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 Exit Stage Left By Lydia DePillis Posted Sunday, June 8, 2008, at 5:21 AM ET The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post all lead with Sen. Hillary Clinton's concession and solid endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy for president. In what the NYT calls a "dramatic" and even "theatrical" 28-minute speech yesterday in Washington, she both painted her campaign into the arc of feminist history and exhorted her supporters to throw their weight behind the presumptive nominee, transitioning the campaign into full-on general election mode. Widely hailed as a graceful exit from an increasingly ungraceful campaign--the Post's Dana Milbank pronounced that "the last speech of her campaign was also her best"--Clinton's concession may also mark the high point of "what went wrong" analysis. In a long retrospective that reads more like an obituary, the NYT tells the story of her fall with a few choice quotes from major players. "In the last three months, she just relaxed and let it rip," said Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. "She became almost a Hubert Humphrey, a happy warrior, and people responded to it." Back in the op-ed pages, the paper also features 12 experts on the subject, from Mark Penn (we ran out of money!) to Christine Todd Whitman (it's because she was a woman!) to Bob Kerrey (she should have run in Illinois!). The LAT reminds us, however, that this isn't the last time we'll be hearing from Hillary: while Clinton suspended her campaign, she did not formally terminate her candidacy, allowing her to keep fundraising to pay off debts and keep her delegates, which should ensure her a prominent spot in Denver. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. 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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Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill that caps troop levels in Iraq at January 10, 2007 levels, begins phased redeployment on May 1, 2007, and removes all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s.

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. While in Israel, Obama met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production.

The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. In early May 2007, the U.S. Secret Service announced that Obama had been placed under their protection. 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.