The close Democratic presidential nomination race isn't the only pleasant surprise to emerge from the 2008 campaign; voters also should be pleased that there will be a real choice in November between two candidates with sharply different viewpoints about how to lead the country, and not just a choice between the lesser of two evils.

Regardless of which U.S. senator wins the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will present a sharp contrast to U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who secured the Republican nomination last week with victories in Texas and Ohio. The winner will become the first sitting U.S. senator to be elected president since John F. Kennedy in 1960, and each will bring a different background to the job.With that in mind, here are some questions that this voter would like answered between now and Tuesday, Nov. 4:

On the Iraq War

What is your realistic short- and long-term plan for Iraq, and how specifically would you accomplish that? If you're against the war, don't just say how soon or quickly you'd pull the troops out, but give me specifics, keeping in mind the thorny logistical and political obstacles on the ground in Iraq, and how a rapid U.S. withdrawal is likely to affect the Middle East and the war on terror.

If you support the war, what is the extent of U.S. involvement likely to be over the next five to 10 years, and what is the soonest we can expect more and more of our soldiers' duties to be taken over by Iraqi forces? Regardless of your position on the war, how do you propose to pay the war's bills? Which other programs must be slashed in order to make a realistic attempt to bring the nation's budget deficit under control?

On the economy

The economy is ailing, and some maintain that we've been in a recession for a while. What's your plan for not just superficially jump-starting the economy by giving taxpayers more rebates, but to help revive an economy where hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost or sent overseas?

How can you balance the need to participate in an increasingly interconnected global economy with the need to protect rapidly disappearing American goods and services that are consistently being outsourced overseas?

How can you promote a robust, consumer-driven economy without encouraging people to send their credit cards to stratospheric levels of debt? Shouldn't consumers be educated to only spend what they can afford?

It's foolish and counterproductive to talk about fixing the economy without attacking the out-of-sight gasoline and oil prices that are driving the cost of most of our commodities sky high. What serious steps are you prepared to take to do something that every president for the last few decades has talked about: getting the country to reduce its reliance on oil and gasoline so we are no longer hostage to oil companies that continue to make obscene profits, and to foreign governments that hate our guts, but love the color of our money?

On health care

McCain, Clinton and Obama have three distinct views about the future of health care. It's a vastly complex subject; here are just three questions - one for each candidate:

Clinton: You played a key role in the administration of your husband with respect to health care, a fact you like to talk about. But your effort, for a number of reasons, failed. What makes you think you now will be able to bring universal health care to the nation and specifically, how in the world do you intend to pay for it? What other programs will be slashed or eliminated to pay for your vision of universal health care?

McCain: You have said that the nation's health-care system is the finest in the world, and certainly for all that's wrong with it, there is a lot right about it. But how do you propose to lower health-care costs for those - and the numbers are increasing - who cannot and will not be able to afford it? Is it time to re-examine Medicare, and for the government to stop mandating those 65 and older to enter Medicare if they can afford alternative insurance plans? Obama: You are correct to suggest that the Massachusetts plan enacted by former Gov. Mitt Romney and the Democratic Legislature has flaws, and that mandates don't always work. Indeed, what makes no sense about the Massachusetts plan is the number of people, who, according to many published reports, feel as though they'd rather be fined by the state for not getting insurance because the fine is cheaper than the insurance. That said, though, why should the voters believe your plan would work better than Sen. Clinton's or the status quo? How much would your plan cost, and what programs would you specifically do away with in order to afford it?

LARRY KESSLER is a Sun Chronicle local news editor. Reach him at 508-236-0330. Send any questions for the candidates to lkessler@thesunchronicle.com so they can be included in future columns.