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]For a Democrat, Options in Iraq Could Be Few

In their debate Wednesday night in Hanover, N.H., none of the three top Democratic presidential candidates would promise to have the U.S. military out of Iraq by January 2013 -- more than five years from now.
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link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802077.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Thomas E. Ricks Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

[1] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802077.html?nav=rss_print/asection>
[2] <http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/print/asection;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=392942722873>
[3] <http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/print/asection;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=392942722873>

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. He was also criticized by a rival pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for having voted either "present" or "no" on anti-abortion legislation. 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.

It was an immediate bestseller and remains on the New York Times Best Seller List. After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama said: No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. It was an immediate bestseller and remains on the New York Times Best Seller List. If elected, Obama would become the first non-white U.S. president.

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. Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances.

A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. " Reviewing Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the Washington Post noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on ethics and health care reform. In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.

S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives. " At the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, he called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Rasmussen polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S.