It's a Numbers Game, and Nobody's Winning

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.

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.
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 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
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. 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