Saturday, February 28, 2009

During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose officials cited his "longtime support of gun control measures and his willingness to negotiate compromises," despite his support for some bills the police union had opposed.

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 It's a Numbers Game, and Nobody's Winning By Lydia DePillis Posted Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at 5:12 AM ET The New York Times and Wall Street Journal lead with the latest numbers out from the Commerce Department--which douse any hopes one might have harbored for a near-term recovery--and their implications for a stimulus plan that relies on much rosier projections. The Los Angeles Times leads with the local angle on the fiasco; California's unemployment rate topped 10 percent in January, well over the national average of 7.6 percent. The Washington Post leads (and ends) with President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has a date: August 2010, with a third of current troop levels to remain in place through 2011. Although faster than what the generals had planned pre-election, it's a more cautious timeline than Obama had laid out on the campaign trail; the paper contrasts his strategy of "risk management" and "mitigation" with what it called "breathtakingly bold" action on the economic stimulus. Still, aside from some disappointment on the left, the plan--which got no cover treatment from the NYT--drew broad acceptance, with Republicans pointing towards the surge as what may allow for a successful withdrawal of troops. According to the Post, they will be missed. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Obamas and the Great American Tradition of Church Shopping Is It Legal To Send Blood Through the Mail? The Obamas Should Name Their Dog "Government"	Advertisement
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" During his first two and a half years in the Senate, Obama received Honorary Doctorates of Law from Knox College, University of Massachusetts Boston, Northwestern University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern New Hampshire University. But I've got news for them too. " Reviewing Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the Washington Post noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on ethics and health care reform. " In December 2006, Obama joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren. Obama began podcasting from his U.S. Senate web site in late 2005. " Entered in fulfillment of a campaign promise, the bill proposed increasing the maximum amount of Pell Grant awards to help students from lower income families pay their college tuitions. As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S. " An Italian translation was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome, and a Spanish paperback edition was published in June 2007. Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War. In Ukraine, they toured a disease control and prevention facility and witnessed the signing of a bilateral pact to secure biological pathogens and combat risks of infectious disease outbreaks from natural causes or bioterrorism. The Rasmussen polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. " Time magazine's Joe Klein wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician. Through the first two quarters of fundraising, Obama's campaign has received donations from a grand total of about 258,000 contributors, the most of any 2008 candidate.

They know we can do better.

Barack Obama

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today's papers It's a Numbers Game, and Nobody's Winning By Lydia DePillis Posted Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at 5:12 AM ET The New York Times and Wall Street Journal lead with the latest numbers out from the Commerce Department--which douse any hopes one might have harbored for a near-term recovery--and their implications for a stimulus plan that relies on much rosier projections. The Los Angeles Times leads with the local angle on the fiasco; California's unemployment rate topped 10 percent in January, well over the national average of 7.6 percent. The Washington Post leads (and ends) with President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has a date: August 2010, with a third of current troop levels to remain in place through 2011. Although faster than what the generals had planned pre-election, it's a more cautious timeline than Obama had laid out on the campaign trail; the paper contrasts his strategy of "risk management" and "mitigation" with what it called "breathtakingly bold" action on the economic stimulus. Still, aside from some disappointment on the left, the plan--which got no cover treatment from the NYT--drew broad acceptance, with Republicans pointing towards the surge as what may allow for a successful withdrawal of troops. According to the Post, they will be missed. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Obamas and the Great American Tradition of Church Shopping Is It Legal To Send Blood Through the Mail? The Obamas Should Name Their Dog "Government"	Advertisement
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" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful. "President Bush signs the "Coburn-Obama" Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004. In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya.

The Rasmussen polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. " Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook. Obama later added three amendments to S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act," sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation. He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth entitled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes. He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation. "Obama has authored two bestselling books.

On the role of government in economic affairs, Obama has written: "we should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and upward mobility Z...Z we should be guided by what works. 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. In her January 2007 Salon article asserting that Obama "isn't black," columnist Debra Dickerson writes: "lumping us all together Zwith ObamaZ erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

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.

Barack Obama

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today's papers Barack The Knife By Roger McShane Posted Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at 6:03 AM ET The New York Times and Los Angeles Times lead with Barack Obama's first budget and his plan to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term. All of the papers note that the reduction will come primarily from higher taxes on the wealthy and lower spending in Iraq. While the Washington Post fronts the Obama plan, it chooses to lead with the more sensational news of a possible arrest in the eight-year-old murder case of Chandra Levy. The Post has long been infatuated with the Levy case, describing it as "one of the most famous unsolved homicide cases in Washington history." The WP and LAT call the president's first budget "ambitious." Obama hopes to use the plan to make progress on health-care reform and move toward a cap-and-trade system for energy use. But the effort to "cut" (LAT), "slash" (NYT) or merely "trim" (WP) the deficit grabs the headlines. To do this, Obama will let most of George Bush's tax cuts expire in 2011 for those making over $250,000. The Post alone adds a touch of skepticism, noting that some "question the wisdom of announcing a plan to raise taxes in the midst of a recession." On Iraq, Obama had previously expected to save $90 billion a year by withdrawing combat troops. But the NYT says "it is not clear how much any savings would be offset by increased spending in Afghanistan." The full details of the budget won't be released until April. To continue reading, click here. Roger McShane writes for the Economist online. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate How the Recession Is Crushing American Marriages Is It Obama's Fault the Dow Is Tanking? Fashion Designers Battle Recession With Shoulder Pads	Advertisement
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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.

Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. The donations came from 104,000 individual donors, with US$6.9 million raised through the Internet from 50,000 of the donors. Obama began podcasting from his U.S. Senate web site in late 2005. Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. "He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. In a public gesture aimed to encourage more Kenyans to undergo voluntary HIV testing, Obama and his wife took HIV tests at a Kenyan clinic. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. US$24.8 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the primaries, the highest of any 2008 presidential candidate. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

" He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known. In Ukraine, they toured a disease control and prevention facility and witnessed the signing of a bilateral pact to secure biological pathogens and combat risks of infectious disease outbreaks from natural causes or bioterrorism. "The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008.

Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind.

Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. "Lugar-Obama" expands the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines. They know we can do better. The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election.

Barack Obama

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today's papers "Put This Plan In Motion" By Lydia DePillis Posted Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, at 6:04 AM ET The New York Times leads with continuing stimulus deb ate in Congress, where the Senate proposal is set to collide with a House bill that currently does more to help states avoid catastrophic cuts in services. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is "very much opposed" to the cuts being made to the Senate version, which was trimmed down from a high of $900 billion to about $827 billion through slashing aid to states, funding for priorities like school construction and broadband wireless in rural areas, as well as President Barack Obama's promised middle-class tax cut. The Los Angeles Times leads with the impact of those cuts in aid to states, which are facing a collective $47.4 billion shortfall this year and $84.3 billion in 2010. On a state-by-state basis, the gaps are often breathtaking in size: Nevada's amounts to 38 percent of its general fund, while Washington's governor made a no-new-taxes pledge in her tough reelection campaign, leaving few options to fill that state's hole besides closing state parks, releasing low-risk prisoners, and "shredding" the state's generous social service programs. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Did Obama Get Rolled by Senate Republicans? I Think I Have the Worst Boyfriend in the Universe Is the "David After the Dentist" Video Appalling or Hilarious?	Advertisement
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Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S. 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.

" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful. His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs. Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed. 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. In July 2005, Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author on human rights and genocide, joined Obama's team.

He entered Harvard Law School in 1988. Following Obama's statement, opinion polling organizations added his name to surveyed lists of Democratic candidates. Speculation intensified in October 2006 when Obama first said he had "thought about the possibility" of running for president, departing from earlier statements that he intended to serve out his six-year Senate term through 2010. "Obama's rapid rise from Illinois state legislator to U.S. " Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized. " Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.

Barack Obama

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Personal Finance Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009

A Taxing Time

It's been a taxing time for President Barack Obama as several of his nominees had to bail because of tax issues, including Tom Daschle who withdrew his nomination as secretary of health and human services. (Read more in Obama Says He Erred in Nominations.)

In a television interview Obama said "that average taxpayers deserve to have public officials who pay their taxes on time."

Media Critic Howard Kurtz complimented Obama for doing what his predecessor failed to do when he messed up.

Kurtz wrote: "He took his lumps. He didn't duck or evade. He used three words we never heard from George W. Bush: "I screwed up." He also said, "I think today was an embarrassment for us." And he talked about "self-inflicted wounds."

Admitting he was wrong was bold, Kurtz further writes. "Usually when a politician makes a mistake and sits down for interviews, he tries to deflect and minimize . . . Obama didn't do that. He took responsibility and didn't put himself in the position of denying the obvious."

Emily Yoffe, however, wasn't as forgiving in her oped: Taxes? Too Busy, Busy, Busy! (Feb. 3).

Yoffe points that Daschle made millions in various jobs since leaving the Senate.

"When someone earns more per week than the U.S. median yearly household income, we naively assume that person has more sophistication about money than the rest of us," Yoffe writes. "But maybe the IRS, in an effort to find scofflaws, should have every American nominated to a Cabinet post, given the salutary effect it seems to have on one's memory of taxes unpaid."

In my column today I offhandedly said I was willing to give Daschle and others the benefit of the doubt that they weren't willfully tryng to be tax cheats. Some readers thought I should have been harsher and that I should have called them liars.

"I couldn't agree more that the tax code is too complicated," wrote Bob Doggett of Hampton, Va. "However, I don't think Dashcle and [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner's tax problems are examples of that. I am sure they knew exactly what they were doing."

Another reader thought that as a small business owner and former corporate executive he would have been prosecuted and subject to tax penalties if he had done the same.

It's true. If he did what Daschle and others did, he would have had to pay penalties. But it's not true that the IRS will throw you in jail for such offenses. Unless you intentionally go out of your way to cheat or hide your income, the IRS isn't likely to press criminal charges. People are audited all the time and the IRS finds that they didn't report income or made a "mistake" in claiming a deduction they shouldn't have.

Let's not get overwrought by this and frankly we may suspect some purposeful under-reporting went on, but we don't know for sure. The IRS is pretty good at going after both little and high-profile people it has evidence of who purposely cheated on their taxes.

Nonetheless Tom Toles sums up where this all should lead in another one of his brilliant political cartoons. Check it out.

Where's the Integrity?

Let's see: The American people are bailing out one major corporation after another and what are the executives doing as they receive this welfare? They are handing out year-end bonuses: a reported $18.4 billion worth!

"The offending bonus payments suggest that Wall Street utterly fails to comprehend how its standing in the nation and the world has changed," wrote Post Columnist Eugene Robinson in See Idiots of the Universe (Feb. 3).

Robinson writes that Wall Street would "be wise to pay attention to those citizens outside, the ones with the pitchforks and the torches."

It's those people with pitchforks who are struggling to hold on to their homes.

A recent study by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found that "more than 50 percent of troubled homeowners had missed at least one payment six months after a lender modified their loan," reports Real Estate reporter Renae Merle.

And that percentage is rising. Read Just a Band-Aid on the Foreclosure Problem? (Feb. 3).

Saving Again

You know things are bad when we are thrilled to see people saving even just 3 percent of their income. But hey, we need the good news.

For the sixth consecutive month, Americans have reduced their spending and the savings rate rose by 0.8 percent to 3.6 percent.

The bad news is people are still heavily in debt. In a special report to The Post, Mark Henricks offers tips on how to maintain your cool and negotiate a debt repayment plan. For advice on what to say to get your creditor to agree to a plan read When Debt Collectors Disrupt Dinner (Feb. 1).

Henricks also identifies what debt collectors can't do. Read Borrower's Rights, Collectors' Wrongs (Feb. 1) for more.

Color of Money Challenge

I'm still looking for local couples or individuals who have lost a job or home to foreclosure and want help.

If you're having trouble with your finances, email me at colorofmoney@washpost.com and tell me your story. In the subject line, please put "2009 Color of Money Challenge" and include your full name, address, daytime and evening telephone numbers.

It's a challenge for you to dust yourself off and start over!

No Job, No Insurance

Speaking of job loss, corporate layoffs continue and as a result people are losing their health insurance.

Many are like Jean Perry, a 57-year-old Arlington resident, who lost her job as a coffee shop manager last summer. She earned $40,000 a year. Now, she's trying to get health care at a reasonable price. She could have kept her employer-provided policy, if she paid $400 a month.

"Neither rich nor poor, this group doesn't readily qualify for public programs such as Medicaid but often can't afford to buy insurance or pay hospital, doctor and drug bills" writes John Fairhall and Kate Steadman of Kaiser Health News.

I don't want to depress you but most of us are a job away from health coverage. Read The New Uninsured (Feb. 3).

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.

Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter.

-Michelle Singletary

Today's Color of Money
The Confusion Over Required Withdrawals
What lessons can we learn from the high-profile tax cases of newly installed Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Thomas A. Daschle, President Barack Obama's failed pick for secretary of health and human services?

Jane Bryant Quinn
Obama's Recession Fix Fits Economists' Models
In the fight over the stimulus plan, Republicans are demanding more tax cuts as the best way of lifting the economy fast. "We can't borrow and spend our way to prosperity," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

Your Money Help Dsk
Now's the Time to Reassess Your Finances
Jill Foster and Sean Stickle are in better financial shape than last year. Both recently started new jobs, more than doubling their combined income. But with all the news of companies slashing jobs and salaries, neither Foster nor Stickle is resting easy.

From Sunday Business
When Debt Collectors Disrupt Dinner
If the phone rings at dinnertime, the odds are greater now that a credit card debt collector will be on the other end.

From Sunday Business
The Risks of Life Insurance
It was a head-spinning week for anyone with a life insurance policy.

Economy Watch
Washington Post coverage of the global financial crisis.
» Follow The Ticker, our breaking news blog.

From the Archive

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But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the Internet as we know it. "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. As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. In a June 2006 podcast, Obama expressed support for telecommunications legislation to protect network neutrality on the Internet, saying: "It is because the Internet is a neutral platform that I can put out this podcast and transmit it over the Internet without having to go through any corporate media middleman.

Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur. The book's last chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo family and heritage. Obama has divested US$180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and he has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran. Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings.

" Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.

Obama's campaign reported raising US$25.8 million between January 1 and March 31 of 2007. He has responded to and personally participated in online discussions hosted on politically-oriented blog sites. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

"In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there.

Barack Obama

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today's papers A New Era In Iraq? By Roger McShane Posted Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, at 6:03 AM ET The New York Times leads with an upbeat report on Saturday's provincial elections in Iraq, where the U.S. is "already drifting offstage." Despite a decreased American presence on the ground, there were no confirmed deaths as Iraqis voted in 14 of the country's 18 provinces. The Los Angeles Times leads with Barack Obama preserving the CIA's authority to carry out renditions. Some intelligence officials think the tactic could play an expanded role in the war on terrorism, as other programs are dismantled. The Washington Post leads with news that Tom Daschle waited nearly a month after his cabinet nomination before telling Barack Obama about his tax problems. The NYT is excited. The paper says yesterday's provincial elections in Iraq point to a "new era"; "the mood has changed"; "the world is not the same"; "whatever happens next, Iraq will not return to the way it was." But wait! "This is not to suggest that the war is over," adds the Times, suddenly remembering how unpredictable the country can be. To continue reading, click here. Roger McShane writes for the Economist online. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Week's Best Editorial Cartoons The Pope Will Regret Letting Those Right-Wing Bishops Back Into the Church Want To Be President of Somalia? Send $2,000 to This Hotel in Djibouti.	Advertisement
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Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. " Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism. In the fall of 2002, during an anti-war rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza, Obama said: I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. Lugar and Obama inspected a Nunn-Lugar program-supported nuclear warhead destruction facility at Saratov, in southern European Russia. In 1985, Obama moved to Chicago to direct a non-profit project assisting local churches to organize job training programs. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of conventional weapons, biological weapons, and weapons of mass destruction, as a strategic first defense against the threat of future terrorist attacks. " He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known.

Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed. " He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful. Obama later added three amendments to S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act," sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind. He flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya. " Time magazine's Joe Klein wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician.

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today's papers It's a Numbers Game, and Nobody's Winning By Lydia DePillis Posted Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at 5:12 AM ET The New York Times and Wall Street Journal lead with the latest numbers out from the Commerce Department--which douse any hopes one might have harbored for a near-term recovery--and their implications for a stimulus plan that relies on much rosier projections. The Los Angeles Times leads with the local angle on the fiasco; California's unemployment rate topped 10 percent in January, well over the national average of 7.6 percent. The Washington Post leads (and ends) with President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has a date: August 2010, with a third of current troop levels to remain in place through 2011. Although faster than what the generals had planned pre-election, it's a more cautious timeline than Obama had laid out on the campaign trail; the paper contrasts his strategy of "risk management" and "mitigation" with what it called "breathtakingly bold" action on the economic stimulus. Still, aside from some disappointment on the left, the plan--which got no cover treatment from the NYT--drew broad acceptance, with Republicans pointing towards the surge as what may allow for a successful withdrawal of troops. According to the Post, they will be missed. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Obamas and the Great American Tradition of Church Shopping Is It Legal To Send Blood Through the Mail? The Obamas Should Name Their Dog "Government"	Advertisement
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today's papers It's a Numbers Game, and Nobody's Winning By Lydia DePillis Posted Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at 5:12 AM ET The New York Times and Wall Street Journal lead with the latest numbers out from the Commerce Department--which douse any hopes one might have harbored for a near-term recovery--and their implications for a stimulus plan that relies on much rosier projections. The Los Angeles Times leads with the local angle on the fiasco; California's unemployment rate topped 10 percent in January, well over the national average of 7.6 percent. The Washington Post leads (and ends) with President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has a date: August 2010, with a third of current troop levels to remain in place through 2011. Although faster than what the generals had planned pre-election, it's a more cautious timeline than Obama had laid out on the campaign trail; the paper contrasts his strategy of "risk management" and "mitigation" with what it called "breathtakingly bold" action on the economic stimulus. Still, aside from some disappointment on the left, the plan--which got no cover treatment from the NYT--drew broad acceptance, with Republicans pointing towards the surge as what may allow for a successful withdrawal of troops. According to the Post, they will be missed. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Obamas and the Great American Tradition of Church Shopping Is It Legal To Send Blood Through the Mail? The Obamas Should Name Their Dog "Government"	Advertisement
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today's papers Barack The Knife By Roger McShane Posted Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at 6:03 AM ET The New York Times and Los Angeles Times lead with Barack Obama's first budget and his plan to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term. All of the papers note that the reduction will come primarily from higher taxes on the wealthy and lower spending in Iraq. While the Washington Post fronts the Obama plan, it chooses to lead with the more sensational news of a possible arrest in the eight-year-old murder case of Chandra Levy. The Post has long been infatuated with the Levy case, describing it as "one of the most famous unsolved homicide cases in Washington history." The WP and LAT call the president's first budget "ambitious." Obama hopes to use the plan to make progress on health-care reform and move toward a cap-and-trade system for energy use. But the effort to "cut" (LAT), "slash" (NYT) or merely "trim" (WP) the deficit grabs the headlines. To do this, Obama will let most of George Bush's tax cuts expire in 2011 for those making over $250,000. The Post alone adds a touch of skepticism, noting that some "question the wisdom of announcing a plan to raise taxes in the midst of a recession." On Iraq, Obama had previously expected to save $90 billion a year by withdrawing combat troops. But the NYT says "it is not clear how much any savings would be offset by increased spending in Afghanistan." The full details of the budget won't be released until April. To continue reading, click here. Roger McShane writes for the Economist online. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate How the Recession Is Crushing American Marriages Is It Obama's Fault the Dow Is Tanking? Fashion Designers Battle Recession With Shoulder Pads	Advertisement
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today's papers "Put This Plan In Motion" By Lydia DePillis Posted Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, at 6:04 AM ET The New York Times leads with continuing stimulus deb ate in Congress, where the Senate proposal is set to collide with a House bill that currently does more to help states avoid catastrophic cuts in services. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is "very much opposed" to the cuts being made to the Senate version, which was trimmed down from a high of $900 billion to about $827 billion through slashing aid to states, funding for priorities like school construction and broadband wireless in rural areas, as well as President Barack Obama's promised middle-class tax cut. The Los Angeles Times leads with the impact of those cuts in aid to states, which are facing a collective $47.4 billion shortfall this year and $84.3 billion in 2010. On a state-by-state basis, the gaps are often breathtaking in size: Nevada's amounts to 38 percent of its general fund, while Washington's governor made a no-new-taxes pledge in her tough reelection campaign, leaving few options to fill that state's hole besides closing state parks, releasing low-risk prisoners, and "shredding" the state's generous social service programs. To continue reading, click here. Lydia DePillis is a writer living in New York. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Did Obama Get Rolled by Senate Republicans? I Think I Have the Worst Boyfriend in the Universe Is the "David After the Dentist" Video Appalling or Hilarious?	Advertisement
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today's papers A New Era In Iraq? By Roger McShane Posted Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, at 6:03 AM ET The New York Times leads with an upbeat report on Saturday's provincial elections in Iraq, where the U.S. is "already drifting offstage." Despite a decreased American presence on the ground, there were no confirmed deaths as Iraqis voted in 14 of the country's 18 provinces. The Los Angeles Times leads with Barack Obama preserving the CIA's authority to carry out renditions. Some intelligence officials think the tactic could play an expanded role in the war on terrorism, as other programs are dismantled. The Washington Post leads with news that Tom Daschle waited nearly a month after his cabinet nomination before telling Barack Obama about his tax problems. The NYT is excited. The paper says yesterday's provincial elections in Iraq point to a "new era"; "the mood has changed"; "the world is not the same"; "whatever happens next, Iraq will not return to the way it was." But wait! "This is not to suggest that the war is over," adds the Times, suddenly remembering how unpredictable the country can be. To continue reading, click here. Roger McShane writes for the Economist online. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Week's Best Editorial Cartoons The Pope Will Regret Letting Those Right-Wing Bishops Back Into the Church Want To Be President of Somalia? Send $2,000 to This Hotel in Djibouti.	Advertisement
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Barack Obama Will Never Be President

Barack Obama Will Never Be President

Saturday, February 28, 2009

During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose officials cited his "longtime support of gun control measures and his willingness to negotiate compromises," despite his support for some bills the police union had opposed.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

They know we can do better.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Sunday, February 22, 2009

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.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Sunday, February 8, 2009

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Thursday, February 5, 2009

" He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Sunday, February 1, 2009

"In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

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