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.



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slateV.com.
today's papers She's Got It By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, at 6:48 AM ET The Republican Party officially nominated John McCain to be the GOP's presidential candidate last night. But that was hardly the highlight at the Republican Convention, where delegates were "riveted less on the foregone conclusion of the roll call vote than on the national, prime-time debut of his running mate," notes USA Today. Indeed, the papers give top billing to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was catapulted to the national political stage last week and has been dealing with a rocky coming-out party. The controversies that have surrounded her selection meant that Palin's speech last night "had much higher stakes than the typical vice-presidential convention speech," the Wall Street Journal points out. At least inside St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, Palin was (surprise!) a hit. "Palin's appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job," says the New York Times. As expected, Palin spent a significant portion of her speech expanding on her biography, but she also wasn't shy about taking on the traditional role of a vice-presidential candidate and attacking Barack Obama. The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post highlight her attacks on the Democratic presidential nominee and come up with virtually identical headlines: "Palin Comes Out Fighting" (WP) and "Palin Comes Out Swinging" (LAT). 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 Suspicious Edits to the Candidates' Web Pages News & Politics How Sarah Palin Is Like Michelle Obama Health & Science Are Mechanical Pencils Greener Than Old-Fashioned Wooden Ones?	Advertisement
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here. Copyright 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \|1515 N. Courthouse Rd. \| Arlington, VA 22201