Barack Obama
Barack Obama
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 Mad Money Posted Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at 6:23 AM ET The Washington Post leads with a new report that reveals more than one in 100 adults in the United States are behind bars. Holding the rank as the country that imprisons more people, both in terms of raw numbers and as a percentage of population, is hardly a cheap proposition, as states spend almost $50 billion a year on corrections. The New York Times leads with news that the Food and Drug Administration has found problems at a Chinese plant that made most of the active ingredient for Baxter International's blood thinner heparin. Baxter announced a recall of most of its products containing the lifesaving drug, which is made from pig intestines. USA Today leads with a look at how the huge turnout in the presidential primaries is making election officials nervous about potential problems in November. Officials in several states across the country are requesting more voting machines, paper ballots, and poll workers to make sure they won't have problems on Election Day. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with, and the WP fronts, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign announcing that it raised $35 million in February. Sen. Barack Obama's camp hasn't released official figures, but aides said their total was "considerably more." There are estimates that he raised about $50 million, which, combined with Clinton's total, would surpass the record that was set by President Bush and Sen. John Kerry in March 2004. It seems that lending her campaign $5 million was a good strategy for Clinton because online donations, which accounted for $30 million of the total, soared after the news got out. The Los Angeles Times leads locally with news that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to have cured himself of his long-held allergies to more taxes. California's governor said the state's huge budget shortfall could be decreased by closing "tax loopholes." 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 Sports Your Team Didn't Sign Santana? Lucky You. Arts & Life The Other Boleyn Girl: Shamelessly Prurient, Surprisingly Smart Business & Technology I'm the Idiot Who Bought an HD-DVD Player | Advertisement  |
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