Barack Obama
Barack Obama
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 Obama: Let's Remake America Posted Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, at 6:35 AM ET Barack Hussein Obama took office as the 44th president of the United States yesterday and immediately vowed to "begin again the work of remaking America." It was a day of celebration in Washington and across the country as the son of a black immigrant and a white woman from Kansas moved into a White House that was partly built by slaves. USA Today says that around 1.8 million people packed Washington's National Mall to witness the nation's first nonwhite president take the oath of office. While everyone around him seemingly couldn't stop talking about the historical nature of the day, the New York Times points out that Obama made "only passing reference to his own barrier-breaking role in his 18-minute Inaugural Address," by pointing out that "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." For a man who catapulted into political royalty in large part thanks to his powerful speeches, Obama's inaugural address was "notable for its sober tone as much as its soaring rhetoric," observes the Washington Post. Indeed, throughout the address, Obama "leavened idealism with realism," as the Wall Street Journal puts it, and outlined the challenges that the country faces in what he called "this winter of our hardship." The Los Angeles Times notes that while there was lots of talk of the troubles ahead, "the heart of Obama's first address to the nation as its president was a rejection of the policies and values of his immediate predecessors." 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 Obama Wore "Bullet-Resistant Clothing." What's That? The Red-Hot Stars of Lesbian Romance Novels: Secret Service Agents Why Microsoft Should Buy Palm Instead of Yahoo | Advertisement  |
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