Barack Obama
Barack Obama
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 Cracking the Door Posted Friday, July 25, 2008, at 6:11 AM ET The New York Times leads with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad announcing that it has expanded its program to help Iraqis who face threats because of their work for the American government obtain visas to live in the United States. Although the program was instituted at the beginning of the year, it can only start to be really implemented now that the guidelines have been finalized and more staff have been assigned to deal with the applications. USA Today leads with a look at how states stepped up efforts to inspect bridges after last year's collapse in Minneapolis that killed 13 people, but many are having trouble coming up with the billions of dollars that would be needed to make the necessary repairs. Some states have closed bridges, and others are repairing the ones that are in worst shape, but long-term planning is still falling to the wayside. "We will see more bridge collapses," a bridge engineering expert predicts. The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox leads with Barack Obama's speech in Berlin, where he spoke in front of around 200,000 people and called for improving ties between the United States and Europe. The Los Angeles Times leads locally but goes high with Barack Obama's continued troubles convincing the U.S. electorate that he should be the one sitting in the Oval Office next year. The Washington Post also leads with local news, but off-leads word that John McCain will likely announce his running mate "soon." Well, at least that's what the headline says. The story itself is a little more disappointing and notes John McCain "is weighing whether to announce" his running mate in the next few weeks. Really, it doesn't seem like he has much choice because his campaign has decided that McCain shouldn't risk being overshadowed by news from the Olympics and the Democratic convention starts the day after the summer games end. 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 Sports Stop Picking on Beijing's Olympics Mascots Arts & Life Why Are Critics Slobbering Over Mad Men? Health & Science How Hospitals Are Killing E.R. Patients | Advertisement  |
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