Here is where President-elect Barack Obama stands on some key issues ahead of Election Day.

Abortion

Barack Obama favors abortion rights. He said during the April 26, 2007, Democratic debate: "I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don't make them casually. And I trust women to make these decisions in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy. And I think that's where most Americans are."

Climate

Acknowledging global warming as a threat, Obama favors a mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels, by 2050. He proposes a 10-year, $150 billion fund for biofuels, wind, solar, plug-in hybrids, clean-coal technology and other "climate-friendly" measures. He would increase federal fuel economy requirements from 35 mpg to 40 mpg. And he now would consider limited expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling, but he remains opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He wants a windfall-profits tax on the largest oil companies to pay for an energy rebate of up to $1,000, and wants utilities to produce 25 percent of power from renewable energy such as wind, solar and biomass by 2025.

Financial Crisis

Obama has proposed a two-year plan offering a $3,000 tax credit to businesses for each new job created would enable people to withdraw up to 15 percent of their retirement money, to a maximum of $10,000, without penalty, except for the usual taxes. He would temporarily extend an expiring tax break that lets small businesses immediately write off investments of up to $250,000, and sweeten small-business loans at a cost of about $5 billion. His campaign estimates the cost of the proposals to be $60 billion. He also favors a mandatory 90-day freeze on some foreclosures. And he lobbied fellow lawmakers to support the $700 billion rescue plan.

Guns

Obama tells gun owners in campaign speeches that he believes the Constitution protects their rights and that he doesn’t want to take away their guns. He once sat on the board of Joyce Foundation, whose Gun Violence Program "supports efforts to bring the firearms industry under comprehensive consumer product health and safety oversight as the most promising long-term strategy for reducing deaths and injuries from handguns and other firearms." As Illinois state lawmaker, supported ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons and tighter state restrictions generally on firearms.

Health

For the uninsured, Obama wants to create a voluntary national health plan for adults that has guaranteed eligibility and that will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care, and offer federal subsidies going to those who can't afford the group rates. He also favors catastrophic insurance to help businesses and families avoid bankruptcy and reduce premiums. For those with private insurance, Obama wants to create a watchdog group that would establish rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that would not depend upon health status. He says the package would cost up to $65 billion a year after unspecified savings from making system more efficient. Raise taxes on wealthier families to pay the cost.

Immigration

Obama supports beefing up border security, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and promoting economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration. He voted in favor of the McCain-Kennedy comprehensive immigration overhaul bill backed by President George W. Bush, and against mandating that English be the official language of the United States.

Iraq

Obama was an early critic of the war in Iraq; he was not yet a member of the Senate when it voted in 2002 to authorize the war. Since then he has supported legislation setting dates for withdrawal of U.S. troops, saying that such deadlines would force the Iraqi government to step up and take responsibility for political reconciliation.

Marriage

Obama opposes gay marriage, while he supports civil unions to ensure equal protection for same-sex couples. Either way, he believes questions about marriuage should be settled at the state level. In the Illinois Senate, Obama authored workplace anti-discrimination legislation. In the U.S. Senate, Obama has sought repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, calling it discriminatory. He also opposes the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy." And he supports the idea of civil unions. But he does not support gay marriage.

Taxes

Obama said he wants an income tax cut for American families making less than $250,000 a year and individuals making less than $200,000. And he is seeking $80 billion in tax breaks mainly for poor workers and elderly, including tripling Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credit for larger families. He would raise corporate taxes and eliminate tax-filing requirements for older workers making less than $50,000. A mortgage-interest credit could be used by lower-income homeowners who do not take the mortgage-interest deduction because they do not itemize their taxes. He opposes making the Bush tax cuts permanent.