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 Can Take It With You By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, May 29, 2008, at 6:14 AM ET The New York Times leads with news that New York will begin to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in another state or country. Gov. David Paterson directed state agencies earlier this month to begin revising policies and regulations so the change can take effect. Gay married couples "should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union," the governor's legal counsel wrote in a memo sent to state agencies. USA Today leads with Dow Chemical's announcement that it will increase prices by as much as 20 percent. This marked the latest in a series of price boosts by big companies and is leading to concern that higher energy and food prices will spark "a full-blown episode of inflation." The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at the Democratic Party's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting that will take place on Saturday to try to determine whether the delegates from Michigan and Florida will be seated at the convention in August. Many have been lobbying the "obscure panel of 30 party insiders" who are used to working behind the scenes but lately have been receiving hundreds of e-mails from supporters of both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with the Chinese government declaring that its response to the earthquake has been a success and saying that the country would be ready to carry out its duties as host of the Olympics. Almost 20,000 people are still officially missing from the earthquake that killed 68,000. The Washington Post leads with a look at how grass-roots organizations, as well as groups of private citizens, have been providing much-needed aid and relief work to help the survivors of the earthquake. The Communist government, which normally keeps close track of nongovernmental organizations and requires them to register, is standing aside and letting these private citizens help. 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 Business & Tech Which Stocks Will Go Up If Obama Wins? No One Knows. Arts & Life The Sad Fate of Lindsay Lohan's Little Sister News & Politics Lift the Gag Order on Frank Rich	Advertisement
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Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before the 109th Congress in 2005 and 2006, and cosponsored another 427. " Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook.

Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. "He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. In his preface to the 2004 revised edition, Obama explains that he had hoped the story of his family "might speak in some way to the fissures of race that have characterized the American experience, as well as the fluid state of identity—the leaps through time, the collision of cultures—that mark our modern life. " Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism. Obama said, "The time has come for universal health care in America Z...Z I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings. As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized for his political actions by self-described progressive commentator David Sirota, and complimented for his "Can't we all just get along?" manner by conservative columnist George Will.