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 Time To Panic? By Daniel Politi Posted Monday, June 9, 2008, at 6:36 AM ET The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at how analysts will be keeping a close eye on this week's economic reports for hints about the state of the U.S. economy after Friday's news of surging oil prices and unemployment sent stocks tumbling. Investors will be looking at the reports, including ones that will reveal data on the real estate market, inflation, and consumer confidence, to try to figure out how worried they should be about the future. "It shouldn't be a surprise that the economy is weak," one economist said. "The question now is whether it's accelerating to the downside." USA Today leads with, and the Wall Street Jouranl fronts, news that, according to AAA, the national average price of gasoline hit the $4 mark for the first time yesterday. While high gas prices are causing economic strain in household budgets across the country, those living in rural areas are being affected most by the increases, says the New York Times in its lead story. People in rural areas usually drive longer distances on vehicles that eat up more gas while making less money, which means gasoline is taking up a bigger chunk of the family budget and is competing with other necessities such as food and housing. The Washington Post leads locally but off-leads a look at the new leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. When the man known as Alfonso Cano, "a bookish communist intellectual," took over the leadership of the FARC after the recent death of its founder he inherited an organization that is struggling to survive amidst a military crackdown and mass desertions. Some think the next few weeks will see a surge in violent activity by the FARC in an effort to show that it's still relevant, but that won't change the fact that many military commanders are predicting that the revolutionary movement could soon be defeated, or at least pushed into peace talks. The WSJ plays weekend catch-up and leads its world-wide newsbox with Sen. Hillary Clinton dropping out of the presidential race and throwing her support to Sen. Barack Obama. 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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