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
Palin Comparison
By Barron YoungSmith Posted Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, at 6:25 AM ET
All the papers lead with John McCain's surprise selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin for his running mate. He shocked election-watchers and scrambled the presidential race with a "Hail Mary pass"--eschewing more conventional choices for the inexperienced, socially conservative, corruption-fighting "hockey mom." Appearing together in Ohio, McCain lauded her reform credentials, while Palin framed her candidacy as an extension of Hillary Clinton's quest to "shatter [the] glass ceiling."
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal call it a risky play to revitalize John McCain's "maverick" image. Choosing Palin undercuts the argument that Barack Obama is too inexperienced, raising questions about John McCain's age and judgment. But it could pay off: Palin--an NRA member and staunch pro-lifer--is energizing evangelicals and tempting Hillary Clinton voters to defect. An LATanalysis piece worries it's a sign that McCain relies on short-sighted "gut-checks," while an early version of the WSJ lead called it a "calculated bet." It's likely a bit of both--McCain's a high-stakes gambler who knows the odds.
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He was overwhelmingly reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004, following his election to the U.S. Senate.
Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances.
A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.
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.
He was overwhelmingly reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004, following his election to the U.S. Senate.
US$24.8 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the primaries, the highest of any 2008 presidential candidate.
Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind.
"I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.
" Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people.
55 million for candidates he supports and his own 2010 re-election fund.
An October 2005 article in the British journal New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world.
S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.
Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production.
"In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there.
The speech touched off a public debate among rival leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.
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.
On the first day of the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, in a column published in the Washington Post, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist.
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
Fight Night
By Daniel Politi Posted Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, at 6:00 AM ET
The papers lead with Barack Obama accepting the nomination for president last night in front of more than 84,000 people at a packed outdoor football stadium. When Obama walked on stage, the "cheering went on for several minutes; the stadium erupted with hundreds of camera flashes and shuddered from the concussion of thousands of stamping feet," notes the Wall Street Journal.USA Todaysays the Democratic convention ended "with a display of fireworks and pageantry worthy of an Olympic opening."
Everyone makes a point of emphasizing that Obama's address was much more critical of John McCain than his usual speeches. It "was less lofty than his earlier rhetorical forays, more specific on the policies he would pursue as president and more scathing toward McCain," the Washington Postsummarizes. The Los Angeles Timesagrees and says it "was more sharply worded than his usual lyrical prose." The New York Timesnotes that Obama "went so far as to attack the presumed strength of Mr. McCain's campaign, national security."
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Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings.
" Reviewing Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the Washington Post noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on ethics and health care reform.
" Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism.
In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth entitled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park.
Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances.
He married in 1992 and has two daughters.
They know we can do better.
Questioning the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War, Obama spoke of an enlisted Marine, Corporal Seamus Ahern from East Moline, Illinois, asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?" He continued: When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.
On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive.
The New York Times described Obama as "the prize catch of the midterm campaign" because of his campaigning for fellow Democratic Party members running for election in the 2006 midterm elections.
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.
In Ukraine, they toured a disease control and prevention facility and witnessed the signing of a bilateral pact to secure biological pathogens and combat risks of infectious disease outbreaks from natural causes or bioterrorism.
" Reviewing Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the Washington Post noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on ethics and health care reform.
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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News Alert 10:22 p.m. ET Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama Accepts Democratic Nomination Sen. Barack Obama accepts Democratic presidential nomination at national convention. Obama declares that America is "better than these last eight years" and vigorously defends his party's ability to protect the country from threats foreign and domestic.
" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.
He is a member of the Senate committees on Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs; and the Congressional Black Caucus.
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park.
" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.
Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player.
Obama encouraged "others in public life to do the same" to show "there is no shame in going for an HIV test.
In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family.
" He completed his J.D. degree magna cum laude in 1991.
Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 House Divided speech, Obama said: "That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.
Beginning in 2005, he co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Obama also met with a group of Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election.
His first bill was the "Higher Education Opportunity through Pell Grant Expansion Act.
Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances.
" Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people.
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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Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections.
In early May 2007, the U.S. Secret Service announced that Obama had been placed under their protection.
Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.
His first bill was the "Higher Education Opportunity through Pell Grant Expansion Act.
Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator.
Beginning in 2005, he co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
The donations came from 104,000 individual donors, with US$6.9 million raised through the Internet from 50,000 of the donors.
In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur.
In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%.
The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.
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
Making it Official
By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, at 6:17 AM ET
The papers all lead with Barack Obama officially becoming the first African American presidential nominee of a major party. USA Todaymakes the point directly in its banner headline: "A Night for History," which is a theme that is echoed in all the papers. In a carefully choreographed event that was the result of weeks of negotiations, Sen. Hillary Clinton stepped up to the microphone as her home state of New York was called upon to cast its votes. Clinton then moved to suspend the roll call and nominate Obama by acclamation "in the spirit of unity." The Washington Postpoints out that Clinton's "gesture of conciliation brought to a conclusion the closest and hardest-fought nomination battle Democrats have waged in the modern era of presidential politics." And the crowd went wild. "With the tension released, the scene inside the Pepsi Center was like an end-of-semester party," notes the Los Angeles Times. "Delegates whooped, embraced and danced in the aisles."
Despite all the careful planning, the New York Timespoints out that Democrats weren't eager to draw "attention to the lingering resentments between Clinton and Obama delegates" and it was the "first time in at least 50 years that Democrats have not scheduled their roll call on prime-time television." In the end, there wasn't much reason to worry. As the Wall Street Journal highlights, "most, but not all, of Sen. Clinton's loyal supporters already were following her example" and casting their votes for Obama before the former first lady ended the roll call. Even former President Bill Clinton's home state of Arkansas cast most of its votes for Obama.
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" In an October 2006 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said.
In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.
Obama traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan in August 2005 with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.
Obama said, "The time has come for universal health care in America Z...Z I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country.
"President Bush signs the "Coburn-Obama" Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases.
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.
He entered Harvard Law School in 1988.
Lugar and Obama inspected a Nunn-Lugar program-supported nuclear warhead destruction facility at Saratov, in southern European Russia.
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 candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S.
He was overwhelmingly reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004, following his election to the U.S. Senate.
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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New Feature PostPartisan Read the latest opinions on the conventions by The Post's columnists and editorial writers.
David S. Broder Women at Center Stage Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have set the tone for the coming campaign.
Ruth Marcus Obama's Feel-Your-Pain Moment He needs to find a way to convey a sense of identification with voters without seeming phony.
George F. Will The Devils in His Details When Obama descends from soaring rhetoric to practicalities, he runs into trouble.
Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott 7 Years to Climate Midnight That's how long we may have to start reducing the annual buildup in greenhouse gas emissions.
In early May 2007, the U.S. Secret Service announced that Obama had been placed under their protection.
Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed.
Obama has divested US$180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and he has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas).
You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.
Obama said, "The time has come for universal health care in America Z...Z I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country.
" Film critic David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 Los Angeles Times article, compares the cultural sources of candidate Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "magical negro" roles played by black actors in Hollywood movies.
Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized for his political actions by self-described progressive commentator David Sirota, and complimented for his "Can't we all just get along?" manner by conservative columnist George Will.
55 million for candidates he supports and his own 2010 re-election fund.
It was an immediate bestseller and remains on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.
He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation.
I can say what I want without censorship or without having to pay a special charge.
Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind.
Obama spoke out in June 2006 against making recent, temporary estate tax cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses.
"I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.
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![[The Presidential Field]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tz2vfWRjJ-yOy00YrTPujCAy1cyjGJ0k5-0LXE9OsamsDgcDcwNx2JlFc-X3-8qzo4VIkLg2KCxBdMqSnx-AHaNtoNjBbQ3wdyNfDU0zzfcH-Yt8z-RDx2BV4TF4GOOmireuAdyCN6oik7dzgzJBblGfA0wGj__fo=s0-d)
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