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.

A New Mideast Military Alliance?

The United States has now officially unveiled its $60-billion-plus arms package for the Middle East. The arms increasingly look like the sweeteners for a new and more formalized American-led alliance of like-minded "moderate" regimes, a kind of Middle East version...

washingtonpost.com Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:41:04 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/31/BL2007073100490.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
--
To unsubscribe from this feed, click here
To manage other subscriptions, click here
~
Powered by RssFwd, a service of Blue Sky Factory, Inc

Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes. presidential candidate has attracted conflicting analyses among commentators challenged to align him with traditional social categories. Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. On the first day of the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, in a column published in the Washington Post, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist. " Speaking in November 2006 to members of Wake Up Wal-Mart, a union-backed campaign group, Obama said: "You gotta pay your workers enough that they can actually not only shop at Wal-Mart, but ultimately send their kids to college and save for retirement. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya. Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized for his political actions by self-described progressive commentator David Sirota, and complimented for his "Can't we all just get along?" manner by conservative columnist George Will. Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005. President Bush signs the "Coburn-Obama" Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. "President Bush signs the "Coburn-Obama" Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. 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. The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. " The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Obama began podcasting from his U.S. Senate web site in late 2005. Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. 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. Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur. "After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. And they want that choice.