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 The Drug Wars By Daniel Politi Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 6:15 AM ET The New York Times leads with the Food and Drug Administration announcing that contaminated heparin from 12 Chinese companies has been found in 11 countries and is linked to 81 deaths in the United States. But Chinese Embassy officials strongly disputed the claims, saying that the man-made contaminant can't be the real cause of the deaths and suggested the problem may have originated in the United States. USA Today leads with Pentagon records that show the Army has increased the use of involuntary extensions to maintain troop levels despite the fact that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last year that they should be kept to a minimum. The number of soldiers affected has increased 43 percent since May, to a total of 12,235 in March. The Washington Post leads with the last day of campaigning before Pennsylvania voters head to the polls today. Sen. Hillary Clinton unveiled a new ad and Barack Obama's campaign worked hard to manage expectations saying that the former first lady is clearly the favorite to win their first contest in six weeks. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with a look at how the Democratic contenders will each leave Pennsylvania with very different balance sheets. While Clinton is in debt, Obama has more than $40 million available. The Los Angeles Times leads with new record prices for both oil and gasoline. The average price of gas nationwide passed the $3.50 mark and the price of crude oil reached $117.48 a barrel. Many predict that it won't be long before gasoline costs more than $4 a gallon in many parts of the country and the barrel of oil reaches $125. 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 Dickerson: Hillary's Final Pitch to Pennsylvania News & Politics I'm a Pledged Delegate. Is It Illegal for Me To Change Candidates? Business & Tech Subway's Diabolical "Five-Dollar Foot-Long" Ad	Advertisement
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