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 Stand by the Man By Daniel Politi Posted Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008, at 6:54 AM ET The papers lead with Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention yesterday. All the recent talk of how many Clinton supporters don't want to support Barack Obama meant that "the former first lady's address was the most highly anticipated of the convention, short of Obama's acceptance speech," notes the Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal flatly declares that her speech "was arguably as vital to the party's hopes for winning the White House" as Obama's address. And in the speech that USA Today says "could serve as a benediction to her 2008 presidential campaign," Clinton didn't waste any time telling her supporters that they should stand behind Obama. "Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," she said. "We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines." The Los Angeles Times is quick to deliver a positive assessment and declares that Clinton accepted "defeat with grace and generosity." The New York Times, on the other hand, is just as quick to see a more sinister side to Clinton's actions declaring that she "took steps on Tuesday--deliberate steps, aides said--to keep the door open to a future bid for the presidency." Her aides apparently weren't eager to receive input from Obama's people on the content of the speech and "did not even provide a final draft to the Obama campaign well in advance of delivery, working on it until the last minute." But in her speech the former first lady mostly stuck to her No. 1 task of declaring her support for Obama "and she betrayed none of the anger and disappointment that she still feels." 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 Shafer: Why Can't the Conventions Be More Like the Olympics? News & Politics Throw a Killer Party Without Breaking Congressional Ethics Rules Health & Science Is It Better To Buy a New Green Dishwasher or Just Keep My Old One?	Advertisement
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