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 A Little Off the Top By Daniel Politi Posted Monday, Feb. 11, 2008, at 6:10 AM ET The New York Times leads with, and the Wall Street Journal fronts, word that military prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the six Guantanamo detainees that will be charged as early as today with conspiring to carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. The military will ask that all the defendants, including al-Qaida commander Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, be put to death because, as one official put it, "If any case warrants it, it would be for individuals who were parties to a crime of that scale." The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and the WSJ's world-wide newsbox lead with news that Sen. Hillary Clinton replaced her campaign manager on the same day as Sen. Barack Obama snapped up his fifth victory of the weekend. Clinton named longtime aide Maggie Williams to step in for Patti Solis Doyle, who will stay on as a senior adviser to the campaign. Obama's victory in yesterday's contest in Maine wasn't completely unexpected since Obama has typically done well in caucuses. But there was some hope within the Clinton camp that Maine's voters would hand the former first lady some good news before tomorrow's contests in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, where Obama is also expected to win. 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 A Banner Week for Water- Boarding Style & Shopping Inside the Secret Notebooks of New York's Fashionistas Arts & Life *'80s Heartthrob Has Bad Day on Lipstick Jungle* Set**	Advertisement
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