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 Kiss and Make Up By Jesse Stanchak Posted Sunday, May 18, 2008, at 7:21 AM ET The Washington Post leads with word that some Obama and Clinton supporters are preparing to coalesce into a single campaign focused on November. The New York Times leads with the sharp rise in sectarian violence in Lebanon, fueled by a recent Hezbollah takeover of Beirut. The Los Angeles Times leads with a profile of the judge who led California's Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriages. Even if voters are still hopelessly torn between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, campaign staffers are quietly preparing for the day when one of the candidates steps aside. Staffers and fundraisers in both camps are looking for ways to integrate and begin uniting the party behind a single candidate. There obstacles to this, of course. Sources say strategists who backed Clinton may be sullen in defeat and those who backed Obama may be reluctant to share coveted spots on the winning team. And yes, the WP just assumes that Obama will be the nominee, but that's hardly atypical anymore. Heck, the paper also reports that Obama has already started referring to the Clinton campaign in the past tense. To continue reading, click here. Jesse Stanchak is an assistant documents editor at Congressional Quarterly. He covers elections in Oregon and Idaho for CQpolitics.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Arts & Life The Thrillingly Weird Art of Philip Guston Business & Tech Why Smokers Are Happier When Cigarettes Are Expensive Arts & Life How a Formidable Bach Piece Became a Classical- Music Sensation	Advertisement
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