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'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''' ({{pron-en|bəˈrɑːk hʊˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə}}; born [[August 4]] [[1961]]) is the [[United States Senate#Seniority|junior]] [[United States Senator]] from [[Illinois]] and the [[presumptive nominee]] of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]].  He is the first [[African American]] to be the presumptive [[President of the United States of America|presidential]] nominee of any major American political party.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}

'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''' (b. Honolulu, August 4, 1961) is the 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for president.<ref>[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]</ref>  Obama is a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]], first elected to statewide office in 2004.  [[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]].]]

A graduate of [[Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], Obama worked as a [[Community organizing| community organizer]], taught constitutional law, and also worked as a political activist and lawyer before serving in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004.  Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he announced his campaign for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in January 2003. After winning a landslide primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in July 2004. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

Obama falsely claimed that he was a constitutional law professor when in actuality he merely held the title of "Senior Lecturer."<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 wore an American Flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.<ref>http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html</ref> Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.<ref>In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the anti-war supporters. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]</ref>

 

In his memoirs, Obama claimed a Life magazine article had a major impact on him. In fact, Life never published any such article.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html</ref><ref>"Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians." [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]</ref>

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 regarding [[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 [[war in Iraq]], increasing [[Energy policy of the United States|energy independence]], decreasing the influence of [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyists]], and providing [[Universal_health_care#United_States|universal health care]] as top national priorities.

Obama falsely claimed that he "had an uncle who was one of the — who was part of the first American troops to go into [[Auschwitz]] and liberate the [[concentration camp]]s. And the story in our family was that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359061,00.html</ref>  In fact, the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz. Embarrassed, the Obama campaign later admitted that Obama was wrong, and claimed he should have said that Obama's great-uncle helped liberate a subcamp of Buchenwald.<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/27/obamas_uncle_and_the_liberatio.html#more

Obama falsely claimed that he was a constitutional law professor when in actuality he merely held the title of "Senior Lecturer."<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 campaign spokesman Bill Burton later claimed that Obama's great-uncle "served in the 89th Infantry Division that Liberated Ohrdruf, a Subcamp of Buchenwald, the First Camp Liberated by Americans, on April 4, 1945." Given that Obama misrepresented what happened, one can also wonder about his story that his relative went into the attic and did not leave his house for six months afterwards.</ref>

 

Obama said that "[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born."  In fact, Obama was born in 1961, and the Selma march took place in 1965.<ref>http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/</ref>

 

Obama states that he has 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>

== Positions and Qualifications ==

== Positions and Qualifications ==

==Early life and education==

==Early life and education==

Barack Obama was born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr., and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two-years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two-years.  Presidential scrutiny sought more information on the Indonesia public school and it was determined not to be a Madrassa, teaching Islam. It is clear that Obama would have participated in school days off for observance of Islamic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.

Barack Hussein Obama was born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr., and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two-years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two-years.  Presidential scrutiny sought more information on the Indonesia public school and it was determined not to be a Madrassa, teaching Islam. It is clear that Obama would have participated in school days off for observance of Islamic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.

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.

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.

* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.''

* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.''

* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)

* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)

==Published criticism==

==Published criticism==