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.

Redskins, Landry Agree to Deal

First-round draft pick LaRon Landry agreed to terms with the Washington Redskins on a five-year contract early this morning, and the rookie is flying to Washington to sign today. Landry, the sixth-overall pick out of LSU, is unlikely to be able to practice with the team this afternoon, but will be on the field by Tuesday at the latest.

Jason La Canfora Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:14:01 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/30/AR2007073000689.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
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Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind. Speculation intensified in October 2006 when Obama first said he had "thought about the possibility" of running for president, departing from earlier statements that he intended to serve out his six-year Senate term through 2010. The donations came from 104,000 individual donors, with US$6.9 million raised through the Internet from 50,000 of the donors. His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. " Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. Obama left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa and Kenya, and making stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. An October 2005 article in the British journal New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world. In March 2007, speaking before AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that while the U.S. "should take no option, including military action, off the table, sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions should be our primary means to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. "The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008.

The Rasmussen polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs.