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 Europe's Turn By Daniel Politi Posted Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at 6:33 AM ET The New York Times leads with, and the Wall Street Journal fronts, a look at how European governments are taking steps to prevent major banks from going under while also trying to prevent panic from spreading by boosting insurance levels on private accounts. What at first looked like a problem that was limited to American mortgage-backed securities has now expanded (this may sound familiar) as European banks are growing more reluctant to lend to one another. And while there's little question that they take the problem seriously, the WSJ points out that yesterday's "frantic and disparate moves raise questions about whether European governments, regulators and bankers have a comprehensive approach to addressing the deepening financial crisis." The crisis is making it clear that while their economies may be integrated, there are still deep division between European governments. Today marks the deadline for voter registration in many states and the Washington Post and USA Today use that timely hook to take a fresh look at how Democrats have been far more successful at registering new voters, which could be critical to Barack Obama's success in November. The Los Angeles Times leads with a local focus on the news that Countrywide Financial has agreed to what is almost certainly the "largest predatory-lending settlement in history." The deal could provide as much as $8.7 billion in relief to 400,000 borrowers, most of whom might see reductions in their interest rates and principal. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with a look at the small, but crucial, minority of voters who say they are still undecided, or who may only be leaning toward one candidate. Some of them are voters who chose President Bush in the last two elections but are unhappy with his presidency. As hard as it may be for news junkies to believe, many of these voters say they don't feel like they have enough information about the candidates, especially Obama, to make a decision. 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 Business & Technology NuvaRing Makes Birth Control Fun! Business & Technology MySpace Music: Millions of Songs for Free, and It Still Stinks Arts & Life Is This Finally the End of the Star Wars Universe?	Advertisement
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