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.

Friday, February 22, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Obama-Clinton Debate Starts Warm, Heats Up
AUSTIN, Feb. 21 -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama disagreed sharply on how to achieve universal health care, debated about which of them is most ready to serve as commander in chief and argued over who can best change the country as they appealed for support Thursday ahead of showd...
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz, The Washington Post)

FEC Warns McCain on Campaign Spending
(By Matthew Mosk and Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post)

Foreclosure Auctioneer's Lonely Task
(By Nick Miroff, The Washington Post)

U.S. Embassy in Belgrade Overrun
Serb Mob Also Attacks Facilities of Other Nations in Fury Over Kosovo Independence
(By Peter Finn and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

Pakistan's Rival Opposition Parties Agree to Form Governing Coalition
(By Candace Rondeaux and Pamela Constable, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
The Anti-Lobbyist, Advised by Lobbyists
For years, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has railed against lobbyists and the influence of "special interests" in Washington, touting on his campaign Web site his fight against "the 'revolving door' by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the...
(By Michael D. Shear and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

FEC Warns McCain on Campaign Spending
(By Matthew Mosk and Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post)

Obama-Clinton Debate Starts Warm, Heats Up
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz, The Washington Post)

Crack Offenders Set for Release Mostly Nonviolent, Study Says
(By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post)

Clinton Has Edge in Ohio; Race in Texas Deadlocked
In Ohio, Clinton Has Small Edge
(By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Genetic Mutations Offer Insights on Human Diversity
We're all pretty much the same except, of course, for the little things that make us different.
(By David Brown, The Washington Post)

Crack Offenders Set for Release Mostly Nonviolent, Study Says
(By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post)

Spy Satellite's Downing Shows a New U.S. Weapon Capability
(By Marc Kaufman and Josh White, The Washington Post)

Bush, Feeling Appreciated Abroad
Busy Travel Schedule Reflects Realities, Opportunities of Last Year in Office
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

Much of Recalled Meat Sent To Schools
20 Million Pounds Eaten, USDA Says
(The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Saudi Hip-Hop's Painful Birth
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- For many years, the members of the Saudi hip-hop group Dark2Men performed mostly in living rooms for their friends. They hid their pastime from relatives who view singing and dancing as shameful in this strict Muslim kingdom where concerts, theaters and movies are banned.
(By Faiza Saleh Ambah, The Washington Post)

Pakistan's Rival Opposition Parties Agree to Form Governing Coalition
(By Candace Rondeaux and Pamela Constable, The Washington Post)

U.S. Embassy in Belgrade Overrun
Serb Mob Also Attacks Facilities of Other Nations in Fury Over Kosovo Independence
(By Peter Finn and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

Genetic Mutations Offer Insights on Human Diversity
(By David Brown, The Washington Post)

Ex-Prosecutor to Serve as Defense Witness in Terror Case
(By Ben Fox, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Waterfront Homeowners Living on the Edge
On ritzy waterfront lots around Maryland, many homeowners are ignoring a rule against building anything too close to the shore -- and, in many cases, they're getting away with it.
(By David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post)

In the District, Anger Toward Endless Mess
Trash Pickup Decried As Poorly Managed
(By Yolanda Woodlee, The Washington Post)

Foreclosure Auctioneer's Lonely Task
(By Nick Miroff, The Washington Post)

Points of Divergence
(The Washington Post)

Veterans Share Stories as Work Starts on Mental Health Bills
(By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Lenders Fighting Mortgage Rewrite
The nation's largest lending institutions are lobbying hard to block a proposal in Congress that would give bankruptcy judges greater latitude to rewrite mortgages held by financially strapped homeowners.
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

There's the Beef
(By Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post)

To Win the Lady
Outsider Fights for a Voice On the N.Y. Times Co. Board
(By Frank Ahrens, The Washington Post)

Obama-Clinton Debate Starts Warm, Heats Up
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz, The Washington Post)

Fighting Fire With the Wrong Sector?
(By Stephen Barr, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Toshiba Drops HD DVD
Phillip Swann, president and CEO of TVPredictions.com, discusses Toshiba's announcement that it will stop making HD DVD players and recorders.
(Phillip Swann, washingtonpost.com)

Security Fix Live
(Brian Krebs, washingtonpost.com)

Google to Test Medical-Record Service
(By Michael Liedtke, The Washington Post)

E.U. Skeptical of Vow by Microsoft To Share More Product Information
(By Jessica Mintz, The Washington Post)

Spy Satellite's Downing Shows a New U.S. Weapon Capability
(By Marc Kaufman and Josh White, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Saying Sorry Can Be a Tough Sell
Perhaps never before have baseball fans in general, but Nats fans especially, had such conflicted feelings at the start of a season.
(By Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post)

Human Rights, and Wrongs
(By Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post)

In 11-Player Trade, Cavs' James Gets His Wish for Reinforcements
(By Michael Lee, The Washington Post)

Blindness Doesn't Deter Spriggs's Mat Vision
Flowers Wrestler Learns to Overcome Disability
(By Alan Goldenbach, The Washington Post)

T.C. Williams Coach to Do Double Duty in WNBA
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Cindy McCain: A Quiet Strength
Cindy McCain is tougher this time around, though it's hard to imagine her otherwise. She is impeccable -- that ever-present smile, the ever-present pearls, the folded hands and elegant suits, the very proper look she said she got from her "very proper" mother.
(By Libby Copeland, The Washington Post)

The Congressman Yields the Floor to Ms. Spice
(By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)

A Grand 'Sunday in the Park'
Sondheim's Musical Makes a State-of-the-Art Impression
(By Peter Marks, The Washington Post)

'Vantage': An Obtuse Conspiracy Angle
(By John Anderson, The Washington Post)

N.Y. Times Gets Flak From All Sides on Explosive Story
(By Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Serbs Riot After Kosovo Declares Independence
Center for Foreign Relations adjunct senior fellow William L. Nash, a former U.S. Army and U.N. commander in Bosnia and Kosovo, discusses the implications of Kosovo's declaration of independence, and Serbians' violent reaction to the recognition of Kosovo by the West.
(William L. Nash, washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Capitals
(Tarik El-Bashir, washingtonpost.com)

On TV
Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between
(Lisa de Moraes, washingtonpost.com)

Toshiba Drops HD DVD
(Phillip Swann, washingtonpost.com)

At the Movies With Ann Hornaday
(Ann Hornaday, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

That '70s Show
REMEMBER the "misery index"? During the frustrating 1970s, economists used it as a shorthand measure of the pain imposed by simultaneously rising consumer prices and joblessness. Simply adding up the inflation and unemployment rates roughly quantified "stagflation," a phenomenon that defied the e...
(The Washington Post)

Those FEMA Trailers
Help finally comes to those who have suffered enough.
(The Washington Post)

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