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 Reality Check By Daniel Politi Posted Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008, at 6:43 AM ET USA Today leads and the Wall Street Journal banners the lukewarm reaction from the markets to the Bush administration's plan to buy an equity stake in some of the country's largest banks. On the day when the program, which President Bush described as "limited and temporary," was announced, the Dow Jones industrial average fell slightly and credit markets thawed a bit. The Washington Post leads with a look at the anger that was seeping out of community banks yesterday as executives were eager to say they don't need the help and resent the fact that the government will rescue those who made bad decisions. The reaction suggests the government will have to do some arm-twisting to convince banks to participate. Although the program is officially voluntary, Treasury officials were quick to say they won't be shy about trying to convince certain banks to apply for government money. The Los Angeles Times and New York Times both lead with inhouse presidential election polls that show Barack Obama's lead among likely voters has widened to nine percentage points and 14 percentage points, respectively. The LAT highlights that Obama's increased lead is partly due to a shift among independent voters, who used to lean heavily toward McCain but now prefer the Democratic nominee by five points. McCain's choice of running mate has something to do with this change as 31 percent of independents say they're less likely to vote for the Republican ticket because of Sarah Palin. 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 Yes, Bob Schieffer Can Make the Final Debate Interesting News & Politics Could John McCain Win New Mexico? News & Politics There's No Such Thing as the "Women's Vote"	Advertisement
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