Throughout their heated, marathon campaign for the November 2 ballot, the Texas Republican and Massachusetts Democrat have staked out widely divergent styles, philosophies and approaches to government.

Bush bristles with conviction, Kerry grapples with nuances. The president has a rosy view of economic progress at home and democracy on the march abroad; the four-term US senator sees dark clouds on both fronts.

In a campaign dominated by national security after the September 11, 2001 attacks, perhaps no issue has highlighted the differences between the two men than the role of the United States in the world.

Both say they won't hesitate to use preemptive military force if US security is on the line; both say they must stay the course in Iraq. But there is a wide gulf over the exercise of American power.

"If America shows uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy," Bush says. Kerry responds: "I believe we're strongest when we reach out and lead the world and build strong alliances."

While Kerry pledges to rejoin the community of nations, entice more foreign troops into Iraq and lead international campaigns on nuclear non-proliferation and the global economy, Bush has no qualms about playing the lone cowboy.

"I just think trying to be popular in the global sense, if it's not in our best interest, makes no sense," says the man who shunned the United Nations to invade Iraq last year.

On defense, Bush is pushing for a more-mobile armed forces backed by new technology and a national missile defense system. He says up to 70,000 US troops will be withdrawn from Europe and Asia over the next decade.

Kerry, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, criticizes the planned pullbacks and would beef up stretched US forces by recruiting another 40,000 active-duty personnel. He opposes the national missile defense scheme.

The two candidates are somewhat vague on foreign trade, trying to balance an overall open-market philosophy with concern over the loss of US jobs, including positions moving overseas.

Bush says free trade is a "proven strategy" for global prosperity. But he imposed tariffs on steel imports in March 2002 before scrapping them under pressure from the World Trade Organization and the European Union.

Kerry is promoting "free and fair" trade and pledges to review all existing trade agreements in the first 120 days of his administration. He supports the inclusion of labor and environmental standards; Bushes opposes it.

The president backs oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Kerry is against it; the incumbent rejects tougher fuel efficiency standards, the Democrat embraces them.

Bush has pulled out of the Kyoto treaty on global warming, calling it a move that pandered to European allies and would cost US jobs. Kerry vows to return the United States to the forefront of international environmental efforts.

Domestic issues also reflect the deep divide between a president who bills himself as a "compassionate conservative" and a challenger whose political roots lie in the left wing of the Democratic Party.

Bush has run up record deficits, largely due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and tax cuts, but hopes to cut them in half in five years. Kerry preaches a balanced budget and says he would get halfway there by the end of his first term.

The president proposes to make his hefty tax cuts permanent and pursue further tax reform as part of an effort to create new jobs and what he calls an "onwership society."

Kerry vows to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. After a net loss of 800,000 jobs under Bush, he promises to create 10 million in four years through tax incentives for businesses and public projects.

On health care, Kerry would give all Americans access to the government system, funding the initiative with canceled tax cuts. Bush puts an emphasis on limiting malpractice lawsuits to cut medical costs.

The candidates' positions on various social issues could not be more black and white. Bush opposes abortion, Kerry is pro-choice; Bush is for the death penalty, Kerry against.

The Republican wants a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages and would give gun makers immunity from lawsuits, the Democrat is opposed to both.

The president would grant legal status to some illegal immigrants but not "an automatic path to citizenship." Kerry would make anyone who stayed in the country for five years, paid taxes and kept clean immediately eligible.

All rights reserved. copyright 2018 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.