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 Joined at the Hip By Morgan Smith Posted Saturday, July 26, 2008, at 5:24 AM ET The Washington Post leads with news that the Federal Communications Commission approved the "long-delayed merger" between Sirius and XM satellite radio companies. The merger passed after the FCC agreed the "marketplace has changed" since the companies started; satellite radio now competes with its Internet counterpart and podcasts for listeners. The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times both lead with California's passage of a law that requires trans-fats to be removed from restaurant cooking by 2010 and retail baked goods by 2011. The Wall Street Journal tops its worldwide news box with an account of Barack Obama's cozy meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during which he "appeared close to securing an endorsement" from the foreign leader. The Sirius-XM union, which detractors opposed for fear of a monopoly, won't come without stipulations, notes the WP. The companies "must cap prices for three years after joining and allow consumers to choose the channels they want and pay less for packages of channels." They will also pay a combined $19.7 million in fines because "some of their radio receivers sold to consumers and signal-boosting radio towers violated FCC technical rules." In its B-section coverage, the WSJ says the FCC member who cast the tie-breaking vote in the decision "held off on voting in favor...until she was satisfied that the enforcement part of the deal was completed." To continue reading, click here. Morgan Smith is a former Slate* intern.* Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Arts & Life If Only Aliens Would Abduct the New X-Files Movie Arts & Life A Great Horror Film About Paper Bags Arts & Life Brideshead Revisited Is Literature's Finest Schlock	Advertisement
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