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.



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slateV.com.
today's papers Falling Awake By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, at 6:07 AM ET The New York Times leads with the increasing fears that persistent attacks against Sunni militia groups could unravel one of the key components of the American plan to decrease violence in Iraq. In the last month at least 100 members of the Awakening Council, as the predominantly Sunni militias that are backed by U.S. government are known, have been killed. The Los Angeles Times leads with its latest nationwide poll on the presidential race, which shows Sen. Hillary Clinton still holds a significant lead over Sen. Barack Obama. On the Republican side, the race remains up in the air as Sen. John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney are battling for the lead spot. Although McCain did get slightly more support at 22 percent, the paper makes clear the differences between the three candidates aren't statistically meaningful. Support for Rudy Giuliani has plummeted to 12 percent. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with, and the rest of the papers front, the tens of thousands of Gaza residents that poured into Egypt yesterday morning after militants blew up a border fence. Gazans went on a shopping spree and picked up all kinds of supplies that are unavailable due to Israel's blockades, which had grown even more intense than usual last week. Israeli officials raised concerns that Palestinians could return with weapons. The Washington Post leads with, and the WSJ fronts, the incredibly swinging stock market. The market took a dive in the morning, and after a few ups and downs ended the day with a rally that left the Dow Jones Industrial average up 2.5 percent. USA Today leads with word that there are now 76 colleges and universities with endowments of $1 billion or more. Schools generally spend very little of this money, which has angered critics, including some lawmakers, who say they should be using a bigger percentage of the money to make education more affordable. To continue reading, click here. Daniel Politi writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate News & Politics How the Super Tuesday States Screwed Themselves Business & Tech Proof That Tiger Woods Makes Other Pro Golfers Play Worse News & Politics Is It Hard To Get a Restraining Order?	Advertisement
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here. Copyright 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \|1515 N. Courthouse Rd. \| Arlington, VA 22201