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 Blago: I'm Still the Decider By Daniel Politi
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, at 6:26 AM ET The New York Times and Los Angeles Times lead with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's surprise announcement that he has selected former state attorney general Roland W. Burris to to take the Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama, which he has been accused of trying to sell. Blagojevich defied Senate leaders, who have said they would refuse to admit anyone who is appointed by the governor, and said he had no choice in the matter because the state's lawmakers had refused to approve a special election. The Washington Post leads with Israel saying that it was willing to consider a 48-hour cease-fire of its air assault on the Gaza Strip. It marked the first time that Israeli leaders have publicly said they were considering pausing their offensive, and came at a time when Israel is facing growing international pressure to halt the attacks. Early morning wire reports reveal that Israeli leaders decided to continue the aerial assault for a fifth day but emphasized that they are still discussing cease-fire proposals. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with word that Pakistan's investigation into the Mumbai attacks has found "substantive links" to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group that its spy agency supported for many years. As the year comes to an end, USA Today leads with a look at how 2008 had the lowest combined total of US troop deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq of any year since the Iraq war began in in 2003. To continue reading, click here. Daniel Politi writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com.
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