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 Independent Lens By Daniel Politi Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 6:32 AM ET The Washington Post leads with a new poll that shows Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are running even among political independents. McCain has a clear lead among this crucial group of voters on dealing with terrorism while Obama is seen as better equipped to handle a variety of domestic issues. The two presumptive nominees are pretty much evenly split on who would be better on Iraq. Overall, Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 42 percent among all adults and 49 percent to 45 percent among registered voters. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with some new details on Obama's economic plans, which the candidate revealed in an interview with the paper. The New York Times leads with an interesting look at how the tables have turned in relations between China and the United States. It wasn't so long ago that U.S. officials were busy criticizing China for its economic policies, but now Chinese officials are doling out the criticism and saying that American officials should spend more time fixing problems in their own back yard before trying to implement changes in an economy that has continued to grow at a strong pace. USA Today leads with word that companies from Europe and Asia are starting to invest more heavily in Iraq than those from the United States now that the security situation has improved. Some say U.S. companies could lose out on early opportunities if they don't step up efforts to do business with the war-ravaged country. The Pentagon official who is in charge of efforts to rebuild the Iraqi economy says "it's ironic" that "the people who are getting in on the ground floor are not American." The Los Angeles Times leads with new data that suggests rising gas prices might be affecting the housing market. Home prices in Southern California dropped 27 percent in May from a year ago, and the plunge was even greater in far-out suburbs. Analysts say the housing market in the so-called exurbs might never fully recover, as people are increasingly reluctant to move far away from their jobs because of increasing commuting costs. 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 Jack Shafer on the Canonization of Saint Russert Business & Tech Luxurious Exfoliating Beads That Unfortunately Kill Aquatic Life Arts & Life Sorry, You Can't Write Off Coldplay Just Yet	Advertisement
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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. Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. Boosted by increased national standing, he went on to win election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a landslide 70% of the vote in an election year marked by Republican gains. He flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya. The family moved from their Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a nearby US$1.6-million home in 2005. " He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known. Among his major accomplishments as a state legislator, Obama's U.S. Senate web site lists: "creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit"; "an expansion of early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.

Lugar and Obama inspected a Nunn-Lugar program-supported nuclear warhead destruction facility at Saratov, in southern European Russia. Addressing the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in November 2006, Obama called for a phased withdrawal of troops and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Iraq's neighbors, Syria and Iran. 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. "Obama's rapid rise from Illinois state legislator to U.S. Hopefund gave US$374,000 to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle, making it one of the top donors to federal candidates for the year.

Obama spoke out in June 2006 against making recent, temporary estate tax cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses. Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations. Partnering first with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. " Reviewer Michael Tomasky writes that it does not contain "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness," but does show Obama's potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans. Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.