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 You Say Tomato By Daniel Politi Posted Friday, April 11, 2008, at 6:15 AM ET The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox, and the Los Angeles Times fronts, Defense Secretary Robert Gates telling a Senate panel that he wants to resume troop withdrawals quickly. The statement came hours after President Bush officially backed Gen. David Petraeus' plan to indefinitely halt any further troop withdrawals after this summer, a story that leads the New York Times and Washington Post. "I've told him he'll have all the time he needs," Bush said while also emphaszing that the war "is not endless." USA Today leads with an analysis that shows "independent political groups," have spent $17.3 million in the first three months of the year, which is more than double what was spent during the same period in the 2004 presidential contest. The vast majority of that money has helped Democrats (around 80 percent), although, of course, that's seen as a result of the drawn out battle between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "We can expect to see much more money," a campaign finance expert said. The LAT leads locally with news of a deal between Plains Exploration & Production Co. and environmental activists that would discontinue oil production off Santa Barbara County in exchange for permission to tap into underwater reserves. The oil company said it would also donate thousands of acres of land for public use. 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 Health & Science Great New Recreational Drugs for Nerds News & Politics I'm Into S&M. Is That OK? Business & Technology How Game Theory Explains the Shortage of Eligible Bachelors	Advertisement
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