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.



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today's papers Anger Management By Daniel Politi Posted Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, at 6:32 AM ET The New York Times leads with a look at the rising tensions between Kurds and Iraqi Arabs. Many Sunnis and Shiites are growing increasingly frustrated with Kurdish demands for more power and autonomy, which, in a strange twist, has resulted in the strengthening of the central government and President Nouri al-Maliki. The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with the Democratic debate in California, where Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama met one-on-one for the first time. Unlike the last debate, Clinton and Obama were mostly friendly with each other and avoided personal attacks. They did express some disagreement on a few policy issues as well as who is best prepared to be president, but the two senators saved their toughest words for Republicans, particularly President Bush and Sen. John McCain. "The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences that we have with the Republicans," Clinton said. USA Today leads with a look at how state and local government employees are seeing their wages increase at a much faster pace than private workers. Public employees earn an average of $39.50 per hour in total compensation compared to $26.09 for private workers. Benefits play a big part in this widening gap since companies have been cutting pensions and forcing employees to pay a larger share of medical expenses. 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 Arts & Life Discussing Gang Leader for a Day Arts & Life How To Market The Dark Knight Without Heath Ledger Arts & Life Watching People Watch the Most Disgusting Video on the Web	Advertisement
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