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20-September-2008 09:29:10 - Barack Obama Semi-protected Featured article Barack and Obama redirect here. For other uses, see Barack disambiguation and Obama disambiguation. Barack Obama Barack Obama Junior Senator from Illinois Incumbent Assumed office January 4, 2005 Serving with Richard Durbin Preceded by Peter Fitzgerald Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district In office January 8, 1997 - November 4, 2004 Preceded by Alice J. Palmer Succeeded by Kwame Raoul Born August 4, 1961 1961-08-04 age 47 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. Nationality American Political party Democratic Spouse Michelle Obama m. 1992 Children Malia Ann b. 1998, Natasha Sasha b. 2001 Residence Kenwood, Chicago, Illinois Alma mater Occidental College, Columbia University, Harvard Law School Profession Attorney / Politician Net Worth $1.3 million USD1 Religion United Church of Christ Signature Barack Obama's signature Website Barack Obama-U.S. Senator for Illinois Barack Hussein Obama II2 pronounced /bəˈrÉ‘Ë?k hʊˈseɪn oʊˈbÉ‘Ë?mÉ™/; born August 4, 1961 is the junior United States Senator from Illinois. He is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election, and the first African American to be a major party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States.3 A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. After a primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities. Contents 1 Early life and career 1.1 Community activism, teaching and law firm work 2 State legislator, 1997-2004 3 2004 U.S. Senate campaign 4 U.S. Senator, 2005-present 4.1 Legislation 4.2 Committees 5 2008 presidential campaign 6 Policies and proposals 7 Family and personal life 8 Books authored 8.1 Dreams from My Father 8.2 The Audacity of Hope 9 Cultural and political image 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links Early life and career Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr., a Black Kenyan of Nyang'oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, a White American from Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student.4 They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.5 Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw him only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.6 After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.7 Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for several years and then back to Indonesia for her fieldwork. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995.8 Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.9 He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.10 Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked for a year at the Business International Corporation11 and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.1213 After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project DCP, a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale on Chicago's far South Side.1214 During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.15 Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.16 In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks then Kenya for five weeks where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.17 Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an or of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition.18 In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as or-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 ors.19 Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.19 He graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins Sutter in 1990.1820 The publicity from his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations.21 In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the University of Chicago Law School provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.21 He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to Bali where he wrote for several months. The manuscript was finally published as Dreams from My Father in mid-1995.21 Community activism, teaching and law firm work Obama directed Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of 40 under Forty powers to be.2223 Barack Obama v d e Obama family Early life and career · Memoir Illinois Senate career U.S. Senate career 2008 presidential campaign · Primaries Cultural and political image Political positions Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years 1992-1996, and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years 1996-2004.24 In 1993 Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.1225 Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.1226 He served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund Obama's DCP, from 1993-2002, and served on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation from 1994-2002.12 Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995-2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995-1999.12 He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.12 State legislator, 1997-2004 Main article: Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.27 Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.28 He sponsored a law increasing tax crs for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.29 In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures,30 and in 2003, Obama sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.2931 Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.32 In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.3334 In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.35 During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives cred Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.36 Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.37 2004 U.S. Senate campaign See also: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004 In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.38 Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.39 Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois.40 He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.41 Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.42 In July 2004, Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.43 After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America.44 Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.45 In August 2004, with less than three months to go before Election Day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.46 A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.47 In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest victory margin for a statewide race in Illinois history.48 U.S. Senator, 2005-present Main article: United States Senate career of Barack Obama Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4 2005.49 Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers.50 The Senate historian lists Obama as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.51 He is the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus.52 CQ Weekly, a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a loyal Democrat based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005-2007, and the National Journal ranked him as the most liberal senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007.5354 Legislation Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn R-OK and Obama discussing the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn R-OK and Obama discussing the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act55 See also: List of bills sponsored by Barack Obama in the United States Senate Obama voted in favor of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.56 In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act.57 Obama introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar-Obama, which expanded the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons,58 and the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act, which authorized the establishment of www.USAspending.gov, a web search engine.59 Obama sponsored legislation requiring nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks.60 In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.61 In January 2007, Obama co-sponsored the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007.62 He introduced S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections.63 Obama also introduced the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007. 64 Obama and Richard Lugar visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility Obama and Richard Lugar visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility65 Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges.66 He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.6768 Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.69 Committees Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006.70 In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.71 He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs.72 As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama has made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.73 74 75 76 2008 presidential campaign This section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election. Content may change as the election approaches. Main articles: Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008 and Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008 On 10 February 2007 Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois.7778 The announcement was a symbolic link to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 House Divided speech, given at the same location. 79 Throughout the campaign Obama has emphasized the issues of ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as his top three priorities.80 Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois Obama's campaign raised $58 million during the first half of 2007, more than any candidate had for the first half of the year before this or any previous election.81Small donors contributing in increments of less than $200 accounted for $16.4 million of the total, also a record.82 In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.83 Among the January, 2008 DNC-sanctioned state contests, Obama tied with Clinton for delegates in the New Hampshire primary, and won more delegates than Clinton in the Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina elections and caucuses. On Super Tuesday, he emerged with 20 more delegates than Clinton.84 He again broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising over $90 million for his primary to Clinton's $45 million.85 After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses.86 Obama and Clinton split delegates and states nearly equally in the March 4th contests of Vermont, Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island; Obama closed the month with victories in Wyoming and Mississippi.87 In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama's former pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright.88 After ABC News broadcast clips of his racially and politically charged sermons,8889 Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks and ending Wright's relationship with the campaign.90 Obama delivered a speech, during the controversy, entitled A More Perfect Union91 that addressed issues of race. After Wright reiterated some of his remarks in a speech at the National Press Club,92 Obama strongly denounced Wright, who he said presented a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for.93 Obama resigned from Trinity on May 31, 2008, after a visiting Catholic priest, Michael Pfleger, mocked Hillary Clinton during a sermon there. Obama stated his resignation was to avoid the impression that he endorsed the entire range of opinions expressed at that church.949596 General David Petraeus gives an aerial tour of Baghdad to Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel. General David Petraeus gives an aerial tour of Baghdad to Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel. During April, May, and June, Obama won the North Carolina, Oregon, and Montana primaries and remained ahead in the count of pledged deligates, while Clinton won the Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota primaries. During the period, Obama received endorsements from more superdelegates than did Clinton.97 On May 31, the Democratic National Committee agreed to seat all of the Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing Obama's delegate lead while increasing the delicate count needed to win.98 On June 3, with all states counted, Obama passed the threshold to become the presumptive nominee.99 On that day, he gave a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.100 On June 19, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created after the Watergate scandal.101 Policies and proposals Main article: Political positions of Barack Obama 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 ... we should be guided by what works.102 Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with social Darwinism.103 In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor.104 Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA that he supports universal healthcare in the United States,105 the same kind of health care that Members of Congress give themselves.106 Obama speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina Obama speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina107 A standard method that political scientists use for gauging ideology is to compare the annual ratings by the Americans for Democratic Action ADA with the ratings by the American Conservative Union ACU.108 Based on his years in Congress i.e. 2005, 2006, and 2007, Senator Obama has a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU,109 and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA.110 Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.111 Obama's campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.112 At the Tax Policy Center in September 2007, he blamed special interests for distorting the U.S. tax code.113 His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,114 close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore tax havens, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the IRS.115 Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.116 Obama proposed that all pollution crs must be auctioned, with no grandfathering of crs for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.117 Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.118 On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War,119 Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally in Federal Plaza,120 speaking out against the war.121 On March 16, 2003, the day President Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq before the U.S. invasion of Iraq,122 Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in Daley Plaza and told the crowd It's not too late to stop the war.123 Obama sought to make his early public opposition to the Iraq War before it started a major issue in his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign to distinguish himself from his Democratic primary rivals who supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War,124 and in his 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign, to distinguish himself from four Democratic primary rivals who voted for the resolution authorizing the war Senators Clinton, Edwards, Biden, and Dodd.125 Obama taking questions from a crowd in New Hampshire Obama taking questions from a crowd in New Hampshire Speaking to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in November 2006, Obama called for a phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran.126 In a March 2007 speech to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action.127 Obama has indicated that he would engage in direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.128129130 Detailing his strategy for fighting global terrorism in August 2007, Obama said it was a terrible mistake to fail to act against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity, even without the support of the Pakistani government.131 In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.132 He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.133 In the July-August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, Obama called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world. Saying we can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission, he called on Americans to lead the world, by deed and by example.134 Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicals and other religious groups.135 In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback R-KS at the Global Summit on AIDS and the Church organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren.136 Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.137 He encouraged others in public life to do the same and not be ashamed of it.138 Before the conference, 18 anti-abortion groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway.139 Addressing over 8,000 United Church of Christ members in June 2007, Obama challenged so-called leaders of the Christian Right for being all too eager to exploit what divides us.140 Obama made several statements in a campaign video released in October 2007 related to defense spending and nuclear weapons. In addition to promising to end the war in Iraq, Obama stated that he will enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars. He stated that he will stop investing in missile defense systems, that he will not weaponize space, that he will slow development of future combat systems, and that he would work towards a world without nuclear weapons. To achieve this goal, Obama wishes to end development of new nuclear weapons, to reduce the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, to enact a global ban on production of fissile material, and to seek negotiations with Russia in order to take ICBMs off high alert status.141 Obama is a sponsor of the Global Poverty Act, which requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and NGOs.142 Family and personal life See also: Family of Barack Obama Obama met his wife, Michelle Robinson, in June 1989 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin.143 Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date.144 They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.145 The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998,146 followed by a second daughter, Natasha Sasha, in 2001.147 Obama playing basketball with U.S. military in Djibouti in 2006 Obama playing basketball with U.S. military in Djibouti in 2006148 Applying the proceeds of a book deal,149 the family moved in 2005 from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood.150 The purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer and friend Tony Rezko attracted media attention because of Rezko's indictment and subsequent conviction on political corruption charges unrelated to Obama.151152 In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.153 Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from sales of his books.154 In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family. Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations, he said. I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.155 Obama has seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living, and a half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband.156 Soetoro-Ng is married to a Chinese Canadian.157 Obama's mother is survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham.158 In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.159 Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.160 He is left-handed, but prefers his right hand for some tasks.161 Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. Obama told the Chicago Tribune. I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I do not succumb.162 In The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he was not raised in a religious household. He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents whom Obama has specified elsewhere as non-practicing Methodists and Baptists to be detached from religion, yet in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known. He describes his Kenyan father as raised a Muslim, but a confirmed atheist by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian stepfather as a man who saw religion as not particularly useful. In the book, Obama explains how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change.163164 Books authored Obama's early autobiography published in 1995. A political essay 2006. Dreams from My Father Main article: Dreams from My Father Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published before his first run for political office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. The book's last few chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo family and heritage. In the preface to the 2004 revised ion, Obama explains that he had hoped the story of his family might speak in some way to the fissures of race that have characterized the American experience.165 In a 1995 review, novelist Paul Watkins wrote that Dreams persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither.166 The audiobook ion earned Obama the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album of 2006.167 The Audacity of Hope Main article: The Audacity of Hope His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006 and soon rose to the top of The New York Times Best Seller hardcover list.168 Its title came from a sermon delivered by Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. The paperback ion ranked fifth on The New York Times nonfiction list in April 2008.169 The Chicago Tribune crs large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president.170 Former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart said the book's self-portrayal 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.171 Reviewer Michael Tomasky writes that it does not contain boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness, but does show Obama's potential to construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans.172 In February 2008, he won a Grammy award for the spoken word ion of Audacity.167 Foreign language ions of the book have been published in Italian, Spanish, German, French, Danish and Greek.173 Cultural and political image Main article: Cultural and political image of Barack Obama‎ With his Kenyan father and white American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his Ivy League education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement.174 In January 2007, The End of Blackness author Debra Dickerson warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise: Lumping us all together, Dickerson wrote in Salon, erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress.175 Film critic David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 Los Angeles Times article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of magical negro roles played by black actors in Hollywood movies.176 Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is black enough, Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. Obama said, we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong.177 In a December 2006 Wall Street Journal orial headlined The Man from Nowhere, Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised establishment commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career.178 Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation.179 A prominent part of Obama's political image is a belief that Obama's rhetoric and actions toward political reform are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency. In a July 2008 The New Yorker feature article, for example, Ryan Lizza wrote, Obama campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist.180 Although Obama is Christian, July 2008 polls have shown that some Americans believe incorrectly that he is Muslim or was raised Muslim 12% and 26%, respectively, in Pew181 and Newsweek182 polls. Cited the latter poll by CNN's Larry King, Obama responded, ...I wasn't raised in a Muslim home, and said that advancement of the misconception insulted Muslim Americans.183 References ^ Harris, Marlys 2007-12-10. Millionaires-in-Chief, Money Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-07-16. ^ The truth about Barack's birth certificate. my.barackobama.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-13. ^ John Whitesides in Washington 2008-06-04. Obama clinches nomination, Herald Sun Australia. Retrieved on 2008-06-06. ^ Obama 1995, pp. 9-10. For book excerpts, see Barack Obama: Creation of Tales, East African November 1, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. ^ Obama 1995, pp. 125-126. See also: Jones, Tim March 27, 2007. Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas, Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. ^ Merida, Kevin December 14, 2007. The Ghost of a Father, Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. See also: Ochieng, Philip. From Home Squared to the US Senate: How Barack Obama Was Lost and Found, East African. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. In August 2006, Obama 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. Gnecchi, Nico August 27, 2006. Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya, Voice of America. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Serafin, Peter March 21, 2004. Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. See also: Obama 1995, Chapters 3 and 4. ^ Ripley, Amanda April 9, 2008. The Story of Barack Obama's Mother, Time. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. See also: Suryakusuma, Julia November 29, 2006. Obama for President... of Indonesia, Jakarta Post. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Oxy Remembers Barry Obama '83. Occidental College January 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. ^ Boss-Bicak, Shira January 2005. Barack Obama '83, Columbia College Today. Retrieved on 2008-06-09. ^ Issenberg, Sasha August 6, 2008. Obama shows hints of his year in global finance: Tied markets to social aid, Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. ^ a b c d e f g Chassie, Karen ed. 2007. Who's Who in America, 2008. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who, p. 3468. ISBN 9780837970110. Retrieved on 2008-06-06. ^ Scott, Janny October 30, 2007. Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 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Retrieved on 2008-01-14. ^ Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups, Christian Newswire Press Release November 28, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. See also: Van Biema, David December 1, 2006. The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy, Time. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. ^ Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked', Associated Press via CBS News June 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. See also: Brody, David July 30, 2007. Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation, Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. ^ Barack Obama. 2007-10-22. Obama-Caucus4Priorities flv. Obama '08. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. ^ Obama, Hagel, Cantwell Introduce Bill to Fight Global Poverty December 11, 2007. ^ Obama 2006, pp. 327-332. See also: Brown, Sarah December 7, 2005. Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act, Daily Princetonian. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. Tucker, Eric March 1, 2007. Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama, Associated Press, ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Obama 2006, p. 329. ^ Fornek, Scott October 3, 2007. Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet', Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Martin, Jonathan 2008-07-04. Born on the 4th of July. The Politico. Retrieved on 2008-07-10. ^ Obama 1995, p. 440, and Obama 2006, pp. 339-340. See also: Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama. Gannett News Service. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August-1 September 2006 video, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, YouTube February 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Obama: I trusted Rezko 2008-03-15. ^ Zeleny, Jeff December 24, 2005. The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year, Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Rezko found guilty in corruption case, The Associated Press, MSNBC.com June 4, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Slevin, Peter December 17, 2006. Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser, The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. ^ Obama's Money, CNNMoney.com December 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. See also: Goldfarb, Zachary A March 24, 2007. Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates, The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Zeleny, Jeff April 17, 2008. Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First. The Oprah Winfrey Show October 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Fornek, Scott September 9, 2007. Half Siblings: 'A Complicated Family', Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. See also: Interactive Family Tree. Chicago Sun-Times September 9, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Fornek, Scott September 9, 2007. Maya Soetoro-Ng: 'He Helped Me Find My Voice', Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Fornek, Scott September 9, 2007. Madelyn Payne Dunham: 'A Trailblazer', Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Obama 1995, p. 13. For reports on Obama's maternal genealogy, including slave owners, Irish connections, and common ancestors with George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Harry Truman, see: Nitkin, David; Harry Merritt March 2, 2007. A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History, Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. Jordan, Mary May 13, 2007. Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own, The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises, Associated Press, CBS 2 Chicago September 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. ^ Kantor, Jodi June 1, 2007. One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. See also: The Love of the Game video, HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, YouTube BarackObama.com April 15, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Melissa Roth July 4, 2008. Leading With Their Left: No Matter Who Wins, The Next President Will Be a Southpaw, Washington Post, p. C01. ^ Parsons, Christi February 6, 2007. Obama Launches an '07 Campaign-To Quit Smoking, Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Obama 2006, pp. 202-208. Portions excerpted in: Obama, Barack October 23, 2006. My Spiritual Journey, Time. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. ^ Obama, Barack 2006-06-28. 'Call to Renewal' Keynote Address. Barack Obama: U.S. Senator for Illinois website. Retrieved on June 16, 2008. ^ Obama 1995, p. vii. ^ Taylor, Ihsan August 29, 2004. New Noteworthy Paperbacks, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-09. ^ a b Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book, Associated Press, KVOA.com February 10, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Bosman, Julie November 9, 2006. Obama's New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Best Sellers. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Dorning, Mike; Christi Parsons June 12, 2007. Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand', Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Hart, Gary December 24, 2006. American Idol, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Tomasky, Michael November 30, 2006. The Phenomenon, New York Review of Books, Internet Archive. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Malkoutzis, Nick March 27, 2008. Obama's Audacious Vision, Kathimerini English ion, International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. ^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin November 2004. The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama?, Washington Monthly. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. See also: Scott, Janny December 28, 2007. A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line, International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. ^ Dickerson, Debra J January 22, 2007. Colorblind, Salon. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: Younge, Gary posted October 27, 2006 November 13, 2006 issue. Obama: Black Like Me, The Nation. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. Crouch, Stanley November 2, 2006. What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me, New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Washington, Laura January 1, 2007. Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'?, Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. Page, Clarence February 25, 2007. Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question, Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. ^ Ehrenstein, David. Obama the 'Magic Negro', Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. ^ Payne, Les August 19, 2007. In One Country, a Dual Audience paid archive, Newsday. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. ^ Noonan, Peggy December 15, 2006. The Man From Nowhere, OpinionJournal Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. See also: Obama 2006, pp. 122-124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: Noonan, Peggy January 4, 2008. Out With the Old, In With the New, OpinionJournal Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. ^ Dorning, Mike October 4, 2007. Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK paid archive, Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. See also: Harnden, Toby October 15, 2007. Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide, Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. ^ Making It: How Chicago shaped Obama ^ Poll: Obama extends national lead over McCain, Associated Press 11 July 2008. ^ Jonathan Darman, Glow Fading?, Newsweek online exclusive 11 July 2008. ^ King, Larry 2008-07-15. CNN Larry King Live: Interview with Sen. Barack Obama ..., CNN. Retrieved on 2008-07-17. Cited works Mendell, David 2007. Obama: From Promise to Power. Amistad/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-085820-6. Obama, Barack 2004. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Times Books. ISBN 1-4000-8277-3. Obama, Barack 2006. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 0-307-23769-9. Further reading Listen to this article info/dl Play sound Spoken This audio file was created from a revision dated 2007-01-31, and does not reflect subsequent s to the article. Audio help More spoken articles This is a spoken version of the article. Click here to listen. Curry, Jessica. Barack Obama: Under the Lights, Chicago Life, Fall 2004. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Graff, Garrett. The Legend of Barack Obama, Washingtonian, November 1, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Lizza, Ryan. Above the Fray, GQ, September 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. MacFarquhar, Larissa. The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?, New Yorker, May 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Mundy, Liza. A Series of Fortunate Events, The Washington Post Magazine, August 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Wallace-Wells, Ben. Destiny's Child, Rolling Stone, February 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Zutter, Hank De. What Makes Obama Run?, Chicago Reader, December 8, 1995. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. External links Find more information on Barack Obama in 's sister projects Dictionary definitions Textbooks Quotations Authored texts Images and media News stories Learning resources Official sites Barack Obama U.S. Senator for Illinois U.S. Senate office Obama '08-BarackObama.com 2008 U.S. presidential campaign Fight the Smears: the candidate's responses to Internet rumors. Congressional links Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Voting record maintained by The Washington Post Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com Congressional profile at GovTrack.us Site directory Barack Obama at the Open Directory Project Works by or about Barack Obama in libraries WorldCat catalog Illinois Senate Preceded by Alice J. Palmer Illinois State Senator from 13th district January 8, 1997 - November 4, 2004 Succeeded by Kwame Raoul United States Senate Preceded by Peter Fitzgerald United States Senator Class 3 from Illinois January 4, 2005 - present Served alongside: Richard Durbin Incumbent Political offices Preceded by George F. Allen R-Virginia Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs January 4, 2007-present Succeeded by Incumbent Party political offices Preceded by Carol Moseley Braun Democratic Party nominee for Senator from Illinois Class 3 2004 Succeeded by Most recent Preceded by John Kerry Democratic Party presidential nominee presumptive 2008 Succeeded by Current Order of precedence in the United States of America Preceded by Mel Martinez R-Florida United States Senators by seniority 86th Succeeded by Ken Salazar D-Colorado v d e 2008 United States presidential election Results template Candidates Comparison Debates Congressional support Fundraising Ballot access Timeline Super Tuesday Potomac primary Super Tuesday II Straw polls General polls Statewide general polls Democratic Party Convention Straw polls Primary polls General polls Debates Primaries Primary results Superdelegates Presumptive Nominee: Barack Obama campaign VP nominee: TBA Former candidates: Evan Bayh Joe Biden campaign Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign Chris Dodd campaign John Edwards campaign Mike Gravel campaign Dennis Kucinich campaign Dal LaMagna Bill Richardson campaign Tom Vilsack campaign Republican Party Convention Straw polls Primary polls General polls Debates Primaries Primary results Presumptive Nominee: John McCain campaign VP nominee: TBA Former candidates: Sam Brownback Hugh Cort John Cox Dan Gilbert Jim Gilmore campaign Rudy Giuliani campaign Mike Huckabee campaign Duncan Hunter campaign Alan Keyes campaign Ray McKinney Ron Paul campaign Mitt Romney campaign Tom Tancredo campaign Fred Thompson campaign Tommy Thompson campaign Constitution Party Convention Nominee: Chuck Baldwin campaign/Darrell Castle Former candidates: Daniel Imperato Alan Keyes campaign Green Party Convention Nominee: Cynthia McKinney campaign/Rosa Clemente Former candidates: Elaine Brown Jesse Johnson Kent Mesplay Kat Swift Libertarian Party Convention Nominee: Bob Barr campaign/Wayne Allyn Root Former candidates: Mike Gravel campaign Daniel Imperato Steve Kubby George Phillies Wayne Allyn Root Mary Ruwart Doug Stanhope Minor parties Boston Tea Party: Charles Jay/Thomas Knapp Prohibition Party: Gene Amondson/Leroy Pletten Socialism and Liberation Party: Gloria La Riva/Eugene Puryear Socialist Party: Brian Moore/Stewart Alexander Socialist Workers Party: Róger Calero/Alyson Kennedy Independent John Taylor Bowles Alan Keyes campaign Ralph Nader campaign/Matt Gonzalez Jonathon Sharkey Draft movements Democratic Party: Al Gore Mark Warner movement Republican Party: Newt Gingrich Condoleezza Rice movement Independent: Michael Bloomberg movement Those listed following the / are the party's vice presidential nominee Other 2008 elections: House Senate Gubernatorial v d e United States Democratic Party Presidential Nominees Andrew Jackson · Martin Van Buren · James K. 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Johnson · Hubert Humphrey · George McGovern · Jimmy Carter · Walter Mondale · Michael Dukakis · Bill Clinton · Al Gore · John Kerry · Barack Obama presumptive v d e Barack Obama Political activities 2004 Democratic National Convention · Illinois Senate career · U.S. Senate election in Illinois, 2004 · U.S. Senate career · Presidential primary campaign, 2008 · Presidential campaign, 2008 · A More Perfect Union · Political positions · Presidential campaign endorsements · Jeremiah Wright controversy Books authored Dreams from My Father · The Audacity of Hope Life Early life and career · Cultural and political image Family Family tree · Michelle Obama · Barack Obama, Sr. · Ann Dunham · Madelyn and Stanley Dunham v d e Illinois's current delegation to the United States Congress Senators Richard Durbin D, Barack Obama D Representatives Bobby Rush D, Jesse Jackson, Jr. D, Dan Lipinski D, Luis Gutiérrez D, Rahm Emanuel D, Peter Roskam R, Danny Davis D, Melissa Bean D, Jan Schakowsky D, Mark Kirk R, Jerry Weller R, Jerry Costello D, Judy Biggert R, Bill Foster D, Tim Johnson R, Donald Manzullo R, Phil Hare D, Ray LaHood R, John Shimkus R State delegations Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Non-voting delegations American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands v d e Current members of the United States Senate AL: Shelby R, Sessions R AK: Stevens R, Murkowski R AZ: McCain R, Kyl R AR: Lincoln D, Pryor D CA: Feinstein D, Boxer D CO: Allard R, Salazar D CT: Dodd D, Lieberman I DE: Biden D, Carper D FL: Nelson D, Martinez R GA: Chambliss R, Isakson R HI: Inouye D, Akaka D ID: Craig R, Crapo R IL: Durbin D, Obama D IN: Lugar R, Bayh D IA: Grassley R, Harkin D KS: Brownback R, Roberts R KY: McConnell R, Bunning R LA: Landrieu D, Vitter R ME: Snowe R, Collins R MD: Mikulski D, Cardin D MA: Kennedy D, Kerry D MI: Levin D, Stabenow D MN: Coleman R, Klobuchar D MS: Cochran R, Wicker R MO: Bond R, McCaskill D MT: Baucus D, Tester D NE: Hagel R, Nelson D NV: Reid D, Ensign R NH: Gregg R, Sununu R NJ: Lautenberg D, Menendez D NM: Domenici R, Bingaman D NY: Schumer D, Clinton D NC: Dole R, Burr R ND: Conrad D, Dorgan D OH: Voinovich R, Brown D OK: Inhofe R, Coburn R OR: Wyden D, Smith R PA: Specter R, Casey D RI: Reed D, Whitehouse D SC: Graham R, DeMint R SD: Johnson D, Thune R TN: Alexander R, Corker R TX: Hutchison R, Cornyn R UT: Hatch R, Bennett R VT: Leahy D, Sanders I VA: Warner R, Webb D WA: Murray D, Cantwell D WV: Byrd D, Rockefeller D WI: Kohl D, Feingold D WY: Enzi R, Barrasso R Republican 49 Democratic 49 Independent 2 v d e United States Senators from Illinois Class 2: Thomas McLean Baker Robinson McRoberts Semple S. 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Douglas Percy Simon Durbin Class 3: Edwards McLean Kane Ewing Young Breese Shields Trumbull Oglesby Logan Farwell Palmer Mason Hopkins Lorimer Sherman McKinley Glenn Dieterich Lucas Dirksen Smith Stevenson III Dixon Moseley Braun Fitzgerald Obama United States Senate v d e Current Illinois statewide elected officials U.S. Senate Richard Durbin Barack Obama Illinois Seal State government Governor: Rod Blagojevich Lieutenant Governor: Pat Quinn Attorney General: Lisa Madigan Secretary of State: Jesse White Comptroller: Daniel Hynes Treasurer: Alexi Giannoulias Senate President: Emil Jones Majority Leader: Debbie Halvorson Minority Leader: Frank Watson House Speaker: Michael Madigan Majority Leader: Barbara Flynn Currie Minority Leader: Tom Cross Persondata NAME Obama, Barack, Jr. ALTERNATIVE NAMES Obama, Barack Hussein SHORT DESCRIPTION US Jr. Senator from Illinois DATE OF BIRTH August 4, 1961 PLACE OF BIRTH Honolulu, Hawaii DATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Barack_Obama Categories: Featured articles | Future election candidates | Spoken articles | 1961 births | Living people | Barack Obama | African American academics | African American lawyers | African American memoirists | African American politicians | African American United States Senators | People of mixed Black African-European ethnicity | American civil rights lawyers | American expatriates in Indonesia | American legal academics | American podcasters | American political writers | Chicago politicians | American Protestants | Americans of Dutch descent | Americans of English descent | Americans of French descent | Americans of German descent | Americans of Irish descent | Columbia University alumni | Community organizers | Congressional opponents of the Iraq War | Democratic Party United States presidential nominees | Grammy Award winners | Harvard Law School alumni | Illinois Democrats | Illinois lawyers | Illinois State Senators | Kenyan-Americans | Luo people | Occidental College alumni | People from Honolulu, Hawaii | Punahou School alumni | United Church of Christ members | United States presidential candidates, 2008 | African American United States presidential candidates | United States Senators from Illinois | University of Chicago faculty | Writers from Chicago | Current members of the United States Senate | American ChristiansHidden category: Semi-protected Views Article Discussion View source History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages Afrikaans አማáˆáŠ› العربية AzÉ™rbaycan বাংলা Bân-lâm-gú БеларуÑ?каÑ? тарашкевіца Bosanski Brezhoneg БългарÑ?ки Català Česky Cymraeg Dansk Deitsch Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara Ù?ارسی Français Frysk Gaeilge Gaelg Galego 贛語 í•œêµì–´ हिनà¥?दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Ã?slenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქáƒ?რთული Kiswahili Kreyòl ayisyen Kurdî / كوردی Latina LatvieÅ¡u Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Myanmasa Nederlands 日本語 ‪Norsk bokmÃ¥l‬ ‪Norsk nynorsk‬ Occitan Plattdüütsch Polski Português Ripoarisch Română РуÑ?Ñ?кий Саха тыла Shqip Simple English SlovenÅ¡Ä?ina СрпÑ?ки / Srpski Srpskohrvatski / СрпÑ?кохрватÑ?ки Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழà¯? ไทย Tiếng Việt Türkçe УкраїнÑ?ька اردو West-Vlams Winaray å?´è¯ ייִדיש Yorùbá 粵語 ä¸æ–‡ This page was last modified on 16 August 2008, at 06:43
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