Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

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Barack Obama Inspires
By bloggernista
Its no secret that I am a fan of Barack Obama. Of all of the candidates running for president, I believe that he has the combination of intelligence, foresight and policy ideas to lead our nation out of its current malaise. ...
Bloggernista - http://bloggernista.com

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" The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. Among his major accomplishments as a state legislator, Obama's U.S. Senate web site lists: "creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit"; "an expansion of early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases. Obama began podcasting from his U.S. Senate web site in late 2005.

They were married in 1992 and have two daughters, Malia, born in 1999, and Natasha ("Sasha"), born in 2001. Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed.

" But in an October 2006 article titled "Obama: Black Like Me," British columnist Gary Younge describes Obama as "a black man who does not scare white people. In Chapter 6 of the book, titled "Faith," Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the Chicago Tribune.

His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. " In an October 2006 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.

"The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008.