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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Politics News & Analysis Monday, Dec. 1, 2008

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Transition 2008

Obama Poised to Name Hillary Clinton to State Post (By Michael D Shear)

Senate Could Give New President Early Legislative Victories (By Paul Kane)

Labor Dept. Accused of Straying From Enforcement (By Michael A. Fletcher)

Biden Taps Advisers For Key Positions (Associated Press)

The Trail

• Obama Transition Statement on Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai
• Obama Volunteers at a Chicago Food Bank
• The Moral? Be Nice

The Fix by Chris Cillizza

• FixCam Day in Preview: Barack and Hillary Together Again!
• Fix Pick: Being Bobby Jindal
• Bill Clinton Will Release Identity of Donors

Capitol Briefing by Ben Pershing

• Lieberman Contributed to GOP Senate, House Candidates
• Who Will Lead House Oversight and Government Reform?
• Waxman's Win Marks Seismic Shift in House

The Sleuth by Mary Ann Akers

• Out for Obama: Gay Rights Group Plans Mega Inaugural Shindig
• Congressman Dingell Hospitalized
• Obama's Inaugural Committee Plots the Celebration

More Political Headlines

Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security (By Spencer S. Hsu and Ann Scott Tyson)

Defense Department Sustains Focus On 'War of Ideas' in Anti-Terrorism Efforts (By Walter Pincus)

Capitol Visitor Center Puts Out Welcome Mat (By Ashley Halsey III)

Best of the Web >

Today's top political news and commentary:

Messages from a Massacre (Ralph Peters, New York Post)

Clinton's Test: How She'll Work with Obama (Susan Page, USA Today)

Is Obama a Secret Centrist? (Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard)

Don't Worry About Large Deficits (Paul Krugman, New York Times)

How Do We Start Growing Again? (John Tamny, Forbes)

Campaign 2008: The Presidential Field >

The Candidates

Bios and full Post coverage of the 2008 candidates.

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Campaign Issues

Track media coverage of the candidates talking about issues.

Opinions

Obama's Economic Choice (By Robert J. Samuelson)

Live Discussions

Post Politics Hour with Ben Pershing (11 a.m. ET)

Media BackTalk with Howard Kurtz (Noon ET)

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" The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. Obama also met with a group of Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election. In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya. Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production. US$24.8 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the primaries, the highest of any 2008 presidential candidate. Obama spoke out in June 2006 against making recent, temporary estate tax cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses.

The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. "During his first year as a U.S. senator, in a move more typically taken after several years of holding high political office, Obama established a leadership political action committee, Hopefund, for channeling financial support to Democratic candidates.