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 All Over the Map By Daniel Politi Posted Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008, at 6:26 AM ET The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at how the two presidential campaigns are approaching the final stretch of the contest in markedly different ways. While Barack Obama is devoting lots of time and resources to traditionally Republican states, John McCain is sticking to the more obvious battlegrounds from past elections. The Washington Post leads with a new national poll that shows Americans are pretty much evenly split on who they want sitting in the Oval Office next year. As yesterday's USAT poll noted, McCain seems to have gained a sizable post-convention bump not only in the number of people who are excited about his candidacy but also in the percentage of voters who think he's better suited to handle economic issues. The WP points out that much of McCain's gains comes from white women, who tilted slightly toward Obama before the Republican convention but now favor McCain by 12 points. The New York Times leads news that a British jury convicted three men of conspiracy to commit murder but couldn't decide whether any of the defendants were guilty of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic flights with liquid explosives in 2006. The failure to convict was an embarrassing blow to counterterrorism officials on both sides of the Atlantic, who had used plenty of superlatives to describe the plot as potentially the deadliest act of terrorism since Sept. 11. Prosecutors said they might call for a retrial. USA Today leads with a look at how many states' unemployment insurance trust funds are running low at a time of rising joblessness. Several states will probably need federal help in the near future to cover weekly unemployment payments, which would likely lead to higher unemployment insurance taxes for businesses. The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox leads with news that President Bush will announce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will increase by approximately 4,500 troops while around 8,000 military personnel will be withdrawn from Iraq by February. The move amounts to an endorsement of a compromise plan that was presented by top Pentagon leaders last week. 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 Arts & Life Slate Audio Book Club: The Racy Laura Bush Novel Health & Science Is Organic Farming Polluting Our Food With Heavy Metals? News & Politics The Hottest Rhetorical Device of the 2008 Campaign	Advertisement
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