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 Shape of Things to Come By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, at 6:23 AM ET The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal all lead with President-elect Barack Obama moving full-speed ahead in putting together his White House team. After Tuesday's sweeping victory--349 electoral votes to John McCain's 162, with two states still too close to call--Obama woke up at home in Chicago, had breakfast with his family, and spent most of the day behind closed doors having discussions with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, campaign advisers, and the leaders of his transition team. To no one's surprise, he offered the key job of White House chief of staff to Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois. Yesterday was a day of jubilation for many, not just inside the country but also around the world. There was perhaps no other country outside the United States that celebrated as much as Kenya, where the prime minister declared Thursday a national holiday. Even Republican leaders rushed to recognize the historic moment. "As an African-American, I am especially proud ... yesterday was obviously an extraordinary step forward," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a surprise appearance at her department's daily briefing. President Bush called Obama's election "uplifting" and vowed that he would do everything possible to make it a smooth transition. "It will be a stirring sight to watch President Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House," Bush said. "I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many have awaited so long." 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 Can the GOP Be Saved? Top Conservatives Debate. How Obama's Race Won Him the Election You Had a Gay Marriage in California. Are You Still Married?	Advertisement
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" The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. " He joined with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in strengthening restrictions on travel in corporate jets to S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority. Obama joined Charles Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections. While in Israel, Obama met with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind. " Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook.

Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill that caps troop levels in Iraq at January 10, 2007 levels, begins phased redeployment on May 1, 2007, and removes all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. " Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people. But in a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," former Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "establishment" commentators to get "down from your tippy toes" and avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. In a public gesture aimed to encourage more Kenyans to undergo voluntary HIV testing, Obama and his wife took HIV tests at a Kenyan clinic.

" But in an October 2006 article titled "Obama: Black Like Me," British columnist Gary Younge describes Obama as "a black man who does not scare white people. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher. 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. I'm opposed to dumb wars.