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 Her Fight Will Go On By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, May 8, 2008, at 6:30 AM ET The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox all lead with the fallout from Tuesday's primaries. Sen. Hillary Clinton was already facing an uphill battle but she awoke yesterday to a decidedly changed mood and a growing feeling that her quest for the nomination is simply a lost cause. Many are already referring to Sen. Barack Obama as the presumptive nominee. "Suddenly, a primary day that few expected to be decisive in the Democrats' long and close contest was interpreted on all sides as a game-changer," notes the WSJ. But Clinton vowed to stay in the race and, in order to quell any doubts about her determination, she campaigned in West Virginia, where she assured reporters that she'll keep going "until there is a nominee." Her advisers also publicly dismissed the idea that there had been any discussions about dropping out. USA Today leads with Pentagon records that show how, since 2003, more than 43,000 U.S. troops were sent to Iraq or Afghanistan even though they had been deemed medically "non-deployable" in the weeks preceding their departure. This is seen as yet another example of how the military is short on troops. It's difficult to assess the gravity of the situation because the Pentagon doesn't list what the medical problems consisted of or how severe they were. A servicemember could be included in the category for simple problems, such as the need for eyeglasses or allergy medication and they might have been resolved before most deployments. But there are at least a few soldiers who had to be sent back home because their medical problems proved to be too severe for a war zone. 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 Travel & Food I'm a Vegetarian. I Am Not Silently Judging You. Style & Shopping Can the Portable Steamer Kill the Iron? News & Politics Don't Freak Out. Your Kid's Probably Not Smoking Salvia.	Advertisement
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