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 Bailout, With Strings Attached By Joshua Kucera Posted Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, at 5:56 AM ET The two biggest stories in the papers continue to be the U.S.'s economic crisis and the fallout from the terror attacks in Mumbai, with attention increasingly focused on Pakistan. The Washington Post leads with progress made on an auto industry bailout; Democrats are advancing a new plan that would loan $15 billion to automakers while taking broad authority to manage the companies' operations. The Los Angeles Times leads with Barack Obama saying that the country's economic woes "are going to get worse before they get better" and supporting the Democrats' bailout plan. The New York Times leads with U.S. counterterrorism officials taking a closer look at the group behind the Mumbai attacks, which has links both to Pakistan's intelligence service and to al Qaeda. The Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox with a catchall of Pakistan news, including an attack on a transportation depot in northwestern Pakistan that resulted in the destruction of "scores" of vehicles taking supplies to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. USA Today leads with an interview with the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, who says he needs nearly double the number of troops over several years to stabilize the country. To continue reading, click here. Joshua Kucera is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Coffee in the Shower and Other Time-Saving Tips From *Slate* Readers A Smarter Way for Liberals To Use Amicus Briefs Do Amnesiacs Remember That They Have Amnesia?	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