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 Crisis=Opportunity By Daniel Politi Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008, at 6:27 AM ET The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox all lead with the continuing rescue efforts in China, where the rapidly mounting death toll from Monday's devastating earthquake now stands at more than 12,000. Thousands of people are still buried and rescue workers struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas that have been largely closed off to the outside world by landslides that blocked roads. Around 50,000 soldiers have been mobilized to help with the effort, and the Chinese government said it has allocated $120 million for aid. Officials welcomed money and supplies from around the world but emphasized that foreign aid workers would not be admitted. The Washington Post and USA Today go big with the rescue efforts in China, but devote their lead spots to Sen. Hillary Clinton's overwhelming victory over Sen. Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary. Clinton trounced Obama by more than 40 percentage points in what everyone says was one of the most lopsided results of the primary season. But while Clinton's camp insists yesterday's results illustrate that she has a better chance of beating Sen. John McCain in November it doesn't seem like many are paying attention. (Case in point, today marks the first time this year that the LAT doesn't put the results of a Democratic primary on Page One.) 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 Does Hillary's West Virginia Win Change Anything? Business & Tech Meet America's Next Great TV Pitchman News & Politics This Woman Could Be McCain's Ticket to the White House	Advertisement
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