What's the Diff?

What are the differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Is choosing one over the other just a question of whose style you like? Is it nothing more than whether you prefer Change, or whether you prefer Experience?

Can you tell me anything about how they differ on substantive issues?

If all your news coverage comes from the soundbite-driven mainstream press, then you might be forgiven for thinking that there really aren't any substantive differences between the two candidates, that this whole political process we're currently engaged in is nothing more than a sporting event. The news is great at reporting every detail of who's up, who's down, whether Hillary got teary-eyed, or whether Barack got a little snarky. But when it comes to issues, the major news outlets haven't told us very much, have they?

If you're a bit of a political junky, you might have heard that the two candidates differ slightly in their plans for universal health care. Clinton's proposal would be mandatory for everyone, while Obama's would be incentive-driven and mandatory only for children.

Okay, that's a start. Can you tell me anything else about their health care plans? And what about other issues? How will they improve our education system? What do they say about alternative energy and energy independence? What will their economic policies be? What are their plans for fixing Iraq? How about globalization and trade? Terrorism? Immigration?

If you're like me, you're probably drawing a blank on most of these questions. But in four weeks, assuming you're a registered Democrat in one of the "Super-Duper Tuesday" states, you'll be asked to vote for one of the candidates. What criteria will you use to make a choice? Will you decide merely on the basis of Change versus Experience? Or are you more of a Teary-Eyed versus Snarky kind of person? (If your answer to these questions is, "I'm voting for Edwards," then fine, tell me some substantive details about his policies.)

David Leonhardt writes a column on economics for the New York Times. He recently published an article describing the differences in economic philosophies between Clinton and Obama.

I highly encourage you to read the entire article but here are some excerpts to whet your appetite:

Compared with all the other candidates — Democrat and Republican — Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama occupy roughly the same place on the ideological spectrum. They’re both somewhat to the right of John Edwards, who favors a more muscular brand of government intervention to help the middle class. And they are well to the left of every Republican.

The easiest way to describe Senator Clinton’s philosophy is to say that she believes in the promise of narrowly tailored government policies, like focused tax cuts. She has more faith that government can do what it sets out to do, which is a traditionally liberal view. Yet she also subscribes to the conservative idea that people respond rationally to financial incentives.

Senator Obama’s ideas, on the other hand, draw heavily on behavioral economics, a left-leaning academic movement that has challenged traditional neoclassical economics over the last few decades. Behavioral economists consider an abiding faith in rationality to be wishful thinking. To Mr. Obama, a simpler program — one less likely to confuse people — is often a smarter program.

Leonhardt's article will give you a good start on the differences in economic policies. Good luck researching all the other issues. You have four weeks to become an informed voter.

Followup (1/16/2008): Here are some more resources:
1. Wikipedia has pages overviewing the political positions of Clinton and Obama.
2. ontheissues.org has lists of quotes and voting records for Clinton and Obama.
3. CNNpolitics.com has brief position summaries for all the candidates.
4. National Journal has rankings of senators' voting records.
5. Project Vote Smart has interest group ratings for Clinton and Obama.
6. The Washington Post has voting databases for Clinton and Obama.
7. The Washington Post, Slate, and The Kaiser Foundation have compared their health care plans.
8. RealNews Network has a video comparing their health care plans.

Followup (1/24/2008): After exhaustively analyzing everything I can find online, I've concluded that there just aren't that many substantive policy differences between the two candidates. So I've decided to base my vote on shallow considerations like style, charisma, and personality. I haven't figured out yet whether I prefer Change, or whether I prefer Experience. But when February 5th arrives, I'm going to vote for whichever candidate is taller, better tanned, and has a more attractive spouse.