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.

[1]Jenna's Latest Chapter Unfolds

[2][3]On tour to promote her new book for young adults, Bush daughter opens up to press and public.

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/09/28/ST2007092802231.html?nav=rss_email/components

[1] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/09/28/ST2007092802231.html?nav=rss_email/components>
[2] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/09/28/ST2007092802231.html?hpid=topnews>
[3] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/09/28/PH2007092801814.jpg>

In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player. " In December 2006, Obama joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren. "The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008.

" 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. Hopefund gave US$374,000 to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle, making it one of the top donors to federal candidates for the year.

S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. 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. The book's last chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo family and heritage. And they want that choice.

He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. But I've got news for them too. In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya. Senator Paul Simon; the support of Simon's daughter; and political endorsements by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Obama participated in 38 fundraising events in 2005, helping to pull in US$6. Obama participated in 38 fundraising events in 2005, helping to pull in US$6.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election. Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill that caps troop levels in Iraq at January 10, 2007 levels, begins phased redeployment on May 1, 2007, and removes all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008.