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]State Dept. Agents Say Jobs Were Threatened

Two career investigators in the office of State Department Inspector General Howard J. Krongard have charged that they were threatened with firing if they cooperated with a congressional probe of Krongard and his office.

link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092801003.html?nav=rss_print/asection

Glenn Kessler and Karen DeYoung Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT

[1] <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092801003.html?nav=rss_print/asection>

" The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.

Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform.

Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production. Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. Obama spoke out in June 2006 against making recent, temporary estate tax cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses. Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005. During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose officials cited his "longtime support of gun control measures and his willingness to negotiate compromises," despite his support for some bills the police union had opposed. The family moved from their Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a nearby US$1.6-million home in 2005. Obama also met with a group of Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election. On December 22, 2006, President Bush signed into law the "Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act," marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor. He has responded to and personally participated in online discussions hosted on politically-oriented blog sites.