to for help, not to interfere with or boss around the State's public school systems. It would do this with money grants or negotiating prices and purchases with school text book publishers for districts with low budgets and also research what does and does not work in the classroom and distribute those findings to Superindendents and School Boards.

Gun Control: Enough laws and regulations are already in place, but need to be reviewed for flaws and corrected. The standards of what can appear in your history and bar you from a purchase after a background check should be more strict.

Marijuana Legalization: State's issue. They can make it legal or illegal, regulate it, or tax it.

Environmental Policy: A packaging waste reduction policy of working with companies to arrive at a standard of product packaging material that makes recycling easier and reduces packaging waste including everything from Electronics stores to the Supermarket. This would also deal with Junk Mail in regards to discouraging mailing of AOL CDs or similiar things that are harder to recycle then paper waste. The ideal result would be that most of what gets picked up on the curbside is being recycled instead of going into landfills.

Explore alternative ways of generating power such as Tidal/Hydro. Also see if Hydroelectric or Tidal power plants could have a potential to use some of their electrical output to create hydrogen gas from the surrounding water efficiently enough to be both profitable and environmentally friendly. This could be usefull in rejuvinating the economy in the Great Lakes region by creating a Hydrogen gas fuel export.

Minimum Wage: Let the states determine minimum wage

Abortion: Compromise. I would support a policy allowing early term abortions but discouraging late term abortions. Abortions of any kind bother the Lifers but I think the late term ones upset them the most.