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Line 1: − '''Barack Hussein Obama''' (b. August 4, 1961) is the junior Senator from [[Illinois]], elected to the United States Senate as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] in 2004. Obama is currently the only [[African American]] serving in the [[United States Senate]], where he serves his first term. Obama falsely claimed that he was a constitutional law professor. <ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics</ref><ref>http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4238307</ref>+ − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. So much so, in fact, that he even blocked the [[Illinois]] version of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, even though it was unanimously supported by the [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080208070510AAmIod2&show=7</ref> Obama states that he consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111</ref>+ − Obama has absolutely no military, executive or foreign policy experience.<ref>"Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ... Mr Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman."[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]</ref> Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site "MoveOn.org" for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],<ref>MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]</ref> campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise [[Hillary Clinton]] refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]</ref> He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]]. Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that "Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe [for whom Obama worked as a research assistant] wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'." <ref>http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html</ref> Obama's "research" for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses<ref>Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.</ref> on the [[Constitution]].<ref>The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the "best student I ever had" and the "most exciting research assistant." [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]</ref>+ − Throughout his career, he repeatedly ducked controversial stands in an apparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office. For example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted "present" rather than "aye" or "nay" nearly an astounding 130 times.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html</ref> During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records.+ − + + + − ==Early Life and Education==+ − Senator Obama was born in Honolulu, [[Hawaii]] to Barack Obama, Sr., and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967 he moved to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]], with his mother and new stepfather. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school, followed by an Indonesian public school, until he returned with his mother to Hawaii. There he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.<br /><br /> − Obama continued his education at Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before graduating with his Bachelor of Arts from [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]]. After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School. He became a member of the [[liberal]] ''Harvard Law Review'' in 1989, which used racial [[quotas]] for membership, and was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990. He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991 and chose not to pursue a federal clerkship, which is the typical post-graduate position for top law students. − He was "Senior Lecturer in the Law" -- not a professor-level position -- at The [[University of Chicago]] Law School as of 2004.<ref>http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml</ref> He is no longer active at the school.<ref>http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama</ref>+ − ==Legal Career==+ − Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as Director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today. During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education. ''Dreams'' was published in 1995. − + − Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years. Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by an out-of-state candidate, [[Alan Keyes]].+ − His voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] places him as its tenth-most [[liberal]] member. His composite liberal rating was 86 percent, just seven points behind [[Ted Kennedy]]. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].<ref>[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref>+ − + − + − During the first two weeks of the 110th Congress, Sen. Obama supported and co-sponsored a bill called the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act that provided for comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform. The bill was signed by President Bush in September 2007.<ref> http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:s.1.es: </ref>+ − + + − The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 was signed into law by Pres Bush on Sept 09, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts. <ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html </ref>+ − Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/</ref> Less liberal examples of these bills include:+ − *S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.+ + + − *S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.+ − *S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.+ − *S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.+ − + − In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.+ − + − In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the Zimbabwe government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former Liberian President Charles Taylor. <ref> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ </ref>+ + − + − + − Senator Obama began his anti-war candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future. It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his "House Divided" speech.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html "Obama declares he's running for president"] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com </ref>+ − + − By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million dollars from over 100,000 contributors. $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''</ref> After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an "articulate" spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.</ref><ref>Chicago Sun-Times, + − [http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet, − April 29, 2007,</ref> − During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,+ − + − + − By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing. After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted. First, Obama said he would have face to face meetings with two of Florida's most fearful enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]]. Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions. Then Obama advised he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation. Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era. The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, which gave him a serious chance of becoming the Democratic nominee.+ + + + + − ==Political Views==+ − Obama's political views have been a matter of controversy even before he put himself forward as a Presidential Candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist".]]<ref>[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006</ref> In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.</ref><ref>[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref> − + − Nonetheless, he asserted that elements of [[sex education]] should be taught in kindergarten.<ref>"Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten." [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 </ref>+ − + − + − + − − In Russia and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited numerous nuclear/biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with Tony Blair, sitting UK Prime Minister.[http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/] − + + + − During a ten day tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. <ref> http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/</ref>+ − ==Faith and Values==+ − As he describes in ''The Audacity of Hope'' Obama grew up in a non-religious environment. When he was a child in Indonesia, he attended a local Muslim school for two years and a local [[Catholic]] school for two years, according to his own books.<ref>"Obama has noted in his two books, 'Dreams From My Father' and 'The Audacity of Hope,' that he spent two years in a Muslim school and another two years in a Catholic school while living in Indonesia from age 6 to 10." [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/]</ref> His father was a non-practicing [[Muslim]]. − + − + + + + − + + + − * ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.''+ − * ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.''+ − * ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)+ + − ==Published Criticism==+ − On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.</ref> who made a racially insensitive remark<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.</ref> on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, "The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds." <br /> − The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as "miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus."<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''</ref>+ − + − + − *[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous "Breaking News"]] − + − *[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.+ + + − + − *[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]+ − *[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007. − *[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress] − *[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing − *[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com − *[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama] − + − + − − + − + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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{{Infobox Senator<!-- please do not edit infobox; it is now correct -->
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama on the campaign trail with [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] during the [[National Anthem]]. (from Time.com)]]
| name = Barack Obama<!-- PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS NAME; SEE TALK ARCHIVES - In Wikipedia, the intro paragraph usually has the full legal name while the info box has the name as the person is commonly known or as they sign it. See Bill Clinton for an example. -->
| image name = ObamaBarack.jpg
| jr/sr = Junior Senator
| state = [[Illinois]]<!-- please leave this alone -->
| term_start = [[January 4]] [[2005]]
| alongside = Richard Durbin
| preceded = [[Peter Fitzgerald]]
| state_senate2 = Illinois| district2 = 13{{th}}
| term_start2 = [[January 8]], [[1997]]
| term_end2 = [[November 4]], [[2004]]
| preceded2 = [[Alice J. Palmer]]
| succeeded2 = [[Kwame Raoul]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|08|4}}
| birth_place = [[Honolulu, Hawaii]], U.S.
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = [[Michelle Obama]]
| children = Malia Ann (b. 1998),<br />Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001)
| residence=([[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]]), [[Chicago, Illinois]]
| alma_mater = [[Columbia University]],<br /> [[Harvard Law School]]
| religion = [[Protestant]]: ([[United Church of Christ]])
| signature = Barack Obama signature.svg
| website = [http://obama.senate.gov Barack Obama U.S. Senator For Illinois] }}{{BarackObamaSegmentsUnderInfoBox}}
{{fixHTML|end}}
'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''' (born [[August 4]] [[1961]]) is the junior [[United States Senator]] from [[Illinois]] and a candidate for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party's]] nomination in the [[2008 U.S. presidential election]].
Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he passed most of his childhood and adolescent years in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]]. At age six, he moved to [[Jakarta]] where he lived with his mother and Indonesian stepfather for four years. A graduate of [[Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before serving in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004. After an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he announced his campaign for U.S. Senate in early 2003.
The following year, while still an Illinois state legislator, Obama delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]]. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote. As a member of the Democratic minority in the [[109th Congress]], he cosponsored 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. In the current [[110th Congress]], he has sponsored legislation on [[lobbying in the United States|lobbying]] and [[electoral fraud]], [[mitigation of global warming|climate change]], [[nuclear terrorism]], and care for returned U.S. military personnel.
Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the [[Iraq War]], increasing [[Energy policy of the United States|energy independence]], and providing [[Universal_health_care#United_States|universal health care]] as his top three priorities.<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected? | url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/#top-priorities | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Michael | last=Falcone | title=Obama's 'One Thing' | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/obamas-one-thing/ | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-14}}</ref> He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has written two books: a memoir of his youth titled ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'', and ''[[The Audacity of Hope]]'', a personal commentary on U.S. politics.
Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]]. "Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ... The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp</ref>
==Early life and career==
{{main|Early life and career of Barack Obama}}
Obama was born on [[August 4]] [[1961]] in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to [[Barack Obama, Sr.]], of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, [[Kenya]], and [[Ann Dunham]], of Wichita, [[Kansas]].<ref name=Barry>{{cite news | first=Kirsten | last=Scharnberg | coauthors=Kim Barker | title=The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth | date=[[March 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-youth-story,0,5069625.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite web | title=Meet Barack | url=http://www.barackobama.com/about/ | publisher=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1.</ref> His parents met while both were attending the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see {{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Creation of Tales|date=[[November 1]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html | work=East African | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: {{cite news | first=Tim | last=Jones | title=Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas | date=[[March 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703270151mar27,1,3372079.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Barry /> He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's family while attending [[Punahou School]] from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Serafin | title=Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics | date=[[March 21]] [[2004]] | url=http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/21/news/story4.html | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4.</ref> Following high school, Obama moved to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], where he studied at [[Occidental College]] for two years.<ref>{{cite web | title=Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83 | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.oxy.edu/x2526.xml | publisher=Occidental College | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He then transferred to [[Columbia College of Columbia University|Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], where he majored in [[political science]] with a specialization in [[international relations]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work=Columbia College Today|accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
Obama received his college degree from Columbia in 1983, then worked at [[Business International Corporation]] and [[New York Public Interest Research Group]] before moving to [[Chicago]] in 1985 to take a job as a community organizer.<ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say | date=[[October 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Bob | last=Secter | coauthors=John McCormick | title=Portrait of a Pragmatist | date=[[March 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,282774.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=Ryan | last=Lizza | title=The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education | format=alternate link | date=[[March 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.pickensdemocrats.org/info/TheAgitator_070319.htm | work =New Republic | accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 135–139.</ref> He entered [[Harvard Law School]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Levenson | coauthors= Jonathan Saltzman | title=At Harvard Law, a Unifying Voice | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=John | last=Heilemann | title=When They Were Young | date=[[October 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://nymag.com/news/features/39321/ | work=The New York Magazine | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> In 1990, ''The New York Times'' reported his election as the first black president of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]''.<ref>{{cite news | first=Fox | last=Butterfield | title=First Black Elected to Head Harvard's Law Review | date=[[February 6]] [[1990]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FO%2FObama%2C%20Barack | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Obama completed his law degree with honors in 1991, then returned to Chicago where he headed a voter registration drive and began writing his first book, ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'', a memoir published in 1995.<ref>{{cite news | first=Marie C | last=Kodama | title=Obama Left Mark on HLS | date=[[January 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516664 | work=Harvard Crimson | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), p. xiii.</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Gretchen | last=Reynolds | title=Vote of Confidence | date=January [[1993]] | url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence/ | work=Chicago Magazine | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
As an [[lawyer|associate attorney]] with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2002, he represented community organizers, [[employment discrimination law in the United States|discrimination]] claims, and [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights]] cases, generally as a junior associate. About a third of his time was spent on real estate transactions, filing incorporation papers and defending clients against minor lawsuits.<ref name="lawyer days"/> Following his election to the Illinois Senate in 1996, Obama agreed to work at the firm during the summer, when the Illinois Senate was not in session.<ref name="legal career">{{cite news | title=Law Graduate Obama Got His Start in Civil Rights Practice | date=[[February 19]] [[2007]] | publisher=''International Herald Tribune'' | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/20/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Attorney-at-Law.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Obama primarily worked on legal teams drawing up briefs, contracts, and other legal documents.<ref name="lawyer days">{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obamalegal6apr06,0,6774732,full.story | title=Obama's lawyer days: brief and not all civil rights | first=Dan | last=Moran | publisher=Los Angeles Times | date=2008-04-08 | accessdate=2008-04-15}}</ref> This included work for the [[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now]] in a successful lawsuit that forced the state of Illinois to implement a federal law that was designed to make it easier for people to register to vote, work on an appeals brief on behalf of a [[whistleblower]] who was suing [[Cook County Hospital]] and the Hektoen Institute for Medical Research for wrongful termination, and work for another legal team that forced the city of Chicago to redraw [[Wards of the United States|ward]] boundaries that the city council drew up following the [[United States census, 1990|1990 census]].<ref name="legal career"/> But he also appeared in court to defend a nonprofit developer against charges it was failing to provide heat to tenants.<ref name="lawyer days"/> Obama did some work on taxpayer-supported building rehabilitation loans for Rezmar Corp.,<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama and his Rezko ties | date=[[April 23]] [[2007]] | publisher=''Chicago Sun-Times'' | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref> half-owned by [[Tony Rezko]], who has since raised approximately $250,000 for Obama's various political campaigns.<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff writer |title=Obama: Rezko Raised Up to $250K |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAIGdfD5fnE04OcfAdWzD_JTcEoQD8VDI2H00 |work=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Google News]] |date=2008-03-14 |accessdate=2008-04-12 }}</ref>
Obama also taught constitutional law part-time at the [[University of Chicago Law School]] from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref>{{cite news | first=Abdon M | last=Pallasch | title=Professor Obama was a Listener, Students Say | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/253391,CST-NWS-prof12.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
==Senate Career==
==State legislature==
{{main|Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama}}
Obama was elected to the [[Illinois Senate]] in 1996 from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]] neighborhoods from [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]]-[[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]] south to [[South Shore, Chicago|South Shore]] and west to [[Chicago Lawn, Chicago|Chicago Lawn]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Jackson | coauthors= Ray Long | title=Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot | date=[[April 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}{{cite book |author=[[Jesse White (politician)|White, Jesse]] |year=2001 |chapter=Legislative Districts of Cook County, 1991 Reapportionment |chapterurl=http://www.sos.state.il.us/publications/02bluebook/legislative_branch/legdistrictmaps.pdf |title=Illinois Blue Book 2001–2002 |location=Springfield |publisher=[[Secretary of State of Illinois|Illinois Secretary of State]] |pages=p. 65}}State Sen. District 13 = State Rep. Districts 25 & 26.</ref> His campaign challenged the irregular nominating petitions of other Democratic candidates, whose names were eventually struck from the [[primary election|primary]] ballot, including incumbent [[Alice J. Palmer]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/chi-0704030881apr04,1,5477449.story?page=1 | title=Showing his bare knuckles | work=Chicago Tribune | author= David Jackson | coauthors= Ray Long | date=2007-04-04 | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref><ref name="Obama and Me">{{cite news |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-02-28/news/obama-and-me/ | title=Obama and Me | work=Dallas Observer | author=Todd Spivak | date=2008-02-28 | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref>
In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published. Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that "racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run .... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in god."<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html</ref> The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics. ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]</ref>
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] seat held by four-term incumbent candidate [[Bobby Rush]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama | date=[[September 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002 (when the 13th District was [[redistricting|redrawn]] to span Chicago [[Lake Michigan|lakefront]] neighborhoods from the [[Near North Side, Chicago|Gold Coast]] south to [[South Chicago, Chicago|South Chicago]]).<ref>{{cite book |author=White, Jesse |year=2005 |chapter=Legislative Districts of Northeastern Illinois, 2001 Reapportionment |chapterurl=http://www.sos.state.il.us/publications/illinois_bluebook/2005_2006/legislative_branch/legdistrictmaps.pdf |title=Illinois Blue Book 2005–2006 |location=Springfield |publisher=Illinois Secretary of State |pages=p. 64}}</ref> In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority in the Illinois Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jackie | last=Calmes | title=Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama | date=[[February 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117219748197216894-Sn6oV_4KLQHp_xz7CjYLuyjv3Jg_20070324.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> The new majority leader [[Emil Jones]] also appointed Obama the sponsor of important legislation, that had previously been under development, establishing his political record in that year.<ref name="Obama and Me">{{cite news |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-02-28/news/obama-and-me/ | title=Obama and Me | work=Dallas Observer | author=Todd Spivak | date=2008-02-28 | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/31/obamas.godfather.ap/index.html?eref=rss_politics&iref=polticker | title=Political 'godfather' boosted Obama's early career | publisher=CNN | date=[[March 31]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref> He resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Melanie | last=Coffee | title=Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat | date=[[November 6]] [[2004]] | publisher=HPKCC | url=http://www.hydepark.org/hpkccnews/raoul.htm#ap | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
=== Bills Co-Sponsored ===
As a state legislator, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol | date=[[February 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=In Illinois, Obama Dealt with Lobbyists | date=[[September 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/23/in_illinois_obama_dealt_with_lobbyists/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics | date=[[January 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | title=In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career | date=[[February 9]], [[2007]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://video.chicagotribune.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?clipid1=1226539 | work=CLTV | format=video | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He sponsored a law enhancing [[tax credit]]s for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.<ref name=Scott20070730>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=Rick | last=Pearson | coauthors=Ray Long | title=Careful Steps, Looking Ahead | date=[[May 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Obama also led the passage of legislation mandating videotaping of homicide interrogations, and a law to monitor [[racial profiling]] by requiring police to record the race of drivers they stopped.<ref name=Scott20070730 /> During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, he won the endorsement of the Illinois [[Fraternal Order of Police]], whose president credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]] reforms.<ref>{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | coauthors=Aaron Blake | title=Obama's Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals | date=[[March 14]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | title=US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms | date=[[November 12]] [[2007]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/12/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Death-Penalty.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He was criticized by rival [[pro-choice]] candidates in the Democratic primary and by his Republican [[pro-life]] opponent in the general election for a series of "present" or "no" votes on [[late-term abortion]] and [[minors and abortion|parental notification]] issues.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eric | last=Zorn | title=Disparagement of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up | archiveurl=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/12/disparagement-o.html | archivedate=2007-12-04 | date=[[March 9]] [[2004]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/573751701.html?dids=573751701:573751701&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-03}} {{cite news | title=Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views | date=[[August 9]] [[2004]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | title=Abortion Foes Target Obama Because of His Vote Record on Illinois Legislation | date=[[February 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/abortion-foes-target-obama-because-of-his-vote-record-on-illinois-legislation-2007-02-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
==Senate campaign==
<ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html </ref>
{{seealso|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 (political consultant)|David Axelrod]] that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Decisions by Republican incumbent [[Peter Fitzgerald]] and his Democratic predecessor [[Carol Moseley Braun]] to not contest the race launched wide open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving 15 candidates.<ref>{{cite news | last=Davey | first=Monica | title=Closely Watched Illinois Senate Race Attracts 7 Candidates in Millionaire Range | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/politics/campaign/07ILLI.html | work=The New York Times | date=[[March 7]] [[2004]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman [[Blair Hull]] and Illinois Comptroller [[Daniel Hynes]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Mendell | title=Obama Routs Democratic Foes; Ryan Tops Crowded GOP Field | date=[[March 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0403170332mar17,1,1737252.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> However, Hull's popularity declined following reports of his ex-wife's allegations of domestic abuse.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christopher | last=Hayes | title=Check Bounce | date=[[March 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.chrishayes.org/articles/check-bounce/ | format=alternate link | work=TNR Online | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> 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 (politician)|Paul Simon]], former U.S. Senator for Illinois.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben | last=Wallace-Wells | title=Obama's Narrator | date=[[April 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01axelrod.t.html | work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.<ref>{{cite news | first=Monica | last=Davey | title=From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat | date=[[May 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D61431F934A25750C0A9629C8B63 | work =New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=John S | last=Jackson | title=The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race | date=August 2006 | publisher=Southern Illinois University | url=http://www.siu.edu/~ppi/PDF/papers/Obama.pdf | work=Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
Obama's opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner [[Jack Ryan (2004 U.S. Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]]. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife, actress [[Jeri Ryan]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois | date=[[June 25]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Maura Kelly | last=Lannan | title=Alan Keyes Enters U.S. Senate Race in Illinois Against Rising Democratic Star | date=[[August 9]], [[2004]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040809-0849-illinoissenate.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ford | last=Liam | coauthors= David Mendell | title=Keyes Sets Up House in Cal City | date=[[August 13]], [[2004]] | url =http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0408130201aug13,1,7640082.story | work =Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.<ref>For debate transcripts and video, see ''Alan Keyes Archives'': {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=367 | title=Alan Keyes and Barack Obama Debate, Hosted by Illinois Radio Network | date=[[October 12]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=370 |title=U.S. Senate Debate Sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Illinois | date=[[October 21]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=373 | title=Debate Sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago |accessdate=2008-04-13 |date=[[October 26]] [[2004]]}}</ref> In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.<ref>{{cite news | title=America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois | url =http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles | date=[[November 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201945.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
In July 2004, while still serving as a state legislator, he wrote and delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: {{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url =http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work =Columbia College Today| accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Bernstein| title=The Speech | date=June 2007| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2007/The-Speech/ | work=Chicago Magazine| accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a [[World War II]] veteran and a beneficiary of the [[New Deal|New Deal's]] [[Federal Housing Administration|FHA]] and [[Servicemen's Readjustment Act (USA)|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."<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention | format=text or [http://www.barackobama.com/tv/speeches.php?bcpid=900718856&bclid=900554575&bctid=791793079 video] | date=[[July 27]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php | publisher=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Randal C | last=Archibold | title=The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere | date=[[July 29]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E7DB103DF93AA15754C0A9629C8B63 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Ronald | last=Roach | title=Obama Rising | date=[[October 7]] [[2004]] | publisher=DiverseEducation.com | url=http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_4041.shtml | work=Black Issues In Higher Education | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
==Senate career==
{{main|United States Senate career of Barack Obama}}
Obama was sworn in as a senator on [[January 4]] [[2005]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/about/ | title=About Barack Obama | accessdate=2008-04-08 | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.<ref>{{cite news | first=Charles | last=Babington | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry | date=[[December 8]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701755.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-08}} {{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars | date=[[September 17]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama_mon_nusep17,1,4819101,full.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> Obama hired [[Pete Rouse]], a 30 year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader [[Tom Daschle]], as his chief of staff, and economist [[Karen Kornbluh]], former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury [[Robert Rubin]], as his policy director.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10828 | work=The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-04-08}} {{cite news | first=Perry | last=Bacon Jr. | title=The Outsider's Insider | date=[[August 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601446.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> His key foreign policy advisers include [[Samantha Power]], author on human rights and genocide, and former [[Presidency of Bill Clinton| Clinton administration]] officials [[Anthony Lake]] and [[Susan E. Rice| Susan Rice]].<ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Traub | title=Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny? | date=[[November 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-08}} {{cite news | first=Neil | last=King | title=Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle | date=[[September 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118895877299317784.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-08}} {{cite news | first=Lynn | last=Sweet | title=Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts | date=[[May 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/379187,CST-EDT-sweet10.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> He holds assignments on the Senate Committees for [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]], [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions]]; [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]]; and [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Veterans' Affairs]], and is a member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/committees/ | title=Committee Assignments | accessdate=2008-04-08 | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}} {{cite news | title=Member Info | url=http://www.house.gov/kilpatrick/cbc/member_info.html | work=Congressional Black Caucus | accessdate=2008-04-08}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety | date=[[June 26]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-08}} He is also Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on [[United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs| European Affairs]]. {{cite news | first=Tom | last=Baldwin | title=Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece | work=Sunday Times (UK) | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
<!--
The following sentence is a compromise that was reached at the talk page (see the archives). Please do not modify it without discussion.
-->The [[Historian of the United States Senate|U.S. Senate Historical Office]] lists him as the fifth [[African American]] Senator in [[History of the United States|U.S. history]], the third to have been popularly elected, and the only African American currently serving in the Senate.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm | title=Breaking New Ground: African American Senators |work=U.S. Senate Historical Office | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===
One analysis of bill co-sponsorship classified Obama as a "rank-and-file Democrat". Another, of party-line votes, tagged him a "Democratic Party loyalist."<ref>{{cite news | title=Members of Congress: Barack Obama | url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629 | work=GovTrack | accessdate=2008-03-31}}<br />{{cite news | first=David | last=Nather | title=The Space Between Clinton and Obama | date=[[January 14]] [[2008]] | url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqw/weeklyreport110-000002654703.html | work=CQ Weekly | accessdate=2008-04-08}}<br />See also: {{cite news | first=Tom | last=Curry | title=What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23276453/ | work=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> However, the [[National Journal]], in its 27th annual vote ratings, identified Obama as "the most liberal senator" in 2007, although he only participated in two thirds of the rated votes. He had ranked as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate. Hillary Clinton ranked as the 16th most liberal Senator in 2007, voting differently than Obama on only 10 of the 297 votes (99 per year) considered in calculating the rankings.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings | title=Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007 |work=National Journal | accessdate=2008-01-31}}</ref>
Ratings of Obama's liberalism by the [[Americans for Democratic Action]] (ADA) declined from 100% in 2005 to 95% in 2006 and 75% in 2007,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=9490&type=category&category=45&go.x=12&go.y=8 | title=Senator Barack H. Obama Jr. (IL) | publisher=Project Vote Smart | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> but the drop in his 2007 rating is due to Obama missing five of the twenty votes the ADA used in their measure.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.adaction.org/2007.pdf | title=2007 Congressional Voting Record Inside | work=ADA Today | publisher=Americans for Democratic Action | month=February | year=2008 | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> In the sixty votes used by the ADA to measure a legislator's political liberalism during Obama's career in the Senate he has voted for the non-"liberal" result only once.<ref>The ADA claims that, "Since ADA's founding in 1947, ADA's Voting Records have served as the standard guideline measuring a legislator's political liberalism... Those Members of Congress considered moderates generally score between 40% and 60%." http://www.adaction.org/index.htm</ref>
Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts. This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.
Responding to a question about the National Journal's characterization of his voting record, Obama dismissed ideological labels as “old politics.”<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9111.html | title=Racial problems transcend Wright | publisher=The Politico | accessdate=2008-04-16 | date=[[March 18]], [[2008]] | last=VandeHei | first=Jim | coauthors=Harris, John F.}}</ref>
During his first three years in the Senate, Obama received [[Honorary degree|Honorary]] Doctorates of Law from [[Knox College (Illinois)|Knox College]] (2005),<ref>{{cite news | title=Commencement 2005: Knox honors U.S. Senator Barack Obama | date=[[May 10]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.knox.edu/x9684.xml | work=Knox College | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> [[University of Massachusetts Boston]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to Receive Honorary Degree, Address 2,500 UMass Boston Graduates | date=[[May 26]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.umb.edu/news/2006news/releases/may/060526_obama_press_release.html | work=University of Massachusetts Boston | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> [[Northwestern University]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=Commencement 2006: Sen. Obama to Address Grads | date=[[June 6]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/06/honorary.html | work=Northwestern University | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> [[Xavier University of Louisiana]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=Sen. Obama Addresses Xavier Graduates | date=[[August 13]] [[2006]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-13-obama-xavier_x.htm | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> [[Southern New Hampshire University]] (2007),<ref>{{cite news | title=SNHU Commencement with Sen. Barack Obama | date=[[May 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.snhu.edu/6736.asp | work=Southern New Hampshire University | accessdate=2008-04-08 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070704024303/http://www.snhu.edu/6736.asp | archivedate=2007-07-04}}</ref> and [[Howard University]] (2007).<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Calls the 'Joshua Generation' | date=[[September 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/09/obama_calls_the.html | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> A Kenyan school located in his father's hometown, which he visited while on an congressional trip in August 2006, was renamed the "Senator Barack Obama Primary School."<ref>{{cite news | first=Nico | last=Gnecchi | title=Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya | date=[[August 27]] [[2006]]
| url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-08/2006-08-27-voa17.cfm?CFID=201721546&CFTOKEN=78935561 | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
==Presidential Campaign==
===109th Congress===
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]
Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved [[Illegal immigration to the United States|border security and immigration reform]]. In 2005, he cosponsored the "[[Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act]]" introduced by Sen. [[John McCain]] (R-AZ).<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act | date=[[May 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01033: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He later added three amendments to the "[[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006|Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act]]", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite news | title=Immigration Bill Divides House, Senate | date=[[September 22]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-22-immigration_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/060525-obama_statement_on_senate_passage_of_immigration_reform_bill/index.html | title=Obama Statement on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform Bill | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the [[Secure Fence Act of 2006|Secure Fence Act]], authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the [[United States–Mexico border]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html | publisher=CBS 2 (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform".<ref>{{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act | date=[[October 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061026.html | work=White House | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
[[Image:Coburn and Obama discuss S. 2590.jpg|thumb|Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Obama discussing the [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006| Coburn–Obama Transparency Act]]<ref>{{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html | work=White House | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>]]
Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general. Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In August 2005, he traveled to [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]]. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of [[conventional weapon]]s, [[biological warfare|biological weapons]], and [[weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] as a first defense against potential [[terrorism|terrorist]] attacks.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christina | last=Larson | title=Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP | date=September 2006 | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.larson.html | work=Washington Monthly | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Following meetings with [[Military of the United States|U.S. military]] in [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]] in January 2006, Obama visited [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], and the [[Palestinian territories]]. At a meeting with [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] students two weeks before [[Hamas]] won the [[Palestinian legislative election, 2006|legislative election]], Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."<ref>{{cite news | first=Chuck | last=Goudie | title=Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor | date=[[January 12]], [[2006]] | url =http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3806933 | publisher=ABC 7 News (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to [[South Africa]], Kenya, [[Djibouti]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Chad]]. In a nationally televised speech at the [[University of Nairobi]], he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and [[corruption in Kenya]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud | date=[[August 28]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1989646,00.html | work=News24.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2125, Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act | date=[[January 3]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02125: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
Partnering first with Sen. [[Dick Lugar]] (R-IN), and then with Sen. [[Tom Coburn]] (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar–Obama" expands the [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction|Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction]] concept to conventional weapons, including [[Man-portable air-defense systems|shoulder-fired missiles]] and [[anti-personnel mine]]s.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2566, Cooperative Proliferation Detection, Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006 | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02566: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Richard G | last=Lugar | coauthors=Barack Obama | title=Junkyard Dogs of War | date=[[December 3]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201509.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/ | title= Lugar–Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President | date=[[January 11]] [[2007]] | work=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The Lugar–Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=278019 | title=Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law | work=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | date=[[June 28]] [[2007]] | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The "Coburn–Obama Transparency Act" provides for the web site USAspending.gov, managed by the [[Office of Management and Budget]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usaspending.gov/faq.php#50 |title=Frequently Asked Questions |accessdate=2008-04-09 |work=USAspending.gov }}</ref> The site lists all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward and provides breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2590, Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 | date=[[April 6]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02590: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Coburn–Obama Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=LegislativeFloorAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=eb582f19-802a-23ad-41db-7a7cb464cfdb | work=Tom Coburn U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama found less success in his efforts to further regulate the [[nuclear power in the united states| US nuclear energy industry]], sponsoring a bill which generated expected opposition. A modified version was successful in committee but did not pass the full chamber as the session ended; Obama would once mistakenly claim to have fully passed the bill.<ref> {{cite news |last=McIntire |first=Mike | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/politics/03exelon.html | title = Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate | work = The New York Times | accessdate = 2008-04-07}}</ref>
===110th Congress===
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.</ref>}}
In the first month of the newly Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, Obama worked with [[Russ Feingold]] (D–WI) to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyists]] to members of Congress and require disclosure of [[Campaign finance in the United States#Bundling|bundled campaign contributions]] under the "[[Honest Leadership and Open Government Act]]," which was signed into law in September 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel | date=[[November 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feingold-obama-go-after-corporate-jet-travel-2007-11-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation | date=[[December 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-press-fec-on-bundling-regulation-2007-12-05.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=Federal Election Commission | url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2007/20070924travel.shtml | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He joined [[Chuck Schumer]] (D-NY) in sponsoring [[Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act|S. 453]], a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the [[United States general elections, 2006|2006 midterm elections]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Seth | last=Stern | title=Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | work=The New York Times | url=http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/31/cq_2213.html | work=CQPolitics.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00453: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=Honesty in Elections | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/opinion/31wed1.html | work=The New York Times | format=editorial | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama's [[Energy use in the United States|energy]] initiatives scored pluses and minuses with [[Environmentalism|environmentalists]], who welcomed his sponsorship with John McCain (R-AZ) of a [[Global warming|climate change]] bill to reduce [[greenhouse gas]] emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting [[Coal#Liquefaction_-_Coal-To-Liquids_.28CTL.29|liquefied coal]] production.<ref>{{cite news | first=Hebert | last=H. Josef | title=Congress Begins Tackling Climate Issues | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/29/ap/politics/mainD8MV8LBG0.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Elizabeth | last=Williamson | title=The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still... Coal | date=[[January 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901503.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama also introduced the "[[Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007]]," a bill that had proposed capping troop levels in Iraq, beginning phased redeployment, and removing all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008;<ref>{{cite news | first=E. Kasak | last=Krystin | title=Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home |date=[[February 7]] [[2007]] | publisher=nwi.com | url =http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/illiana/doc65cc98d8dc6506b28625727b0011edb5.txt | work=Medill News Service | accessdate=2008-01-14}} "Latest Major Action: 1/30/2007 Referred to Senate committee." {{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 | date=[[January 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00433: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> the measure came under criticism from Senate Republicans, including fellow presidential contender John McCain (R-AZ).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/84303/output/print|title=The Candidates on Iraq|title=January 3, 2008|work=Newsweek|author=Klonsky, Joanna|accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref>
Obama evidently was misinformed, whereas in reality the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored with [[Kit Bond]] (R-MO) an amendment to the 2008 [[National Defense Authorization Act|Defense Authorization Act]] adding safeguards for personality disorder [[military discharge]]s, and calling for a review by the [[Government Accountability Office]] following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action | date=[[October 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=5C1EBFEB-1321-0E36-BA7D-04630AEFAD31 | work =Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Dine | title=Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges | date=[[December 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/srlinks.nsf/story/2E7CC823AD55667B862573A7007D12A2?OpenDocument | work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry,<ref>{{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1430, Iran Sanctions Enabling Act | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN01430: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Adam | last=Graham-Silverman | title=Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran | date=[[September 12]] [[2007]] | url =http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002583189.html | work=CQ Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> and joined [[Chuck Hagel]] (R-NE) in introducing legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.<ref name=ObamaSchiff>{{cite news | title=Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved | date=[[December 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071220-obama_schiff_pr/ | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> A provision from the Obama–Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.<ref name=ObamaSchiff /> Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] (SCHIP) to provide one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.<ref>{{cite news | title=Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members | date=[[August 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070802-senate_passes_o_1/ | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was [[Veto#United States|vetoed]] by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama criticized.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Stout |title=Bush Vetoes Children’s Health Bill |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/washington/03cnd-veto.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |date=2007-10-03 |accessdate=2008-04-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff writer |title=Reaction to Children's Health Veto |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/03/national/w143407D40.DTL&type=politics |work=Associated Press |publisher=''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' |date=2007-10-03 |accessdate=2008-04-09 }}</ref>
==Presidential campaign==
{{Future election candidate|section|Obama, Barack}}
{{POV-section|date=April 2008}}
{{main|Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008}}
[[Image:Flickr Obama Springfield 01.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign on [[February 10]], [[2007]]<ref>For other photos of this event, see: {{cite news | url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157594528136270/show/ | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | accessdate=2008-01-14 |date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | format=photo gallery | work=Barack Obama, Flickr}}</ref>]]
In February 2007, standing before the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old State Capitol]] building in [[Springfield, Illinois]], Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news | title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref> Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to [[Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln's]] 1858 [[Lincoln's House Divided Speech|House Divided]] speech, Obama said: "That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America."<ref>{{cite news | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | format=video | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | publisher=Brightcove.TV | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Speaking at a [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to [[negative campaigning]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/barack_obama.php |title=Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting | format=video | date=[[February 2]] [[2007]] | work=Democratic National Committee | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Full text from [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500753_pf.html CQ Transcripts Wire]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]]. See also: {{cite news | first=Paul | last=Harris | title=The Obama Revolution | date=[[February 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2005508,00.html | work=Guardian Unlimited | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
Obama has said, "Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning," and "it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life."<ref>[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.</ref>
Obama's campaign raised [[United States dollar|US$]]58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Malone | title=Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination | date=[[July 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-02-voa52.cfm | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeanne | last=Cummings | title=Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook | date=[[September 26]] [[2007]] | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3ECB3515-3048-5C12-004D622CB6F4E214 | work=Politico | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Emily | last=Cadei | title=Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002674309 | work=CQ Politics | accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref> Amidst concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection to Obama 18 months before the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Helen | last=Kennedy | title=Obama Gets Earliest-Ever Secret Service Detail | date=[[May 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/05/04/2007-05-04_raising_his_guard.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
[[Image:2174568925 20a4057c6b.jpg|thumb|Barack and Michelle Obama at the [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa caucuses]], [[January 3]], [[2008]]]]
Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.<ref>[http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches]</ref>
With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in Iowa and [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|New Hampshire]], and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jay | last=Newton-Small | title=Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1677121,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}<br />{{cite news | first=Adam | last=Nagourney | coauthors=Jeff Zeleny | title=Obama Rolls Out Aggressive Approach to Clinton's Campaign | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/28/america/obama.php | work =International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Campaigning in [[Iowa]], he told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from [[Independent (voter)|independent]] and Republican voters in the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Balz | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers | date=[[November 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802459.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Among the first four [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008#January|DNC-sanctioned]] state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in Iowa, [[Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008|Nevada]] and [[South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|South Carolina]] while winning an equal number in [[New Hampshire]]; Clinton, however, won the popular vote in [[Nevada]] and New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#IA | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Iowa | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 5]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#SC | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for South Carolina | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 22]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NH | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 10]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-01-14}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NV | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Nevada | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 22]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> His win in Iowa was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers, while blacks turned away from Clinton after perceived attempts by Clinton to label Obama as a racial candidate.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-what-wouldnt-clinton-do-to-secure-power-794923.html | title=Johann Hari: What wouldn't Clinton do to secure power? | work=The Independent | author=Johann Hari | date=[[March 13]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#IADEM | title=Entrance Polls: Iowa | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 3]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/1447135071.html?dids=1447135071:1447135071&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+16%2C+2008&author=MELANYE+T+PRICE&pub=Hartford+Courant&edition=&startpage=C.1&desc=WHAT+OBAMA+MEANS |format=paid archive | title=What Obama Means | work=Hartford Courant | author=Melanye T. Price | date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Montgomery | coauthors=Kim Stolz | title=Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus Wins Are Largely Thanks To Young Voters | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579042/20080104/index.jhtml | work=MTV | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Trailing Clinton nationally by 20% heading into the February [[Super Tuesday, 2008|Super Tuesday]], he eliminated that lead and emerged with another 20 more delegates than Clinton.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_delegate_count.html | title=2008 Democratic Delegates | work=RealClearPolitics | accessdate=2008-03-25}}</ref> He broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising more than $90 million for his primary campaign while Clinton raised $45 million in the same period.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-money7mar07,1,5383518.story | title=Obama sets fundraising record with $55 million | work=Los Angeles Times | author=Dan Morain | date=[[March 7]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>
::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.
After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/make-that-11-for-obama/ |title=Make That 11 for Obama | author=Brian Knowlton | work=The New York Times | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> He then won the [[Vermont Democratic primary, 2008|Vermont primary]] and the caucus portion of [[Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008|Texas primary and caucuses]], but lost the [[Ohio Democratic primary, 2008|Ohio]], [[Rhode Island Democratic primary, 2008|Rhode Island]], and Texas primary elections to Clinton.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/dates/index.html#val=20080304 | title=Results: March 4 - Multi-State Events | publisher=[[CNN]] | date=2008-03-04 | accessdate=2008-03-04}}</ref> As of [[March 17]] [[2008]] the Associated Press estimated that Obama led the pledged delegate count 1,404 to 1,249; but both were well short of the 2,024 needed to secure the nomination.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/delegates/index.html |title=Democratic Delegate Counts | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-03-17}}</ref> He also began to cut into Clinton's lead in committed [[superdelegates]], with the AP counting 249 for Clinton and 213 for Obama. Since the Iowa caucuses, Obama had added 53 superdelegates to his total, compared to 12 for Clinton.<ref name=super>Julianna Goldman and Catherine Dodge. [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0OkW8Ml8ljw&refer=home Obama Cuts Into Clinton's Delegate Lead Among Elected Officials] Bloomberg.com, [[March 14]], [[2008]]. Retrieved on [[2008-03-18]]</ref>
== Foreign Policy Experience ==
In March 2008, a [[Jeremiah Wright sermon controversy|controversy]] broke out concerning Obama's 23-year relationship with his former pastor and religious mentor, [[Jeremiah Wright]].<ref name="Obama's Pastor">{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 | title=Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 | author=Brian Ross | coauthors=Rehab el-Buri|publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[March 13]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/for-the-record.html | title=For The Record | work=The Daily Dish | publisher=''The Atlantic'' |date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18 | last=Sullivan | first=Andrew}}</ref> ABC News found and excerpted racially and politically charged [[Media clip|clips]] from sermons by Rev. Wright, including his assertion that the United States brought on the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 attacks]] with its own "terrorism" and his assertion that "[t]he government lied about [[AIDS conspiracy theories|inventing the HIV virus]] as a means of genocide against people of color."<ref name="Obama's Pastor" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/14/obamas-spiritual-adviser-questioned-us-role-in-spread-of-hiv-sept-11-attacks/ | title=Obama’s Pastor’s Sermon: ‘God Damn America’ | publisher=FOXNews | author=Jeff Goldblatt | date=[[March 14]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> Some of Wright's statements were widely criticized as anti-American.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |first=Ken |last=Dilanian |title=Defenders say Wright has love, righteous anger for USA |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-03-18-obamawright_N.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=2008-03-18 |accessdate=2008-04-02 }}</ref><ref name="adubato-msnbc">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23745283/|title=Obama's reaction to Wright too little, too late|publisher=MSNBC|date=March 21, 2008|author=Adubato, Steve}}</ref> Following negative media coverage and a drop in the polls,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3591359.ece | title=Polls show Barack Obama damaged by link to Reverend Jeremiah Wright | date=[[March 21]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-05 | work=Times Online | author=Reid, Tim}}</ref> Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks, ending his relationship with the campaign, and delivering a speech entitled "[[A More Perfect Union]]" at the Constitution Center in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0319/p25s01-uspo.html | title=Remarks by Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union' | author=Barack Obama | work=The Christian Science Monitor | date=[[March 18]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> In the speech, Obama rejected some of Wright's comments, but refused to disown the man himself, noting his lifelong ministry to the poor and past service as a US Marine.<ref name="apracespeech">{{cite news | url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRloD01UY7O-mlm7HkoTEgFcoPJgD8VG3E500 | title= Obama confronts racial division | date=[[March 18]], [[2008]] | work=The Associated Press | author=Nedra Pickler, Matt Apuzzo | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Peggy |last=Noonan |authorlink=Peggy Noonan |title=A Thinking Man's Speech |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120604775960652829.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=2008-03-21 |accessdate=2008-04-11 }}</ref> Although the speech, which placed Wright's anger in a larger historical context, was generally well-received,<ref name="apracespeech" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Mr. Obama’s Profile in Courage |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/opinion/19wed1.html |publisher=The New York Times |date=2008-03-19 |accessdate=2008-03-19}}</ref> critics continued to question the implications of Obama's long and close relationship with Wright.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23743408/ | title=Obama's minister's remarks won't fade | date=[[March 21]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-26 | work=The Associated Press | publisher=MSNBC}}</ref><ref name=tpC20080318>{{cite news | title=Obama's racial problems transcend Wright | date=[[March 18]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9111.html | work=The Politico | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Kristol |authorlink=Bill Kristol |title=Let's Not, and Say We Did |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/opinion/24kristol.html?em&ex=1206504000&en=116b0da3e79179f5&ei=5087%0A |work=New York Times |date=[[2008-03-24]] |accessdate=2008-03-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120770107738700007.html | title=Obama's Minister Problem | work=The Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-12 | last=Davis | first=Lanny J. | date=[[April 9]], [[2008]]}}</ref>
Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur and addressed Africa's growing AIDS epidemic. <ref>http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/</ref>
==Political advocacy==
{{see also|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 [[social mobility|upward mobility]] [...] we should be guided by what works."<ref>Obama (2006), p. 159.</ref> Speaking before the [[National Press Club (USA)|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 debate (United States)|Social Security]] with [[social Darwinism]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben A | last=Franklin | title=The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon | date=[[June 1]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20050601obama_1.cfm | work =Washington Spectator | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume | date=[[September 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509120140sep12,1,5984193.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group [[Families USA]] that he supports universal healthcare in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nedra | last=Pickler | title=Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years | date=[[January 25]] [[2007]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070125-1240-democrats-healthcare.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. {{cite news | first=Karen | last=Tumulty | title=Obama Channels Hillary on Health Care | date=[[May 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1626105,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite web | url=http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/ | title=Creating a Healthcare System that Works | accessdate=2008-01-14 | publisher=BarackObama.com }}</ref>
[[Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Obama speaking at a rally in [[Conway, South Carolina|Conway]], [[South Carolina]] on [[August 23]] [[2007]]<ref>{{cite news | title=Rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC | format=video | date=[[August 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1155183011&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | publisher=Brightcove.TV | accessdate=2008-02-17}}</ref>]]
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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Schoenberg | title=Obama Shares School Plan | date=[[November 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS01/711210347/1043 | work=Concord Monitor | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Teddy | last=Davis | coauthors=Sunlen Miller | title=Obama Bucks Party Line on Education | date=[[November 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3894699 | publisher=ABC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
Obama attended a Muslim school but independent news organizations have verified it was not a [[madrassa]].<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/</ref>.
At the [[Tax Policy Center]] in September 2007, he blamed [[interest group|special interests]] for distorting the [[taxation in the United States|U.S. tax code]].<ref>{{cite news | title=A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/events/obama.cfm | publisher=Tax Policy Center | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal tax cuts said to favor the wealthy,<ref>{{citenews | title=Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy | date=[[August 13]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/16/politics/main636398.shtml | publisher=CBS | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref> close corporate tax loopholes and restrict offshore [[tax haven]]s, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the [[Internal Revenue Service| IRS]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/18/obama.taxplan/ | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a [[emissions trading|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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay | date=[[October 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
Obama and his his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.tucc.org/about.htm</ref> in Chicago. Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is borrowed from one of his pastor's sermons. He is at ease quoting Scriptures and speaking to [[liberal Christianity|liberal]] church audiences.
Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.<!--
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[September 26]] [[2002]] |work=[[Chicago Defender]] |page=1 |title=Opposition to war mounts |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220062931.html |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> On [[October 2]], [[2002]], the day [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and [[United States Congress|Congress]] agreed on the [[Iraq Resolution|joint resolution]] authorizing the Iraq War,<!--
--><ref>{{cite web |author=[[White House Press Secretary|Office of the Press Secretary]] |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |title=President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution |publisher=[[Executive Office of the President of the United States|The White House]] |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Tackett, Michael |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=Bush, House OK Iraq deal; Congress marches with Bush |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569641.html?dids=203569641:203569641&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago [[Protests against the Iraq War|anti-Iraq War rally]] in [[Kluczynski Federal Building|Federal Plaza]],<!--
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Glauber, Bill |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=War protesters gentler, but passion still burns |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569621.html?dids=203569621:203569621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Defender |page=1 |title=War with Iraq undermines U.N. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220379051.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Bryant, Greg |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |publisher=[[Medill School of Journalism#Medill News Service - Chicago|Medill News Service]] |title=300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq |url=http://mesh.medill.northwestern.edu/mnschicago/archives/2002/10/300_protesters.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite web |author=Katz, Marilyn |date=[[October 2]] [[2007]] |title=Five Years Since Our First Action |publisher=Chicagoans Against War & Injustice |url=http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?p=127 |accessdate=2008-02-17}} Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177.</ref> speaking out against it.<ref>{{cite news |author=Obama, Barack |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |title=Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq |url=http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php |publisher=BarackObama.com |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>
== Books ==
On [[March 16]], [[2003]], the day President Bush issued his 48-hour [[ultimatum]] to [[Saddam Hussein]] to leave Iraq before the U.S. [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]],<!--
--><ref>{{cite web |author=Office of the Press Secretary |date=[[March 16]] [[2003]] |title=President Bush: Monday "Moment of Truth" for World on Iraq |publisher=The White House |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030316-3.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Associated Press |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=1 |title='Moment of truth for the world'; Bush, three allies set today as final day for Iraq to disarm or face massive military attack |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in [[Richard J. Daley Center|Daley Plaza]] and told the crowd "It's not too late" to stop the war.<!--
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Ritter, Jim |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=3 |title=Anti-war rally here draws thousands |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>
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,<!--
--><ref>{{cite news |author=McCormick, John |date=[[July 14]] [[2003]] |title=Senate hopefuls abound for '04; Forum attracts 9 for Fitzgerald post |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Metro section) |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/358199331.html?dids=358199331:358199331&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Chase, John; Mendell, David |date=[[January 23]] [[2004]] |title=Senate candidates divided over Iraq; 5 Democrats hit Bush on policy |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Metro section) |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/528231411.html?dids=528231411:528231411&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>
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, [[John Edwards|Edwards]], [[Joe Biden|Biden]], and [[Christopher Dodd|Dodd]]).<!--
--><ref>{{cite news |author=McCormick, John; Dorning, Mike |date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=7 |title=Obama marks '02 war speech - Contender highlights his early opposition in effort to distinguish him from his rivals |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1351610621.html?dids=1351610621:1351610621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>
[[Image:Capital building and darfur rally.JPG|right|thumb|Obama addressing the Save Darfur rally at the [[National Mall]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] on [[April 30]] [[2006]]<ref>{{cite news | first=Kasie | last=Hunt | title=Celebrities, Activists Rally Against Darfur Genocide | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-30-darfurrally_x.htm | work =USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For excerpts from Obama's speech, see: {{cite news | title=More Must Be Done in Darfur | date=[[April 30]] [[2006]] | url=http://blog.thehill.com/2006/04/30/more-must-be-done-in-darfur/ | work =The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>]]
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]].<ref>For audio and text, see: {{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=A Way Forward in Iraq | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/hottopics_details.php?hottopics_id=52 | publisher=Chicago Council on Global Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In a March 2007 speech to [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee|AIPAC]], a [[Israel lobby in the United States|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.<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/speech/070302-aipac_policy_fo/index.php | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-30}} For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: {{cite news | last=Mendell | first=David | title=Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran | format=paid archive | date=[[September 25]] [[2004]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/699578571.html?dids=699578571:699578571&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Warns Pakistan on Al-Qaeda | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6926663.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For video and text of the speech, see: {{cite news | title=Policy Address on Terrorism by The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event&event_id=269510 | work=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | accessdate=2008-01-30}} For details of the aborted 2005 military operation, see {{cite news | first=Mark | last=Mazzetti | title=Rumsfeld Called Off 2005 Plan to Capture Top Qaeda Figures | date=[[July 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/qaeda.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko<ref>[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.</ref> and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.<ref>[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.</ref>
In a December 2005 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, and at the [[Save Darfur Coalition|Save Darfur]] rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose [[genocide]] in the [[War in Darfur|Darfur region]] of [[Sudan]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | coauthors=Sam Brownback | title=Policy Adrift on Darfur | date=[[December 27]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600547.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Jim | last=Doyle | title=Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/01/MNGFBIIFOA1.DTL | work=San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He has [[divestment|divested]] $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Kuhnhenn | title=Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=SFGate.com | url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/17/politics/p171906D95.DTL | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Hit Iran Where It Hurts | date=[[August 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/08/30/2007-08-30_hit_iran_where_it_hurts.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Renewing American Leadership | date=July–August 2007 | url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html | work=Foreign Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
==See Also==
Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]] and other religious people.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Lerner | title=U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia | date=[[July 3]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2006-07-02.3949597607 | work=Tikkun Magazine | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/194/story_19473_1.html | title=Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | work=Beliefnet | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Manda | last=Gibson | title=At Global AIDS Summit, Churches Challenged to Take the Lead | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/HIVAIDSCommunity/StartingAMinistry/churches_challenged_to_take_the_lead.htm | work=PurposeDriven.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.<ref>{{cite news | title=Screaming Crowds Welcome U.S. Senator 'Home' | date=[[August 27]], [[2006]] | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/26/kenya.obama/index.html | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" and not be ashamed of it.<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Race Against Time—World AIDS Day Speech | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://obama.senate.gov/speech/061201-race_against_time_-_world_aids_day_speech/index.html | work=Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Before the conference, 18 pro-life 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-life#Term controversy|pro-death]] stance and invite him to [[Saddleback Church]] anyway."<ref> {{cite news | title=Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups | date=[[November 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/791771591.html | work=Christian Newswire Press Release | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Van Biema | title=The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1565076,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked' | date=[[June 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/24/politics/main2971556.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Brody | title=Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204016.aspx | work=Christian Broadcasting Network | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
==Further reading==
==Personal life==
[[Image:BarackObama-Basketball.JPEG|thumb|right|upright|Obama rebounding the ball during a basketball game with U.S. military from [[Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa|CJTF–HOA]] during his visit at [[Camp Lemonier]], Djibouti, on [[August 31]] [[2006]]<ref>{{cite news | title=Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August—1 September 2006 | format=video | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | publisher=YouTube | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9GqdzQeCz0 | work =Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa | accessdate=2008-03-16}}</ref>]]
Obama met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1988 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of [[Sidley Austin|Sidley & Austin]].<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: {{cite news | first=Sarah | last=Brown | title=Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act | date=[[December 7]] [[2005]] | work=Daily Princetonian | url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/12/07/news/14049.shtml | accessdate=2008-02-11}} {{cite news | first=Eric | last=Tucker | title=Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama | date=[[March 1]] [[2007]] | publisher=ABC News | url =http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2916437 | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to [[Dating (activity)|date]].<ref>Obama (2006), p. 329.</ref> They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married in October 1992.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet' | date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/585261,CST-NWS-wedding03.stng | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.<ref>Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: {{cite news | first=Rosalind | last=Rossi | title=The Woman Behind Obama | date=[[January 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/221458,CST-NWS-mich21.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Applying the proceeds of a $2 million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year | date=[[December 24]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051224obama,1,1815354.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of well-connected developer, and Obama supporter [[Tony Rezko]], provoking continued media scrutiny but no official allegations against Obama, even as the political fundraiser was indicted on mostly unrelated charges.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844455,CST-NWS-obama15.article | title=More Rezko dough found | publisher=Chicago SunTimes | accessdate=2008-04-13 | last=Novak | first=Tim | coauthors=Fusco, Chris; McKinney, Dave; Marin, Carol | date=[[March 16]], [[2008]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/us/politics/14rezko.html | title=An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment | work=The New York Times | date=[[June 14]], [[2007]] | accessdate=2008-04-05 | first=Christopher | last=Drew}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser | date=[[December 17]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2007, ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine estimated the Obama family's [[net worth]] at $1.3 million.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama's money | date=[[December 7]] [[2007]] | url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/5.html | publisher=CNNMoney.com | accessdate=2008-02-11}} See also:
{{cite news | first=Zachary A | last=Goldfarb | title=Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates | date=[[March 24]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref>
==Sources==
Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow | date=[[June 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/politics/01hoops.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Neal Karlinsky | last=Dan Morris | title=The 'Rat-Ballers': Obama's High School Crew | publisher=ABC News | url =http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3095109 | work=Nightline | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to [[Smoking cessation|quit smoking]]. "I've never been a heavy smoker," 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. I've been chewing [[Nicorette]] strenuously."<ref> {{cite news | first=Christi | last=Parsons | title=Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-07}} </ref> Replying to an ''Associated Press'' survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "[[architect]]" as his alternate career choice and "[[chili con carne|chili]]" as his favorite meal to cook.<ref>{{cite news | title=Questions for the Candidates | date=[[May 15]] [[2007]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-05-17-2380332271_x.htm | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good [[poker]] player."<ref>{{cite news | title=Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CNN | url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/24/obama.poker.ap/index.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>
In Chapter Six of Obama's 2006 book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as 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 [[Atheism|atheist]]" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with [[black church]]es as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change":
{{liberalism}}
<blockquote>It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=My Spiritual Journey | date=[[October 23]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref></blockquote>
==References==
Obama joined [[Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago|Trinity United Church of Christ]] in 1988.<ref name=UCC>{{cite news | first=J. Bennett | last=Guess | title=Barack Obama, Candidate for President, is 'UCC' | date=[[February 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.ucc.org/news/barack-obama-candidate.html | work=United Church News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> A [[megachurch]] with 8,000 members, Trinity is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ.<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Allen | title=Obama's Church Accuses Media of Character Assassination | date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=B8BC2AF0-3048-5C12-00FF5C4D53743024 | work=Politico | accessdate=2008-03-16}}</ref>
{{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}
==Books==
{{2008 presidential candidates}}
{{main|Dreams from My Father|The Audacity of Hope}}
[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Image:AudacityofHope.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''The Audacity of Hope'']]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
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 chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] family and heritage. In the preface to the 2004 revised edition, 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."<ref>Obama (1995), p. vii.</ref> In a 1995 review, novelist [[Paul Watkins (novelist)|Paul Watkins]] wrote that ''Dreams'' "persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither."<ref>{{cite news | first=Ihsan | last=Taylor | title=New & Noteworthy Paperbacks | date=[[August 29]] [[2004]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E1DE163EF93AA1575BC0A9629C8B63 | work =The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-09}}</ref> The [[audiobook]] edition earned Obama the [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]] of 2006.<ref name=Grammys>{{cite news | title=Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book | date=[[February 10]] [[2008]] | publisher=KVOA.com | url=http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7850708&nav=HMO6HMaY | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref>
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 list|''New York Times'' Best Seller]] hardcover list.<ref>{{cite news | first=Julie | last=Bosman | title=Obama’s New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller | date=[[November 9]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/books/09obam.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}} The paperback edition currently ranks third on ''The New York Times'' nonfiction list. {{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/index.html |title=Best Sellers |work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> The ''Chicago Tribune'' credits large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president.<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | coauthors= Christi Parsons | title=Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand' | date=[[June 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-obama_senate_recordjun12,1,48733.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Hart | title=American Idol | date=[[December 24]] [[2006]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E1D61531F937A15751C1A9609C8B63 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Tomasky | title=The Phenomenon | date=[[November 30]] [[2006]] | publisher=Internet Archive | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070401154934/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19651 | work=New York Review of Books | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> In February 2008, he won a Grammy award for the spoken word edition of ''Audacity''.<ref name=Grammys /> Foreign language editions of the book have been published in Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Greek.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nick | last=Malkoutzis | title=Obama's Audacious Vision | date=[[March 27]] [[2008]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus | url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_civ_1_27/03/2008_94776 | work=Kathimerini English Edition | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> The [[Italian language|Italian]] edition was published in April 2007 with a preface by [[Walter Veltroni]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://libreriarizzoli.corriere.it/libro/obama_barack-audacia_della_speranza_l.aspx?ean=9788817016582 | title= L'audacia della speranza | publisher=Libreria Rizzoli | accessdate=2008-03-18 | language=Italian}}</ref> former Mayor of [[Rome]], currently leader of [[Italy]]'s [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] and one of Obama's earliest supporters overseas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2005/aprile/30/politico_prevale_sull_amministratore_co_10_050430003.shtml | title=Il politico prevale sull' amministratore | publisher=Corriere della Sera | date=[[April 30]] [[2005]] | accessdate=2008-03-18 | language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-eurobama25feb25,1,5411037.story?track=rss | title=Obama's European counterparts | work=Los Angeles Times | author=Tracy Wilkinson | date=[[February 25]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref>
==Cultural and political image==
[[Image:Flickr Obama Austin 01.jpg|thumb|right|Obama supporters at a campaign rally in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]], on [[February 23]] [[2007]]<ref>{{cite news | first=Wayne | last=Slater | title=Obama Reels in Austin Crowd | date=[[February 24]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022407dntexobama.10794.html | work =Dallas Morning News | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Elliott | title=Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too | date=[[May 28]] [[2007]] | publisher=Boston Globe | url =http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/28/obama_measuring_campaign_success_not_just_in_cash_but_crowds_too/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07 }}</ref>]]
Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural [[Rorschach inkblot test|Rorschach test]], a neutral persona on whom people can project their personal histories and aspirations.<ref name='ref name=Enda2006'>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10828 | work =The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Garrett M | last=Graff | title= The Legend of Barack Obama | date=[[November 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1836.html | work =Washingtonian | accessdate = 2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=John | last=Podhoretz | title=Obama: Rorschach Candidate | date=[[December 12]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama__rorschach_candidate_opedcolumnists_john_podhoretz.htm?page=0 | work=New York Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' magazine article described as his "[[everyman]]" image.<ref>{{cite news | last=Finnegan | first=William | title=The Candidate: How the Son of a Kenyan Economist Became an Illinois Everyman | date=[[24 May]] [[2004]] | publisher=New Yorker | url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/040531fa_fact1 |accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jonathan | last=Tilove | title=In Obama Candidacy, America Examines Itself | date=[[February 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1170922945129720.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 | work=Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> In ''Dreams from My Father'', he ties his maternal family history to possible [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestors and distant relatives of [[Jefferson Davis]], president of the southern [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>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 S. Truman| Harry Truman]], see: {{cite news | first=David | last=Nitkin | coauthors=Harry Merritt | title=A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/bal-te.obama02mar02,0,3453027.story | work =Baltimore Sun | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Mary | last=Jordan | title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own | date=[[May 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07 }} {{cite news | title=Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises | date=[[September 8]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS 2 (Chicago) | url =http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Barack.Obama.family.2.339709.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07}}
</ref> Speaking to [[Jew]]ish audiences during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked the linguistic root of his [[East Africa]]n first name ''Barack'' to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''[[baruch]]'', meaning "blessed."<ref>{{cite news | first=Harold | last=Brackman | title=Obama and the Jews | date=[[March 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=17348 | work=Jewish Journal | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> In an October 2006 interview on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', 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]]. We've got it all."<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200610/20061018/slide_20061018_284_110.jhtml |title=Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First | date=[[October 18]] [[2006]] | work=The Oprah Winfrey Show | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>
With his Kenyan father and American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his [[Ivy League#Social elitism| 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 [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Wallace-Wells | first=Benjamin | title=The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama? | date=November 2004 | work =Washington Monthly | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0411.wallace-wells.html |accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line | date=[[December 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/28/america/obama.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> During his Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Congress in 2000, two rival candidates charged that Obama was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent constituents' concerns.<ref name=McClelland20070212> {{cite news | first=Edward | last=McClelland | title=How Obama Learned to Be a Natural | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/ | work =Salon | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard | last=Wolffe | coauthors= Daren Briscoe | title=Across the Divide | date=[[July 16]] [[2007]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/33156 | work=Newsweek | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | coauthors= | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> 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.com|Salon]]'', "erases the significance of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] and continuing [[Racism in the United States|racism]] while giving the appearance of progress."<ref>{{cite news | first=Debra J | last=Dickerson | title=Colorblind | date= [[January 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/index_np.html | work=Salon | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: {{cite news | first=Gary | last=Younge | title=Obama: Black Like Me | date=posted [[October 27]] [[2006]] ([[November 13]] [[2006]] issue) | url =http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061113/younge | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Stanley | last=Crouch | title=What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me | date=[[November 2]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-04-07 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308142850/www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}} {{cite news | first=Laura | last=Washington | title=Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'? | date=[[January 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obamacommentary/193216,CST-EDT-LAURA01.article | work =Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Clarence | last=Page | title=Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question | date=[[February 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | work=Houston Chronicle | accessdate=2008-04-07 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308133020/www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}}</ref> 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 [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] movies.<ref>Ehrenstein, David. "[http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail Obama the 'Magic Negro']", ''Los Angeles Times'', [[March 19]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-04-07]].</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Les | last=Payne | title=In One Country, a Dual Audience | format=paid archive | date=[[August 19]] [[2007]] | url =http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/1322008241.html?dids=1322008241:1322008241&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Newsday | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>
Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, [[Eugene Robinson (journalist)|Eugene Robinson]] characterized him as "the personification of ''both-and''," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the [[culture war]]s" of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eugene | last=Robinson | title=The Moment for This Messenger? | date=[[March 13]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031200983.html | work =The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | last=Senior | first=Jennifer | title=Dreaming of Obama | date=[[October 2]] [[2006]] | work=New York Magazine| url=http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/politics/21681/index.html |accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Obama, who defines himself in ''The Audacity of Hope'' as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized by [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] commentator [[David Sirota]] for demonstrating too much "Senate clubbiness", and was encouraged to run for the U.S. presidency by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] columnist [[George Will]].<ref>Obama (2006), p. 10. Sirota wrote that Obama's [[advice and consent|confirmation]] of [[Condoleezza Rice]] as Secretary of State and his reluctant support of a Senate [[filibuster]] opposing President Bush's [[Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Samuel Alito]] to the U.S. Supreme Court may disappoint "those who see him as a bold challenger of the system". {{cite news | first=David | last=Sirota | title=Mr. Obama Goes to Washington | date=[[June 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/sirota | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-04-07}}{{cite news | first=George F | last=Will | title=Run Now, Obama | date=[[December 14]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301901.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> But in a December 2006 ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," [[Ronald Reagan]] speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] advised Will and other "[[The Establishment|establishment]]" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=The Man From Nowhere|date=[[December 15]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110009388 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: {{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=Out With the Old, In With the New | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110011083 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK | format=paid archive | date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1353513781.html?dids=1353513781:1353513781&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+4%2C+2007&author=Mike+Dorning | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Toby | last=Harnden | title=Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide | date=[[October 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/12/wobama112.xml | work=Daily Telegraph | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>