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 Is This the End? By Daniel Politi Posted Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 6:22 AM ET The New York Times and Washington Post lead with the last day of campaigning before the potentially decisive primaries in Ohio and Texas. Voters in Rhode Island and Vermont also go to the polls today but the big focus tonight will be on the big states that could seal the fate of Sen. Hillary Clinton. The two Democratic candidates engaged in an intense battle of words yesterday over trade and national security while Clinton vowed to stay in the race. "I'm just getting warmed up," she said even as Sen. Barack Obama's aides emphasized she won't be able to catch up in the delegate count. As the Los Angeles Times emphasizes, there now seems to be general agreement that the only way Clinton will conceivably drop out is if she loses both Texas and Ohio, a prospect that is seen as highly unlikely. The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox leads with Israel's withdrawal of its ground troops from the Gaza Strip. The move "lays bare" the difficult situation Israel faces as it tries to both weaken Hamas and continue peace talks with Palestinians in the West Bank. USA Today leads with an interesting poll that shows one-third of Americans ask their doctors about a prescription drug they saw advertised. Of those who asked, 44 percent ended up with the drug they had inquired about, while 82 percent walked away with some sort of prescription. "Our survey shows why the drug companies run all these ads: They work," the president of the Kaiser Foundation said. The LAT leads with the price of oil, which briefly hit an inflation-adjusted record when it reached $103.95 a barrel yesterday. The previous record was set in April 1980, when, adjusted for inflation, oil reached $103.76 a barrel. The falling dollar is seen as a key culprit and many expect oil prices to keep increasing as investors continue to seek protection in commodities. 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 The Upside of Home Foreclosures Health & Science I Hug Trees. Whom Should I Vote For? Business & Technology The Vaguely Lewd New Holiday Inn Express Ads	Advertisement
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But in a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," former Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "establishment" commentators to get "down from your tippy toes" and avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan. Hopefund gave US$374,000 to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle, making it one of the top donors to federal candidates for the year. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes. His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs. In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. " The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. They were married in 1992 and have two daughters, Malia, born in 1999, and Natasha ("Sasha"), born in 2001.

" An Italian translation was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, and a Spanish paperback edition was published in June 2007.

I'm opposed to dumb wars. In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border.