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.

Tuesday Breakfast Bender

Welcome to July 31st! On this date 37 years ago, the British Navy issued its final daily ration of rum aboard the HMS Phoebe on what has come to be known as Black Tot Day. The centuries-old tradition of doling out grog to thirsty sailors concluded after the House of Commons determined months of debate that the risks of piloting ships while drunk outweighed the benefits. Could NASA be next? And on that sobering note, here is your Tuesday Top 5: 5) Silent FaithWhat better way to forget about the silencing of the boatswain's "Up Spirits" than mimes -- ultra-religious mimes? Jason and Mason Porter of Dallas are using actions, not words, "to encourage people to embrace the Christian faith." The twin sons of Rev. Ray Charles and Shirley Porter have been moving audiences at Bethlehem Pentecostal Holiness Church for several years despite their rough pasts, which include time in...

washingtonpost.com Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:11:00 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/31/BL2007073100369.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
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In her January 2007 Salon article asserting that Obama "isn't black," columnist Debra Dickerson writes: "lumping us all together Zwith ObamaZ erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress. Finally, he spoke for national unity: The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, while still serving as a state legislator. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb.

In September 2006, he was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, an event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. " Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook. In December 2006, Obama spoke at a New Hampshire event celebrating Democratic Party midterm election victories in the first-in-the-nation U.S. presidential primary state. They know we can do better. "Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 Washington Post opinion column, Eugene Robinson characterized him as "the personification of both-and," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the culture wars" of the 1960s. "He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq.