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 Super Indecisive By Daniel Politi Posted Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008, at 6:11 AM ET All the papers devote most of the space on their front pages to yesterday's voting extravaganza that involved contests in 24 states. On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton won some of the biggest prizes of the night, including California, while Sen. Barack Obama ultimately won more states. No one is really quite sure about the final tally yet, but early results suggest Clinton won a slight edge in the 1,678 pledged delegates that were at stake yesterday, but no one expects the actual difference to be very significant. So, after the biggest primary day in history, the Democratic race "emerged as it was before: deadlocked," says USA Today. Things were a bit clearer in the Republican race as Sen. John McCain won more states and will get by far the most delegates thanks to his victories in the big-state primaries. The Washington Post devotes a separate front-page story to the big surprise of the night: Mike Huckabee. Although many had already written him off, Huckabee managed to win five Southern states and quickly muddled the Republican field once more. This turned into bad news for Mitt Romney, who won six states but failed to cement his position as the true conservative candidate. Huckabee's victories, "highlighted the discomfort social conservatives have with the field," notes the New York Times in a Page One analysis. Even though McCain became the clear Republican front-runner, there's "no sign that his rivals ... would drop out soon and no sign of peace among the party's divided factions," notes the Los Angeles Times in its own front-page analysis. Assuming McCain does become the nominee he "will have to spend time repairing relations with conservatives," warns the Wall Street Journal. 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 Guess Who's Coming to the Convention ... News & Politics Bush's Tax Cuts Are So Dead News & Politics The Night's Biggest Loser	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