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 Counting Heads By Lydia DePillis Posted Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 6:43 AM ET The Washington Post leads with news that U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have given up trying to reach a comprehensive, long-term agreement on troop levels ? similar to what the U.S. has in place with countries like Japan and South Korea ? and are now working on a "bridge" document that will get the U.S. force through the end of 2009. The New York Times, however, tells a different side of the story: the Bush administration may withdraw troops from Iraq on a much more advanced timetable than previously expected, reflecting concern over rising violence in Afghanistan and the potential need for "other missions" (one guess where that might be). The Los Angeles Times leads with an analysis using Barack Obama and John McCain's similarity on a smattering of issues to illustrate a broader trend towards the middle that distinguishes this election from the polarization of 2000 and 2004. The Post's story explains that shifting away from troop level negotiations takes the pressure off Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki from powerful critics who suspect Maliki of giving away Iraqi sovereignty. Regardless, it had started to look like the two countries couldn't hammer out an agreement before the Iraqi parliamentary recess begins at the end of the month, and so negotiators are scrambling for some way to arrange for U.S. troops to stay in the country at some level after their United Nations mandate expires on December 31. The NYT ? which must have been talking to different senior administration officials ? finds that between one and three of the 15 remaining combat brigades could be gone by the time President Bush leaves office in January, leaving between 120,000 and 130,000 troops on the ground. In addition to its anonymous source, the paper quotes Defense Secretary Robert Gates praising the combat-readiness of Iraqi security forces, directly contradicting the pleas of provincial officials back on A8 who say that their soldiers are not ready to police the area without American help. If it's true, a faster drawdown would fall into the McCain column, serving to defuse anti-war sentiment and support the argument that the administration's Iraq strategy is working. 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 Arts & Life New Houdini Movie Narrowly Escapes Being Good Arts & Life Generation Kill: Even More Depressing Than The Wire Sports High-School Basketball Players Fleeing to Europe!	Advertisement
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