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 Patriot Games By Joshua Kucera Posted Tuesday, July 1, 2008, at 5:36 AM ET The Washington Post leads with a speech by Barack Obama in which the presidential candidate laid out his take on patriotism in an attempt to tackle head-on the persistent rumors that he is unpatriotic. The Los Angeles Times leads locally; its top national story is a critical look at Obama's rival, John McCain, and his record on energy issues, saying "the Arizona senator has swerved from one position to another over the years, taking often contradictory stances on the federal government's role in energy policy." The New York Times leads with the sad state of wounded Iraqi veterans. The Wall Street Journal tops its world wide newsbox with the opening of eight Iraqi oil and natural gas fields to foreign companies, including those from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Russia and China. USA Today leads with the stock market, which has lost $2.1 trillion this year, $1.4 trillion in June alone. It's also on the verge of a bear market ? a drop of 20 percent in the Dow Jones average ? although the paper also gives some perspective: that would be the 33^rd such drop since 1900. All the papers cover Obama's speech, and tie it together with the hubbub over General Wesley Clark taking a shot at McCain's military record. The Post gives the speech the most coverage, comparing it to Obama's March speech on race, which was timed to blunt the controversy around his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Obama took a historical perspective and said that presidents Jefferson and Adams had been accused of a lack of patriotism, too. "But just as Wright has not disappeared from the political landscape, no one expects the patriotism question to be quelled with one speech," the Post writes. To continue reading, click here. Joshua Kucera is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Arts & Life The Enduring Charm of Dirty Harry Arts & Life A Book That Explains How Every Place in America Got Its Name Sports The One Sport Where Doping Should Be Illegal	Advertisement
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Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. Obama left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa and Kenya, and making stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. Hopefund gave US$374,000 to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle, making it one of the top donors to federal candidates for the year. " Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people.

Partnering first with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. The first, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published after his graduation from law school and before entering politics. "During his first year as a U.S. senator, in a move more typically taken after several years of holding high political office, Obama established a leadership political action committee, Hopefund, for channeling financial support to Democratic candidates. The Rasmussen polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s.