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.

Your August Commute

We have begun the month in which we're supposed to have the easiest time getting to and from work. It's August, that pleasant period before vacationing families return and school resumes. Your commute is less unpleasant than normal. I hope that's true. Or is it just different? The Douglass Bridge shutdown was planned for the time when commuting plunges by about 12 percent, thanks to vacationers. That made sense, unless, perhaps, you're stuck on I-295 heading for the 11th Street Bridge detour. Metrorail's ridership also drops off in August, so you may be waiting on a less-crowded platform, but one that's much too hot for office attire. Help us understand these variables, as part of a feature we're planning for The Post's commuter page, on page 2 of Sunday's Metro section. I'll bet many of you keep track, and have some long-term perspective on what happens to the commute as