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 Rescue Me By Daniel Politi Posted Friday, Feb. 22, 2008, at 6:10 AM ET The New York Times leads with word that the federal government is currently looking at ways it could come to the aid of homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth. The paper says there haven't been so many American homeowners in this situation since the Depression, and some large banks are pushing the Bush administration and Congress to come to the rescue. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with the several hundred Serb demonstrators that attacked and set fire to parts of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade. A demonstration involving approximatley 150,000 people who were protesting Kosovo's independence became violent and at least 96 people were injured. The embassy was closed but there are reports of a charred body, apparently of a protester, that was found inside the building. USA Today and the Washington Post lead with, while the Los Angeles Times devotes its top non-local spot to, yesterday's debate between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, which, despite speculation that the former first lady would be more agressive, was a largely cordial affair with a few jabs and disagreements interspersed throughout. Everyone goes high with one of the most memorable quotes of the night, which came when the issue of Obama's "plagiarism" was brought up and Clinton riffed off on one of his trademark phrases: "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox." Obama also criticized Clinton for frequently saying he is all talk and no action, which he said implies that those who have supported him "are somehow delusional." 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 Who Won the Democratic Debate? News & Politics My Search for the Lost Huckabee Tapes News & Politics Why It Costs $60 Million To Shoot Down a Satellite	Advertisement
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