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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Opinions Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008

Robert Bixby
Congress in a Glass House
Congress is right to insist on a long-term plan for the automobile industry. It should impose similar conditions on itself.

Sebastian Mallaby
Capitalism: The Remix
This end-of-capitalism talk is bunk, and it distracts us from the debate we should be having.

George F. Will
Obama's Jobs Lowball
To the extent that his ambition to save and create jobs is clear, it is notably modest.

Peter Fromuth
Pirates, Again
After 2,000 years it's time for a new strategy.

David S. Broder
The Danger of Holdovers
Gates and Geithner are good choices, but Obama should keep an eye on them.

Dan Froomkin's White House Watch
Rejecting the Torture Legacy
President-elect Barack Obama is under pressure today to make the cleanest possible break from Bush's interrogation policies.

Tom TOLES