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 Into the void By Ben Whitford Posted Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, at 5:34 AM ET Transition is in the air: the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the LA Times all lead with reports that Barack Obama, under pressure to fill a perceived leadership vacuum in the face of the global financial crisis, is to appoint Timothy Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as his Treasury Secretary. Obama's pick of a technocrat with a background in crisis management was welcomed by Wall Street; following reports of Geithner's selection the Dow rallied in the final hour of trading to end almost 500 points up, in a strong end to an otherwise wretched week. Today's other big story also comes courtesy of the Obama transition team: the New York Times leads, and the Post and LAT off-lead, with reports that Hillary Clinton now seems likely to accept a job as Obama's Secretary of State. Leaks suggest that the Obama camp is now confident that Clinton's nomination will not present any conflicts of interest and that - according to Clinton "confidants" - the New York senator is now willing to give up her seat and join Obama's star-studded cabinet. To continue reading, click here. Ben Whitford writes for the Guardian, Mother Jones and Newsweek. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Eric Holder Is the Right Man To Fix the Justice Department Why Do Movie Vampires Keep Changing All the Vampire Rules? 18 Million People Watch NCIS. Should You?	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

Obama encouraged "others in public life to do the same" to show "there is no shame in going for an HIV test. The Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president. In September 2006, he was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, an event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus.

He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind. Enthusiastic crowds greeted Obama's public appearances. Through the first two quarters of fundraising, Obama's campaign has received donations from a grand total of about 258,000 contributors, the most of any 2008 candidate. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. On the first day of the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, in a column published in the Washington Post, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist. " The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change.

In the same week, Zogby International reported that Obama leads all prospective Republican opponents in polling for the 2008 general election.

" Time magazine's Joe Klein wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician. Partnering first with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.