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 Road Kill Posted Monday, July 21, 2008, at 6:26 AM ET The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at how the rising price of gasoline is cutting into the money available for highway projects. People driving less and buying more fuel-efficient vehicles means the government gets less money from the federal gasoline tax, which is tied to gallons sold rather than total amount of money spent. The Washington Post's lead notes that despite a stepped up effort to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, workers are still being arrested in much higher numbers than supervisors and executives. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox, and the LAT off-leads, Barack Obama's meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. The presumptive Democratic nominee said more military resources need to be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan, which he described as the "central front on our battle against terrorism." USA Today leads with a new study that says confusing ballots continue to be a problem in the run-up to the November elections. Although billions have been spent in overhauling voting systems, not enough attention has been paid to ballot design, which could lead to lots of confusion at the polls, particularly if the predicted influx of new voters materializes. The New York Times' lead notes that ballot design is just one of the problems these new voters could face as many will also encounter new voting technology that might not work exactly as planned. At least 11 states will use new voting equipment in November and election officials are so worried about possible malfunctions that several states are planning to order lots of backup paper ballots just in case. While more poll workers could help alleviate the problems and confusion, several states say they simply don't have the money to hire everyone they need. 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 News & Politics One-Armed Vegetarian Live-In Boyfriends: The Soccer Moms of 2008! News & Politics How Can a Dog Be a "Sworn Police Officer"? Arts & Life Generation Kill Is Insanely Accurate About the Iraq War | Advertisement  |
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