FEDERAL SPENDING

McCAIN would try to restrain congressional spending. He's a longtime foe of unauthorized spending earmarks on Capitol Hill. But both parties see spending on favorite programs as a way to keep constituents happy, and McCain would probably have little success. He would also seek to limit growth in domestic accounts, abd has proposed a freeze on nonmilitary domestic spending, except for entitlement programs.

OBAMA sees more domestic spending as an investment in national health care, science research and education, supported in part by higher taxes. He opposes a freeze saying more targeted cuts are needed for some programs, with expansions for others.

Neither candidate would or likely could do much to limit the ballooning deficit. The soft economy will make efforts to reduce the deficit even harder in the near term.