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.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Sen. Warner to 'Quietly Step Aside'
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Aug. 31 -- John William Warner, who was best known for marrying actress Elizabeth Taylor when he entered the Senate 28 years ago but who grew into an elder statesman and Republican maverick highly regarded for his expertise in defense matters, announced his retirement Friday.
(By Bill Turque, The Washington Post)

GOP: Craig Plans to Resign From Senate
(By JOHN MILLER and MATTHEW DALY, AP)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Tony Snow Resigns as White House Spokesman
White House press secretary Tony Snow announced his resignation yesterday, the latest in a series of departures that have reshaped the upper echelons of the administration with the addition of more low-profile replacements well versed in the ways of Washington.
(By Michael Abramowitz, The Washington Post)

Senator Is Widely Hailed For Vision, Immunity to Politics
Virginian Often Opposed Own Party
(By Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

Craig Is Expected To Resign Today
GOP Senate Picture Is Clouded Further
(By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

Immigrant Crackdown Halted
Judge Delays DHS Plan to Check Social Security Numbers
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Military Briefs Bush On Troops' Welfare
Effects of Lengthy Deployments Discussed
(By Michael Abramowitz, The Washington Post)

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NATION
Tony Snow Resigns as White House Spokesman
White House press secretary Tony Snow announced his resignation yesterday, the latest in a series of departures that have reshaped the upper echelons of the administration with the addition of more low-profile replacements well versed in the ways of Washington.
(By Michael Abramowitz, The Washington Post)

Medicare to Reveal Data About Doctors
Group Sued to Find Out About Procedures
(By Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

FBI Looks Overseas After Threats Phoned to Stores, Banks in U.S.
(By Joe Milicia, The Washington Post)

Witness Describes Iraq Killing
Marine Says Leader Shot Haditha Civilians
(By Karl Vick, The Washington Post)

For a Day, Gay Marriage Is Legal in Iowa
(The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
U.N. Climate Talks End in Cloud of Discord
PARIS, Aug. 31 -- A five-day U.N. conference on climate change ended in Vienna on Friday with significant disagreements remaining about how countries should reduce greenhouse gas emissions and daunting estimates about the price tag for combating global warming.
(By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post)

Talks Between Musharraf, Rival Show Signs of Breaking Down
Pakistani Officials on Both Sides Doubt Deal Can Be Reached
(By Griff Witte, The Washington Post)

New Highway Bogs Down In Bitterly Divided Bosnia
(By Jonathan Finer, The Washington Post)

Bush Apologizes to Wiccan Soldier's Widow for Meeting Slip-Up
(By Jacqueline L. Salmon, The Washington Post)

Plane Carrying 4 U.S. Lawmakers Is Fired On in Iraq
(By Joshua Partlow and Saad Sarhan, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Sen. Warner to 'Quietly Step Aside'
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Aug. 31 -- John William Warner, who was best known for marrying actress Elizabeth Taylor when he entered the Senate 28 years ago but who grew into an elder statesman and Republican maverick highly regarded for his expertise in defense matters, announced his retirement Friday.
(By Bill Turque, The Washington Post)

D.C. Officials Investigate Sex Charges
Fire Chief Asks Police to Check Out Reports of Employee Prostitution Ring
(By Elissa Silverman, The Washington Post)

In War on Terror, Md. Farmer One of Many Skeptical Recruits
(By Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post)

Senator Is Widely Hailed For Vision, Immunity to Politics
Virginian Often Opposed Own Party
(By Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

Loudoun's Plans to Cut Services To Immigrants Face Limitations
(By Sandhya Somashekhar, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Fed Chief, Bush Give Hope to Wall Street
JACKSON, Wyo., Aug. 31 -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Friday that the central bank was willing to take action to ease damage to the economy from troubled financial markets, and President Bush introduced a plan to help people who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.
(By Neil Irwin and Michael Fletcher, The Washington Post)

Products That Miss Safety Standards Sent Overseas by U.S. Companies
(By Renae Merle, The Washington Post)

Beyond Wind and Solar, a New Generation of Clean Energy
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

SEC Asks Firms For More Details On Executive Pay
(By Ian Katz, The Washington Post)

In War on Terror, Md. Farmer One of Many Skeptical Recruits
(By Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Apple Won't Sell NBC's Fall Shows on iTunes
Apple escalated a dispute with NBC Universal over the pricing of television shows by announcing yesterday that it would not sell any of NBC's programs for the fall season on the iTunes online media store.
(By David Bauder, The Washington Post)

AOL, All Grown Up
On-Site Child Care Illustrates Change in Workforce Demographic
(By Kendra Marr, The Washington Post)

Big Buzz for Another Apple Surprise
(By Sam Diaz, The Washington Post)

Medicare to Reveal Data About Doctors
Group Sued to Find Out About Procedures
(By Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
100 for Johnson, 1 for Navy
Adam Ballard runs for a pair of a touchdowns, leading the Midshipmen to a 30-19 victory over Temple and giving Paul Johnson his 100th win in 11-plus years as a head coach.
(By Christian Swezey, The Washington Post)

Words Fail to Stem Nats' Woes
Team Returns Home to Acta's Ire, Seventh Straight Defeat : Giants 3, Nationals 2
(By Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post)

Safeguarding the Future by Holding On to the Past
(By Mike Wise, The Washington Post)

Clark's Joy Rises Above Hokies' Pain
(By Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post)

In a Battle of Backups, Falcons Have More in Reserve
Falcons 13, Ravens 10
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Lingering Memories
LONDON, Aug. 31 Prince William and Prince Harry led a memorial service Friday marking the 10th anniversary of the death of their mother, Princess Diana, whose status as a beloved global icon remains a source of pride and bewilderment for the British.
(By Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan, The Washington Post)

Pro Wrestling Suspends 10 Linked to Steroid Ring
Names of Baseball, Football Players Also Found, Authorities Say
(By Paul Farhi, The Washington Post)

Animal House
A Barrel of Monkeys Is Fun. And Work.
(By Joshua Zumbrun, The Washington Post)

A Musical Reprise for Robert Shafer
(By Tim Page, The Washington Post)

Mose Allison, Taking the Lead
(The Washington Post)

More Style

EDITORIALS
Mr. Warner Bows Out
TO PLENTY of his detractors of the 1970s and '80s, Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia was a figure of fun -- wealthy and glamorous by dint of marriage, self-righteous, grandiloquent, comically ceremonious. Some, even in his own Republican Party, dismissed him as a preening lightweight, amiable but...
(The Washington Post)

Paying Attention
Test results for English learners show Virginia has a problem. It should face it.
(The Washington Post)

A Prosecutor's Choice
Walter T. Barclay is dead, 41 years after he was shot and paralyzed. Justice doesn't require a murder charge.
(The Washington Post)

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Obama's own self-narrative reinforces what a May 2004 New Yorker magazine article described as his "everyman" image.

" 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. " But in an October 2006 article titled "Obama: Black Like Me," British columnist Gary Younge describes Obama as "a black man who does not scare white people. US$24.8 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the primaries, the highest of any 2008 presidential candidate. " 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. Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before the 109th Congress in 2005 and 2006, and cosponsored another 427. He has responded to and personally participated in online discussions hosted on politically-oriented blog sites. A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. Agreeing with Obama's own assessment that "people project their hopes on him," Noonan attributed some of Obama's popularity to "a certain unknowability." In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya. Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances. Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. "In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there. " Time magazine's Joe Klein wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician. "President Bush signs the "Coburn-Obama" Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes. 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. They know we can do better.

He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth entitled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics. In the fall of 2002, during an anti-war rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza, Obama said: I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan.