Barack Obama

(CC) Photo: Roger H. Goun
Barack Obama at a campaign event, Nashua, NH.

Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is an attorney, Grammy Award recipient and United States Senator from Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently running to be the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States in the November, 2008 election.

Early life

Obama was born son of Barack Obama, Sr., a Kenyan national, and Ann Dunham, a United States national in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents separated when Obama was 2 years old and later divorced.

His mother later married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya. From his father's side, Obama has two half-sisters and five surviving half-brothers.

He lived his early life in Hawaii and later Indonesia. He returned to live with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii to attend the elite private school , Punahou School, graduating in 1979. While Obama states that he used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind" , his high school friend denies the drug use. He was known at school as "Barry Obama" In his book, Dreams of my Father, Obama notes that his family was very proud that he was attending the well regarded school, Punahou Academy. He wrote "For my grandparents, my admission into Punahou Academy heralded the start of something grand, an elevation in the family status that they took great pains to let everyone know," .

Law Career

He later worked for the Chicago law firm, Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland. There he drafted contracts and worked on employment law and voting rights cases though, as an associate attorney, he did not bring any cases to trial.

Illinois state legislature

Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 representing the 13th District, comprising south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park and served until resigning in 2004 to take office as United States Senator. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.

Obama states his major accomplishments as a state legislator include "creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit", "an expansion of early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases." During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police initially endorsed Daniel Hynes but, after Hynes lost in the primary, later endorsed Hynes opponent, Obama. Given his support of police restrictions in interrogating suspects and requiring police to collect racial information, his police support was mixed as evidenced by a chilly reception he received at a speech to police.

Keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention

Obama received national attention when he delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still serving as a state senator. The speech resulted in widespread coverage by national media.

United States Senator

In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Peter Fitzgerald.

His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican Party primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes, a prominent diplomat under Ronald Reagan and a conservative activist, accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan. A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. Keynes was widely ridiculed and lost the election to Obama.

Senate career

Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005.

Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people."

As Senator, Obama co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

During the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the Iraq War De-Escalation Act, a bill that caps troop levels in Iraq at January 10, 2007 levels, begins phased redeployment on May 1, 2007, and removes all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31 2008. This bill was not successful. Obama has long stressed his anti-war position.

Rezko controversy

In November 2007, Obama was subject to controversy over his home purchase with indicted Illinois businessman, Antoin Rezko. A homeowner sold Obama a house at a discount and simultaneously an adjacent vacant lot at the full asking price to Rezko's wife. Obama said the arrangement was "boneheaded" but not illegal. Obama has not been charged with any crime.

Presidential campaign

In February 2007, Obama announced at the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, that he was a candidate for U.S. President. He is one of the leading candidates as far as campaign funds raised.

Family life

Obama was married in 1992 and has two daughters, Malia (born 1999) and Natasha or "Sasha" (born 2001).

Books authored

• Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3. The spoken version of the book won Obama a Grammy Award.
• Obama, Barack.The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.