Iraq
Says he is committed to making a success of Iraq's transition to democracy, particularly elections scheduled for January. Bush said in an October 25 speech: "If a terror regime were allowed to re-emerge in Iraq, terrorists would again find a home, a source of funding, and vital support. They would correctly conclude that free nations do not have the will to defend themselves."

War on terrorism
Strong believer in pre-emptive war to counter threats before America is attacked, a doctrine introduced during his first administration. Bush said: "I believe that America wins wars by fighting on the offensive. When I saw those images of the fire and death on September 11, I made a decision: Our country will not sit back and wait for future attacks. We will prevent those attacks by going after the enemy."

Social issues and crime
Opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or pregnancy that threatens a mother's life. He has banned some forms of partial term abortion. Bush supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He opposes adoption rights for gays.

Bush supports the death penalty ? one man was executed in his native Texas on election day ? and did not voice opposition to the Congress decision to end a ban on military-style assault weapons.

Economy
Says he will halve the estimated 422-billion-dollar US budget deficit by 2009 with spending freeze, except for national security, and pro-growth policies. Bush a free tree trade advocate in international commerce but says he will fight for fair trade. "What I'm saying to places like China: 'You treat us the way we treat you. You open up your markets.' And I'm saying that because I know we can compete with anybody, any time, anywhere so long as the rules are fair."

Energy
Wants to allow drilling for oil in Alaskan wildlife reserve to reduce dependency on Middle East oil; spend 1.7 billion dollars on research to develop hydrogen energy.

Taxes
Wants to make his 10-year, trillion-dollar tax cuts permanent. But international finance markets worry about the impact on the growing US budget deficit. The dollar has already weakened against the euro over the past two years.

Health care
Bush wants to extend health care coverage for employees through tax incentives for small-medium businesses; reduce the price of prescription drugs through greater competition.