Barack Obama's Background: Born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961.
His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats.
Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. His parents met at the University of Hawaii, where his mother was a student and his father had won a scholarship, allowing him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.
Barack grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia.
His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats.
Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. His parents met at the University of Hawaii, where his mother was a student and his father had won a scholarship, allowing him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.
Barack grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia.
Barack Obama's Education: Barack Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983.
He later earned his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
He later earned his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
Barack Obama's Community & Public Service: Deciding to honor the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer; the church-based group he joined sought to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.
Barack Obama's Career: Obama became a civil rights lawyer and taught constitutional law in Chicago. His advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for seven years.
In 2003, Barack launched an improbable race for the Senate. Even with many primary contenders and a budget six times smaller than his opponent’s, Barack won a landslide victory; he stood out alone among the major candidates, opposing the war in Iraq. Obama is the fifth African-American Senator in U.S. history and the only African-American currently serving in the Senate.
In 2003, Barack launched an improbable race for the Senate. Even with many primary contenders and a budget six times smaller than his opponent’s, Barack won a landslide victory; he stood out alone among the major candidates, opposing the war in Iraq. Obama is the fifth African-American Senator in U.S. history and the only African-American currently serving in the Senate.
Barack Obama's Focus & Achievements: This Senator has helped pass major measures designed to combat the international trafficking of nuclear weapons, promote the use of alternative fuels, and open up the budget process to greater public scrutiny. Throughout these efforts, he’s brought Democrats and Republicans together.
Before entering politics, Obama wrote Dreams from My Father, a memoir. The audio edition earned a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Obama then earned a $1.9 million deal for three more books. The first, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006, has remained high on the New York Times Best Seller list since its publication.
Before entering politics, Obama wrote Dreams from My Father, a memoir. The audio edition earned a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Obama then earned a $1.9 million deal for three more books. The first, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006, has remained high on the New York Times Best Seller list since its publication.
Personal Information about Barack Obama: Spouse: Michelle
Daughters: Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5
Residence: The family lives on Chicago’s South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ.
Daughters: Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5
Residence: The family lives on Chicago’s South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ.
Barack Obama's Diverse Heritage: In Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, he links his maternal family history to Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.
He likens the linguistic roots of his East African name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning blessed.
He has a half-Indonesian half-sister who is married to a Chinese-Canadian. His family describes holiday gatherings as a "mini-United Nations.
He likens the linguistic roots of his East African name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning blessed.
He has a half-Indonesian half-sister who is married to a Chinese-Canadian. His family describes holiday gatherings as a "mini-United Nations.
Looking Ahead - What does the future hold for Senator Barack Obama?: On January 16, 2007, Senator Barack Obama announced that he was taking the first step toward becoming a candidate for the 2008 presidential election by forming an exploratory committee. Recent opinion polls rank him as the second most popular choice, after Sen. Hillary Clinton, among Democratic voters.
Supporters, enthralled by his values, insights, and ability to work successfully across party lines, are excited about the promise of refreshing change. Skeptics, on the other hand, point to his limited political career and question his ability to take on the daunting challenges (e.g. Iraq, ongoing threat of terrorism, a deeply divided country) that are sure to face the new president.
In response, Obama has said, "...challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that's what we have to change first. We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans."
Whether the promise of refreshing change, coupled with Obama's smooth, articulate presentation is enough to overcome the established power and influence of better-known candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, remains to be seen. But for now anyway, Americans are at least listening.
Supporters, enthralled by his values, insights, and ability to work successfully across party lines, are excited about the promise of refreshing change. Skeptics, on the other hand, point to his limited political career and question his ability to take on the daunting challenges (e.g. Iraq, ongoing threat of terrorism, a deeply divided country) that are sure to face the new president.
In response, Obama has said, "...challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that's what we have to change first. We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans."
Whether the promise of refreshing change, coupled with Obama's smooth, articulate presentation is enough to overcome the established power and influence of better-known candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, remains to be seen. But for now anyway, Americans are at least listening.