FEDERAL REGULATION

OBAMA favors a more activist approach in rulemaking, especially on workplace regulations, food and drug safety, consumer product safety, equal opportunity employment law and the environment. He has called in particular for greater regulation of the financial services industries in light of the recent turmoil on Wall Street and the Bush administration's interventions.

McCAIN has also called for tougher regulation of Wall Street investment banks, but on other issues he continues to describe himself as "fundamentally a deregulator."  He would be more cautious but not as hands-off as Bush has been. He'd continue a Bush administration practice of requiring scientific cost-benefit analysis of proposed regulations before action is taken. Business groups have supported this approach.