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 The Final Countdown By Daniel Politi Posted Monday, Nov. 3, 2008, at 6:00 AM ET Take a deep breath, we're almost there. As the candidates race toward the finish line, all the papers lead with the final hours of the Longest Presidential Race in History. USA Today and the Wall Street Journal lead with new weekend polls that continue to show Barack Obama with a commanding lead. USAT gives Obama an eleven-percentage-point advantage and says his lead is widening while the WSJ puts the Democrat ahead by eight-percentage points and says his lead is tightening. The WSJ poll reports that six percent of voters remain undecided, although a third of them say they're likely to support a third-party candidate. USAT notes that at a time when a record-low 13 percent are satisfied with the country's direction, two-thirds say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting. The Washington Post leads with a look at how the candidates continued to spit out attacks yesterday, which marks a change from the usual pattern of turning positive before Election Day. The Los Angeles Times leads with the last mad dash by the candidates to try to convince undecided voters by sticking "to the basics." Obama emphasized his early opposition to the Iraq war and tied his opponent to President Bush, while John McCain focused on taxes and national security and warned supporters about the possibility that Democrats would win control of Congress as well as the White House. The New York Times leads with the frantic efforts by Congressional Republicans to prevent a Democratic sweep on Tuesday. 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 Facebook Should Be Charging Us Money. So Should Twitter. Recession Upside: You Can Finally Afford Wine at Restaurants Vote! Your Ballot Isn't as Meaningless as You Think.	Advertisement
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