Meet Hillary Clinton, a determined woman trying to make history, in becoming the first woman president. She has been in politics for over twenty years and will fight until the end. Meet Barack Obama, a young black man also looking to make history and is often described as a "rising star" within the Democratic Party. He has been in politics for about ten years and is still in the race, even though he has been the underdog. They are the only candidates with a chance to win the Democratic nomination. A decision must be made on which candidate is the right choice after reviewing a few similarities and differences. One of the similarities is the “No Child Left Behind,” Act of 2001 created by the Bush administration has failed to be a success. The candidates agree that it was not a properly funded, nor enforced by the Department of Education, and a change needs to be made. They both voted “Yes” on giving fifty-two million dollars for “21st century community learning centers” and five billion dollars for grants to local educational agencies. They sent their kids to private schools, but want good schools for all children. Clinton and Obama have said parents are a key to the success of their children and should be more involved in their schooling. Barack Obama endorsed merit pay at a meeting of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, so long as the measure of merit is “developed with teachers, not imposed on them and not based on some arbitrary test score.” Hillary Clinton says she does not support merit pay for individual teachers but does advocate performance-based pay on a school wide basis (Wallis 30). Education has always been a concern, but the hot topic for the candidates today is bringing an end to the “Iraq War.” The American people are tired of this war, soldiers coming home in caskets and disfigured soldiers. Barack Obama has opposed this war from the start, even when he was not part of the Senate. He stated the war would lead to "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences” (Obama'08). Hillary on the other hand voted for a measure entitled “A Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.” She claims she did not believe her vote was a mistake, but puts the blame on someone else, because she was misled. They both want to end the war now, but neither can promise to have all the troops home by the end of their first term. The candidates agree that some troops will have to remain to protect the U.S. embassy and diplomats, but no permanent bases will be built in Iraq. Many Americans are also concerned with the issue of marriage and keeping it sacred. The Bible clearly states that from the beginning of creation, God created them male and female. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Barack Obama claims to be a Christian and Hillary Clinton