John McCain                      Barack Obama

1967-1973 POW in Viet Nam; refuses offer of early release until all his men are first released.	Attends Muslim school in Indonesia.
1974 Attends National War College	Moves back to U.S.
1977 Director, Navy-Senate Liaison Office	High School
1983 Enters Congress	Graduates from Columbia with Political Science degree.
1986 Elected Senator	85-88, Chicago organizer; Joins Trinity Church.
1995 Urges President Clinton to normalize relations with Viet Nam; President does so.	96-00 Illinois state senate; votes “present” 130 times to avoid taking stand on issues.
1996 Extends Internet Tax Freedom Act
2000 Runs for President; loses.	Runs for Congress; loses.
2002 Sponsors Bipartisan campaign finance reform; sponsors Bipartisan Climate Change Act.	Denounces U.S. efforts in Iraq as “dumb.”
2004 Publishes “Why Courage Matters”	Elected to his first national office.
2005 Sponsors Bipartisan 911 Committee Act	Compiles 16th most liberal voting record in Senate 2005.
2005-2006 Organizes Bipartisan group of Senators to confirm Bush judges without destroying filibuster rules; works to confirm judges.	Compiles 10th most liberal voting record in Senate 2006.
2007 Begins Presidential run earning bipartisan support.	Compiles #1 most liberal voting record in Senate; votes with liberal bloc on 65 of 66 key issues (National Journal).