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 Life is Not Worth Losing ByDaniel Politi Posted Monday, June 23, 2008, at 6:18 AM ET The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with Zimbabwe's opposition leader announcing that he would pull out of the presidential runoff election scheduled for Friday due to the rising levels of violence. Morgan Tsvangirai said he could no longer ask his supporters to risk their lives "for the sake of power." Violence has been escalating as President Robert Mugabe's supporters have been stepping up their efforts to kill and intimidate opposition activists under the ruling party's new slogan: "WW ? Win or War." The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says that at least 86 of its supporters have been killed and thousands more have been injured. "We will not be part of that war," Tsvangirai said. USA Today leads with word that there's been an almost 90 percent decrease in deaths caused by roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. Military leaders say this is due to a variety of factors, including new armored vehicles, more assistance from Iraqi security forces, and enhanced methods of surveillance. The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at how Barack Obama wants to get a record number of black voters to go to the polls in November as part of his strategy to win five key battleground states. Aides have identified "a gold mine" of new voters and will target them with the help of Obama's deep pockets and sophisticated techniques that were critical to Bush's victories in several crucial swing states. But strategists insist he has to play a delicate balancing act in order to avoid the appearance that he's "exploiting race or running solely as a black candidate," which could hurt his chances with white, working-class voters who didn't support him in the primaries. 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 Arts & Life Campfire Singalongs With the Jonas Brothers Business & Technology Speak English, Stupid Computer! Arts & Life Help! My Friend Had an Affair With My Late Husband.	Advertisement
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