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 | |
 | |
 | |
 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 Return Of The Benchmarks 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. | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment