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]CORRECTION

Â¿ The headline on a Sept. 28 Business article incorrectly said that former officials of Freddie Mac had settled fraud charges. They settled charges of negligence without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
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link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802032.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Post Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

[1] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802032.html?nav=rss_print/asection>
[2] <http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/print/asection;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=392942723102>
[3] <http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/print/asection;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=392942723102>

Beginning in 2005, he co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

His first bill was the "Higher Education Opportunity through Pell Grant Expansion Act. " 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. On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive. In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the Harvard Law Review's "first black president in its 104-year history. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings. 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.

Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations.