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 Not Even One By Jesse Stanchak Posted Sunday, March 29, 2009, at 6:24 AM ET The Washington Post leads with government officials saying not a single major terrorist plot was thwarted using information obtained by waterboarding suspected terrorist mastermind Abu Zubaida. The national edition of the New York Times leads with a look at the challenges waiting for President Barack Obama during his trip to the G-20 summit in London. The Los Angeles Times leads with public health officials saying the decline in vaccination rates among California school children may put the state at risk for an epidemic. CIA officials initially believed Zubaida was an al Qaeda ringleader and that information he divulged after being waterboarded would prove crucial to preventing terrorist attacks. Both assumptions were wrong. Zubaida wasn't even an official member of al Qaeda. While he did possess some very useful information about al Qaeda's membership, most of it was obtained before he was waterboarded. The leads he provided later were almost all dead ends that wasted agents' valuable time and resources. The paper says that Zubaida may now prove to be a thorny legal issue for the White House. If he's brought to trial in the U.S. after being waterboarded, he could very well be set free and establish a dangerous precedent for other Guantanamo detainees. The administration is examining the possibility of transferring his custody to another country instead. To continue reading, click here. Jesse Stanchak is a writer living 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 Do You Understand Obama's Afghanistan Policy? Me Neither. What Is Good Design Now? A Conversation With Adam Gopnik, Jonathan Adler, and Others. Relax, It's OK If Your Kid Doesn't Make His Bed	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

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 Return Of The Benchmarks By Barron YoungSmith Posted Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 7:22 AM ET The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times lead with Barack Obama announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hoping to clarify and narrow our goals, Obama said that the U.S. objective in the region is to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future." Invoking the 9/11 attacks, Obama proposed a major push to expand Afghan security forces, improve the responsiveness of the Kabul government, reduce corruption, fight drug trafficking, and combat the Taliban. (He'll also boost Pakistan's counter-terror capacity and encourage detente with India.) Obama says he'll judge progress based on benchmarks related to those goals, revising the strategy as needed. The Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox with mass flooding in Fargo, North Dakota. To continue reading, click here. Barron YoungSmith is a reporter-researcher at The New Republic. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Do You Understand Obama's Afghanistan Policy? Me Neither. What Is Good Design Now? A Conversation With Adam Gopnik, Jonathan Adler, and Others. Relax, It's OK If Your Kid Doesn't Make His Bed	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

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 Sebelius Tapped as HHS Secretary By Justin Peters Posted Sunday, March 1, 2009, at 4:35 AM ET The Washington Post leads with news that Kathleen Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas, has been nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The New York Times leads a story about how Barack Obama's election has rekindled hopes that the U.S. will soon take a major leadership role in global efforts to combat climate change. The Los Angeles Times leads a report on financial improprieties in the California governor's office; its top national story is a news feature on a veteran undercover CIA operative currently being tried for war crimes committed during the Balkan wars. Noting that her nomination comes days before a crucial White House summit on health reform, the Post blandly outlines Sebelius' resume and her gubernatorial experience with health care issues. The NYT analyzes the political implications of the pick, noting the governor's bipartisan credentials and devoting much space to her pro-choice background, which, for some reason, the paper seems to think may end up derailing her confirmation. The article cites the spectre of looming Catholic opposition to Sebelius' nomination, but neglects to mention that the Senate's Catholic bloc is by no means ideologically consistent on abortion issues. To continue reading, click here. Justin Peters is a writer in New York, and the editor of Polite. 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