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 It Keeps Going and Going By Daniel Politi Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 6:18 AM ET Everybody leads with yesterday's primaries, where Sen. Hillary Clinton won key victories in Ohio and Texas primaries, which marked another comeback for the former first lady and assured Democrats that the fight for the nomination will continue. Sen. Barack Obama won Vermont, and Clinton received more votes in Rhode Island. The New York Times points out that Clinton achieved victory in Texas by a small margin, but her earlier, more decisive, win in Ohio allowed her to "deliver a televised victory speech in time for the late-night news." By breaking her opponent's winning streak, Clinton effectively "jolted a Democratic Party establishment that was beginning to see Obama as the likely nominee," says the Washington Post. USA Today mentions that Obama had hoped to "provide a knockout punch" yesterday, and the Los Angeles Times says Obama looked "disappointed" last night even as he emphasized that he continues to lead in delegates. Everybody notes that despite the momentum that Clinton might gain from the high-profile victories, she still faces an uphill battle to narrow Obama's lead. On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain won all four contests and clinched the Republican nomination. His main rival, Mike Huckabee, dropped out of the race soon after polls closed and vowed "to do everything possible to unite our party." In his victory speech, McCain lumped the two Democratic contenders and made it clear that he will continue talking about how neither one is fit to lead the country. "I will leave it to my opponent to propose returning to the failed, big-government mandates of the '60s and '70s to address problems such as the lack of health-care insurance for some Americans," he said. McCain will travel to the White House today, where he will officially accept President Bush's endorsement. The Wall Street Journal's print edition closed before Clinton's victories were evident, and the paper emphasizes that McCain now has to raise lots of money and figure out how to "transform his shoestring primary campaign into a machine able to win the presidency," particularly since he's made it clear that he wants to compete in reliably Democratic states. 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 Dispatches From China's Wild West Arts & Life Why Do Italian Men Grab Their Crotches? News & Politics Texas Fights To Maintain Its Sex-Toy Ban	Advertisement
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