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Line 1: − {{fixHTML|begin}}+ − {{Infobox President+ − | name = Barack Hussein Obama II − | image = BarackObama2005portrait.jpg − − | order = <!-- // DO NOT ADD 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES UNTIL JANUARY 20, 2009 --> − | term_start = January 20, 2009 − | term_end = − | vicepresident = [[Joe Biden]] (elect) − | succeeding = [[George W. Bush]] − | successor = Incumbent − | jr/sr2 = Junior Senator − | state2 = [[Illinois]] − | term_start2 = January 4, 2005 − | alongside2 = [[Dick Durbin]] − | predecessor2 = [[Peter Fitzgerald]] − | state_senate3 = Illinois − | state3 = [[Illinois]] − | district3 = 13<sup>th</sup> − | term_start3 = January 8, 1997 − | term_end3 = November 4, 2004 − | predecessor3 = [[Alice Palmer (Illinois politician)|Alice Palmer]] − | successor3 = [[Kwame Raoul]] − | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1961|08|4}} − | birth_place = [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], [[United States|U.S.A.]] − | birthname = Barack Hussein Obama II − | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] − | spouse = [[Michelle Obama]] <small>(m. 1992)</small> − | children = [[Family of Barack Obama#Malia Ann and Sasha Obama|Malia Ann <small>(b. 1998)</small><br />Sasha <small>(b. 2001)</small>]] − | residence = [[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] − | alma_mater = [[Occidental College]]<br />[[Columbia College of Columbia University]]<br />[[Harvard Law School]] − | profession = [[Attorney at law|Attorney]]<br />[[Politician]] − | religion = [[United Church of Christ]] − | signature = Barack Obama signature.svg − | website = [http://www.change.gov/ Office of the President-Elect] − | footnotes = <center>More detailed articles about Barack Obama<br />————————————<br />[[Early life and career of Barack Obama|Early life and career]] '''·''' [[Family of Barack Obama|(Family]] '''·''' [[Dreams from My Father|Memoir)]]<br />[[Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama|Illinois Senate career]]<br />[[United States Senate career of Barack Obama|U.S. Senate career]]<br /> [[Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008|Presidential primaries]] '''·''' [[Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008|Obama–Biden 2008]] <br />[[Political positions of Barack Obama|Policy positions]] '''·''' [[Public image of Barack Obama|Public image]]</center> − }} − {{fixHTML|end}} − <!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE OBAMA'S NAME -->'''Barack Hussein Obama II'''<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE OBAMA'S NAME --> ({{pron-en|bəˈrɑːk hʊˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə}}; born August 4, 1961) is the [[President-elect]] of the [[United States]] and the [[Seniority in the United States Senate|junior]] [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[Illinois]].<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A43VA20081105 FACTBOX: Barack Obama, Democratic President-elect] (''[[Reuters]]'', November 5, 2008); [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7711321.stm World leaders hail Obama triumph] (''[[BBC News]]'', November 5, 2008); [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/obama.history/index.html Obama's victory caps struggles of previous generations] (''[[CNN]]'', November 5, 2008)</ref><ref>The President-elect can be yielded on election day, but the official [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] vote is not until early December.{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/05/content_10307989.htm|title=Backgrounder: U.S. presidential elections |date=November 5, 2008|publisher=[[Xinhua News Agency]]|accessdate=2008-11-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html|title=Barack Obama wins presidential election|work=[[CNN]]|accessdate=2008-11-05}}</ref> Obama is the [[List of African-American firsts|first African American]] to be elected [[President of the United States]].<ref>55% of White Americans classify Obama as biracial when they are told that he has a white mother, while 66% of African Americans consider him black. ({{cite news|url=http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20061222014017231 |title=Williams/Zogby Poll: Americans' Attitudes Changing Towards Multiracial Candidates |date=2006-12-22 |accessdate=2007-09-23 |publisher=BBSNews.com}}) Obama describes himself as "black" or "African American", using both terms interchangeably ({{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/11/60minutes/main2458530_page5.shtml |title=Transcript excerpt: Senator Barack Obama on Sixty Minutes |publisher=CBS News |date=2007-02-11 |accessdate=2008-11-10}})</ref> + − He is a graduate of [[Columbia College of Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], where he was president of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260|title=First Black Elected to Head Harvard's Law Review'|accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=November 6|publisher=NY Times|year=1990|author=Butterfield, Fox}}</ref> Obama worked as a [[Community organizing|community organizer]] and practiced as a [[civil and political rights|civil rights]] attorney before serving three terms in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004. He taught [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago Law School]] from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he announced his campaign for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in January 2003, won a primary victory in March 2004, and was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Obama delivered the [[keynote|keynote address]] at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in July 2004.+ − As a member of the Democratic minority in the [[109th United States Congress|109th Congress]], he helped create legislation to control [[conventional weapon]]s and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]], he helped create 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.+ − On February 10, 2007, he announced his candidacy for [[President of the United States]], and on June 3, 2008, he was named the [[presumptive nominee]] of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] after a 17-month-long primary campaign. He became the [[President-elect]] after defeating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidate [[John McCain]] in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|general election on November 4, 2008]], and is due to be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 2009.+ − ==Early life and career==+ − {{main|Early life and career of Barack Obama}} − Barack Obama was born at the [[Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children]] in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]],<ref name="maraniss">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/23/AR2008082301620_pf.html |title=Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, It Is Hawaii That Made His Rise Possible | author=Maraniss, David | publisher=''The Washington Post'' | date=2008-08-22 | accessdate=2008-10-27}}</ref> to [[Barack Obama, Sr.|Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.]], a [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] from [[Nyang’oma Kogelo]], [[Nyanza Province]], [[Kenya]], and [[Ann Dunham]], a [[white American]] from [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], [[Kansas]]<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[FactCheck]] |url=http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html |title=Born in the U.S.A. |date=August 21, 2008 |accessmonthday=October 24 |accessyear=2008}}</ref> of mainly [[English (ethnic group)|English]], [[Irish people|Irish]] and smaller amounts of [[German people|German]] descent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269836,00.html |title=FOXNews.com - Report: Obama's Irish Roots Unearthed - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum |publisher=Foxnews.com |date=Thursday, May 03, 2007 |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/blogs/john-farrell/2008/10/30/barack-obamas-irish-heritage.html |title=Barack Obama's Irish Heritage - John A. Farrell (usnews.com) |publisher=Usnews.com |date= |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html |title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own - washingtonpost.com |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2008-11-08}}</ref> His parents met in 1960 while attending the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], where his father was a foreign student.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see {{cite news |title=Barack Obama: Creation of Tales|date=2004-11-01 |url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927225314/http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html |archivedate=2007-09-27 |work=East African |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref><ref name="baltimoresun2007">{{cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/chi-0703270151mar27-archive,0,91024,full.story | title=Obama's mom: Not just a girl from Kansas: Strong personalities shaped a future senator | author=Tim Jones | publisher=''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', reprinted in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''| date=2007-03-27 | accessdate=2008-10-27}}</ref> The couple married February 2, 1961;<ref>{{cite news |author=Ripley, Amanda |title=The Story of Barack Obama's Mother |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1729524,00.html |date=2008-04-09 |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |accessdate=2007-04-09}}</ref> they separated when Obama was two years old and subsequently divorced in 1964.<ref name="baltimoresun2007"/> Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Merida |title=The Ghost of a Father |date=2007-12-14 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/13/ST2007121301893.html |work=Washington Post |accessdate=2008-06-24}} See also: {{cite news |first=Philip |last=Ochieng |title=From Home Squared to the US Senate: How Barack Obama Was Lost and Found |date=2004-11-01 |url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-11.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927223905/http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-11.html |archivedate=2007-09-27 |work=East African |accessdate=2008-06-24}} In August 2006, Obama flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near [[Kisumu]] in rural western Kenya. {{cite news |first=Nico |last=Gnecchi |title=Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya |date=2006-02-27 |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-08/2006-08-27-voa17.cfm |work=Voice of America |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</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, such as Asisi, in [[Jakarta]] until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, [[Madelyn and Stanley Dunham]], while attending [[Punahou School]] from the [[Education in the United States#School grades|fifth grade]] in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Serafin |title=Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics |date=2004-03-21 |url=http://archives.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> Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for several years, and then in 1977 went back to Indonesia, where she worked as an [[anthropology|anthropological]] field worker. She stayed there most of the rest of her life, returning to Hawaii in 1994. She died of [[ovarian cancer]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |first=Amanda |last=Ripley |title=The Story of Barack Obama's Mother |date=2008-04-09 |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1729524,00.html |work=Time |accessdate=2008-06-24}} See also: {{cite news |first=Julia |last=Suryakusuma |title=Obama for President... of Indonesia |date=2006-11-29 |work=Jakarta Post |url=http://old.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20061129.F03 |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref>+ + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − As an adult Obama admitted that during high school he used [[Cannabis (drug)|marijuana]], [[cocaine]] and [[alcohol]], which he described at the [[Civil Forum on the Presidency|2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency]] as his greatest moral failure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/ |title=Obama, McCain talk issues at pastor's forum - CNN.com |publisher=cnn.com |date=2008-08-17 |accessdate=2008-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/24/news/dems.php |title=Barack Obama, asked about drug history, admits he inhaled |publisher=International Herald Tribune |date=2006-10-25 |accessdate=2008-08-31}}</ref>+ − Following high school, Obama moved to [[Los Angeles]], where he studied at [[Occidental College]] for two years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83 |date=2007-01-29 |url=http://www.oxy.edu/x8270.xml |publisher=Occidental College |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He then transferred to [[Columbia College of Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], where he majored in [[political science]] with a specialization in [[international relations]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jan05/cover.php |title=Barack Obama '83 |work=Columbia College Today |author=Boss-Bicak, Shira |date=January 2005 |accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> Obama graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from Columbia in 1983, then at the start of the following year worked for a year at the [[Business International Corporation]]<ref name="BOCV">{{cite web|url=http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20010509024017/http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html|archivedate=2001-05-09|title=Curriculum Vitae|publisher=The University of Chicago Law School|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Sasha |last=Issenberg |title=Obama shows hints of his year in global finance: Tied markets to social aid |date=2008-08-06 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/06/obama_shows_hints_of_his_year_in_global_finance/?page=1 |work=Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> and then at the [[New York Public Interest Research Group]].<ref name="Who's Who 2008">{{cite book |author=Chassie, Karen (ed.) |year=2007 |title=Who's Who in America, 2008 |url=http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/WAprodinfo.asp |location=New Providence, NJ |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |isbn=9780837970110 |accessdate=2008-06-06 |pages=p. 3468}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Janny |last=Scott |title=Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say |date=2007-10-30 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 133–140; Mendell (2007), pp. 62–63.</ref>+ − After four years in New York City, Obama moved to [[Chicago]], where he was hired as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based [[Community organizing|community organization]] originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland ([[Roseland, Chicago|Roseland]], [[West Pullman, Chicago|West Pullman]], and [[Riverdale, Chicago|Riverdale]]) on Chicago's far [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]], and worked there for three years from June 1985 to May 1988.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Secter, Bob; McCormick, John |date=2007-03-30 |title=Portrait of a pragmatist |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,6651421,full.story |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080209030448/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,6651421,full.story |archivedate=2008-02-09 |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news |first=Ryan |last=Lizza |title=The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education |format=alternate link |date=2007-03-19 |url=http://www.pickensdemocrats.org/info/TheAgitator_070319.htm |work=New Republic |accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 140–295; Mendell (2007), pp. 63–83.</ref> During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in [[Altgeld Gardens, Chicago|Altgeld Gardens]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Matchan, Linda |date=1990-02-15 |title=A Law Review breakthrough |url=http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=&s.author=Linda+Matchan&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1990-02-15&s.endDate=1990-02-15 |format=paid archive |work=The Boston Globe |page=29 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news |author=Corr, John |date=1990-02-27 |title=From mean streets to hallowed halls |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_theme=pi&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PI&s_search_type=customized&s_dispstring=Author(John%20Corr)%20AND%20date(02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=Author&p_text_advanced-0=(John%20Corr)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the [[Gamaliel Foundation]], a community organizing institute.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Obama, Barack |month=August–September |year=1988 |title=Why organize? Problems and promise in the inner city |journal=Illinois Issues |volume=14 |issue=8–9 |pages=40–42 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} reprinted in: {{cite book |year=1990 |pages=pp. 35–40 |author=Knoepfle, Peg (ed.) |title=After Alinsky: community organizing in Illinois |location=Springfield, IL |publisher=Sangamon State University |isbn=0962087335 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news |author=Tayler, Letta; Herbert, Keith |date=2008-03-02 |title=Obama forged path as Chicago community organizer |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/nation/ny-usobam025598601mar02,0,7841545,full.story |work=Newsday |page=A06 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his [[Family of Barack Obama#Paternal relations|Kenyan relatives]] for the first time.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 299–437.</ref>+ − + − The publicity from his election as the first black president of the ''Harvard Law Review'' led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations.<ref name="Scott 2008a">{{cite news |author=Scott, Janny |date=2008-05-18 |title=The story of Obama, written by Obama |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18memoirs.html?pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Obama (1995), pp. xiii–xvii.</ref> In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the [[University of Chicago Law School]] provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.<ref name="Scott 2008a"/> He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, [[Michelle Obama|Michelle]], traveled to [[Bali]] where he wrote for several months. The manuscript was finally published in mid-1995 as ''[[Dreams from My Father]]''.<ref name="Scott 2008a"/>+ − Obama directed Illinois' [[Project Vote]] from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of ten and seven hundred volunteers; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to ''Crain's Chicago Business'' naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.<ref name="Illinois Blue Book 2000">{{cite book |author=White, Jesse (ed.) |year=2000 |title=Illinois Blue Book, 2000, Millennium ed. |url=http://www.sos.state.il.us/bb/toc.html |location=Springfield, IL |publisher=Illinois Secretary of State |oclc=43923973 |accessdate=2008-06-06 |pages=p. 83}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jarrett, Vernon |date=1992-08-11 |title='Project Vote' brings power to the people |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Vernon%20Jarrett)%20AND%20date(8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Vernon%20Jarrett)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |work=Chicago Sun-Times |format=paid archive |page=23 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite journal |author=Reynolds, Gretchen |month=January |year=1993 |title=Vote of Confidence |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence/ |journal=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=53–54 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite journal |author=Anderson, Veronica |month=September 27–October 3, |year=1993 |title=40 under Forty: Barack Obama, Director, Illinois Project Vote |journal=[[Crain Communications Inc.|Crain's Chicago Business]] |volume=16 |issue=39 |accessdate=2008-06-06 |pages=43}}</ref>+ − + − + − ==State legislator, 1997–2004==+ − {{main|Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama}} − + − {{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=[[Illinois Secretary of State]] |pages=p. 65}}State Sen. District 13 = State Rep. Districts 25 & 26.</ref> Once elected, 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=2007-02-09 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html |work=Washington Post |accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news |first=Scott |last=Helman |title=In Illinois, Obama dealt with Lobbyists |date=2007-09-23 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/23/in_illinois_obama_dealt_with_lobbyists/ |work=Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news |title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics |date=2007-01-17 |publisher=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news |title=In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career |date=2007-02-09 |publisher=Chicago Tribune |url=http://video.chicagotribune.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?clipid1=1226539 |work=CLTV |format=video |accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> He sponsored a law increasing [[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=2007-07-30 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news |first=Rick |last=Pearson |coauthors=Ray Long |title=Careful Steps, Looking Ahead |date=2007-05-03 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080216014957/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story |archivedate=2008-02-16 |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.<ref>{{cite news |author=Allison, Melissa |date=2000-12-15 |title=State takes on predatory lending; Rules would halt single-premium life insurance financing |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/65214450.html?dids=65214450:65214450&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Business) |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Long, Ray; Allison, Melissa |date=2001-04-18 |title=Illinois OKs predatory loan curbs; State aims to avert home foreclosures. |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/71459393.html?dids=71459393:71459393&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-01}}</ref> − Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |title=13th District: Barack Obama |format=archive |accessdate=2008-04-20 |date=2000-08-24 |publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000824102110/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |archivedate=2000-04-12}} {{cite web |url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |title=13th District: Barack Obama |format=archive |accessdate=2008-04-20 |date=2004-10-09 |publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040802233730/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |archivedate=2004-08-02}}</ref> In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent [[Bobby Rush]] by a margin of two to one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/ilh.htm |title=Federal Elections 2000: U.S. House Results - Illinois |publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] |accessdate=2008-04-24}}. See also: {{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14502364|title=Obama's Loss May Have Aided White House Bid}} and {{cite news |first=Janny |last=Scott |title=A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama |date=2007-09-09 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref><ref name=McClelland20070212>{{cite news |first=Edward |last=McClelland |title=How Obama Learned to Be a Natural |date=2007-02-12 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/ |work=Salon |accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news |first=Richard |last=Wolffe |coauthors=Daren Briscoe |title=Across the Divide |date=2007-07-16 |publisher=MSNBC |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/33156 |work=Newsweek |accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news |first=Scott |last=Helman |title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb |date=2007-10-12 |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ |work=Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-04-20}} and {{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-10-24-3157940059_x.htm|title=Obama learned from failed Congress run |work=USA Today |author=Wills, Christopher|date=2007-10-24 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref>+ − In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jackie |last=Calmes |title=Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama |date=2007-02-23 |url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117219748197216894-Sn6oV_4KLQHp_xz7CjYLuyjv3Jg_20070324.html |work=Wall Street Journal |accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor [[racial profiling]] by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.<ref name=Scott20070730 /><ref>{{cite news |author=Tavella, Anne Marie |date=2003-04-14 |title=Profiling, taping plans pass Senate |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ADHB&p_theme=adhb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=Profiling,%20AND%20taping%20AND%20plans%20AND%20pass%20AND%20Senate&s_dispstring=Profiling,%20taping%20plans%20pass%20Senate%20AND%20date(4/4/2003%20to%204/4/2003)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=4/4/2003%20to%204/4/2003)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |type=paid archive |work=Daily Herald |page=17 |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Haynes, V. Dion |date=2003-06-29 |title=Fight racial profiling at local level, lawmaker says; U.S. guidelines get mixed review |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/352884461.html?dids=352884461:352884461&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=8 |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Pearson, Rick |date=2003-07-17 |title=Taped confessions to be law; State will be 1st to pass legislation |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/370136121.html?dids=370136121:370136121&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Metro) |accessdate=2008-06-01}}</ref> During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives 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=2007-03-14 |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html |work=The Hill |accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news |title=US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms |date=2007-11-12 |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=2008-04-20}}</ref> Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.<ref>{{cite news |first=Melanie |last=Coffee |title=Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat |date=2004-11-06 |publisher=HPKCC |url=http://www.hydepark.org/hpkccnews/raoul.htm#ap |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref>+ − ==2004 U.S. Senate campaign==+ − {{seealso|United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004}} − In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate; he enlisted political strategist [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]] that fall and formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Helman |title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb |date=2007-10-12 |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]] not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen 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=2004-03-07 |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=2007-04-01 |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=2004-03-17 |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|format=PDF}}</ref>+ − In July 2004, Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{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 [[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=2004-07-27 |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=2004-07-29 |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=2004-10-07 |publisher=DiverseEducation.com |url=http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_4041.shtml |work=Black Issues In Higher Education |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>+ − Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner [[Jack Ryan (2004 U.S. Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]], withdrew from the race in June 2004.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois |date=2004-06-25 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ |work=CNN |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Two months later and less than three months 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=2004-08-09 |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=2004-08-13 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0408130201aug13,0,1664738.story |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest victory margin for a statewide race in Illinois history.<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=2007-11-13 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201945.html |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>+ − ==U.S. Senator, from 2005==+ − {{main|United States Senate career of Barack Obama}} − Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4, 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://obama.senate.gov/about/ |title=About Barack Obama |accessdate=2008-04-27 |publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}+ − </ref> Obama was the fifth African-American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|popularly elected]].<ref>{{cite web |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 |publisher=U.S. Senate Historical Office |accessdate=2008-06-25}} − </ref> He is the only Senate member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Member Info |url=http://www.house.gov/kilpatrick/cbc/member_info.html |publisher=Congressional Black Caucus |accessdate=2008-06-25}} See also: {{cite news |first=Jeff |last=Zeleny |title=When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety |date=2005-06-26 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080216014942/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story |archivedate=2008-02-16 |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-06-25}} − </ref> ''[[Congressional Quarterly|CQ Weekly]]'', a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007, and the ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007. In 2005 he was ranked sixteenth, and in 2006 he was ranked tenth.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Nather |title=The Space Between Clinton and Obama |date=2008-01-14 |url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqw/weeklyreport110-000002654703.html |work=CQ Weekly |accessdate=2008-06-25}} See also: {{cite news |first=Tom |last=Curry |title=What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal |date=2008-02-21 |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23276453/ |work=MSNBC |accessdate=2008-06-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/|title=Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007 |work=National Journal |date=2008-01-31|accessdate=2008-06-25}}</ref> In 2008, he was ranked by Congress.org as the eleventh most powerful Senator.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.congress.org/congressorg/power_rankings/overall.tt |title=Power Rankings: Senate |author=KnowLegis |accessdate=2008-09-07}}</ref> − ===Legislation===+ − {{seealso|List of bills sponsored by Barack Obama in the United States Senate}} − − Obama voted in favor of the [[Energy Policy Act of 2005]] and cosponsored the [[Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act]].<ref>{{cite web |first=109th Congress, 1st Session |last=U.S. Senate |title=S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act |date=2005-05-12 |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01033: |publisher=Thomas |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the [[Secure Fence Act of 2006|Secure Fence Act]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence |date=2006-11-20 |url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927231949/http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html |archivedate=2007-09-27 |work=CBS 2 (Chicago) |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Obama introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction|Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction]] concept to conventional weapons,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/ |title=Lugar–Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President |date=2007-01-11 |publisher=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news |first=Richard G |last=Lugar |coauthors=Barack Obama |title=Junkyard Dogs of War |date=2005-12-03 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201509.html |work=Washington Post |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> and the [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|Coburn–Obama Transparency Act]], which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=McCormack |title=Google Government Gone Viral |date=2007-12-21 |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/502njiqx.asp |work=Weekly Standard |accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite web |title=President Bush Signs Coburn–Obama Transparency Act |date=2006-09-26 |url=http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=LegislativeFloorAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=eb582f19-802a-23ad-41db-7a7cb464cfdb |publisher=Tom Coburn U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-04-27}} and [http://www.USAspending.gov USAspending.gov]</ref> On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama, along with Senators [[Thomas R. Carper]], [[Tom Coburn]], and [[John McCain]], introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-3077 S. 3077: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008] ''Govtrack.us'', 2007-2008 (110th Congress)</ref>+ + − Obama sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Senate after being heavily modified in committee.<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 |date=2008-02-03+ − |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</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 web |title=Democratic Republic of the Congo |month=April |year=2006 |url=http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/drc0406.shtml |publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite web |title=The IRC Welcomes New U.S. Law on Congo |date=2007-01-05 |url=http://www.theirc.org/news/the-irc-welcomes-new-us-law.html |publisher=International Rescue Committee |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to 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=2007-11-15 |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feingold-obama-go-after-corporate-jet-travel-2007-11-15.html |work=The Hill |accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news |first=Nathaniel |last=Weixel |title=Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation |date=2007-12-05 |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-press-fec-on-bundling-regulation-2007-12-05.html |work=The Hill |accessdate=2008-04-27}} 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=2007-09-24 |publisher=Federal Election Commission |url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2007/20070924travel.shtml |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Obama also introduced [[Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act]], a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections<ref>{{cite news |first=Seth |last=Stern |title=Obama–Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation |date=2007-01-31 |publisher=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/31/cq_2213.html |work=CQPolitics.com |accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite web |first=110th Congress, 1st Session |last=U.S. Senate |title=S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 |date=2007-01-31 |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00453: |publisher=Thomas |accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news |title=Honesty in Elections |date=2007-01-31 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/opinion/31wed1.html |work=The New York Times |format=editorial |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> and the [[Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007]],<ref>{{cite news |first=E. Kasak |last=Krystin |title=Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home |date=2007-02-07 |publisher=The Times (Munster, Indiana) |url=http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/illiana/doc65cc98d8dc6506b28625727b0011edb5.txt |work=Medill News Service |accessdate=2008-04-27}} "Latest Major Action: 1/30/2007 Referred to Senate committee." {{cite web |first=110th Congress, 1st Session |last=U.S. Senate |title=S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 |date=2007-01-30 |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00433: |publisher=Thomas |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> neither of which have been signed into law.+ − + − Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action |date=2007-10-01 |url=http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=5C1EBFEB-1321-0E36-BA7D-04630AEFAD31 |publisher=Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news |first=Philip |last=Dine |title=Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges |date=2007-12-23 |url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/srlinks.nsf/story/2E7CC823AD55667B862573A7007D12A2?OpenDocument |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obama, Bond Applaud Senate Passage of Amendment to Expedite the Review of Personality Disorder Discharge Cases |url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/080314-obama_bond_appl/}}</ref> He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which has not passed committee, and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Graham-Silverman |title=Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran |date=2007-09-12 |url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002583189.html |work=CQ Today |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref name=ObamaSchiff>{{cite web |title=Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved |date=2007-12-20 |url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071220-obama_schiff_pr/ |publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members |date=2007-08-02 |url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070802-senate_passes_o_1/ |publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>+ − In August 2006 Obama travelled to to his fathers homeland in [[Kenya]] to campaign for his cousin [[Raila Odinga]]. Early that year Obama dispatched his foreign policy adviser [[Mark Lippert]] to Kenya to coordinate his visit. Upon arrival Obama and Odinga traveled together throughout Kenya and Obama spoke on behalf of Odinga at numerous rallies, declaring that "Kenyans are now yearning for change". <ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/12/obamas-kenya-ghosts/ Obamas Kenya Ghosts] The Washington Times Oct 12 2008</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7176683.stm Odinga says Obama is his cousin] BBC News Jan 8 2008</ref>+ − + − + + + + − + − {{main|Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008|Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008}} − {{wikinews|Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States}} − On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Illinois)|Old State Capitol]] building in [[Springfield, Illinois]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070210obama-pearson1-story,0,3768114.story |title=Obama: I'm running for president |work=Chicago Tribune |author=Pearson, Rick |coauthors=Long, Ray |date=2007-02-10 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref><ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news |title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid |date=2007-02-10 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm |work=BBC News |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where [[Abraham Lincoln]] delivered his historic [[Lincoln's House Divided Speech|"House Divided"]] speech in 1858.<ref>{{cite news |title=Presidential Campaign Announcement |format=video |date=2007-02-10 |publisher=Brightcove.TV |url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 |work=Obama for America |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the [[Iraq War]], increasing [[Energy policy of the United States|energy independence]], and providing [[Universal health care#United States|universal health care]], at one point identifying these 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=2007-12-21 |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/obamas-one-thing/ |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-14}}+ − − + − + − </ref> The magnitude of the small donation portion was outstanding from both the absolute and relative perspectives.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jeanne |last=Cummings |title=Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook |date=2007-09-26 |url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3ECB3515-3048-5C12-004D622CB6F4E214 |work=Politico |accessdate=2008-01-14}} − </ref> In January 2008, his campaign set another [[fundraising]] record with $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=2008-02-21 |url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002674309 |work=CQ Politics |accessdate=2008-02-24}} − </ref> − Among the January 2008 [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008#January|DNC-sanctioned state contests]], Obama tied with [[Hillary Rodham Clinton|Hillary Clinton]] for delegates in the [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|New Hampshire]] primary and won more delegates than Clinton in the [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa]], [[Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008|Nevada]] and [[South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|South Carolina]] elections and caucuses. On [[Super Tuesday, 2008|Super Tuesday]], he emerged with 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 again broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising over $90 million for his primary to Clinton's $45 million.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/07/nation/na-money7 |title=Obama sets fundraising record with $55 million |work=Los Angeles Times |author=Dan Morain |date=2008-03-07 |accessdate=2008-03-18}}+ − </ref> 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=2008-02-21 |accessdate=2008-03-18}} − − </ref> − In March 2008, [[Jeremiah Wright controversy|a controversy broke out]] concerning Obama's former pastor of twenty years, [[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=2008-03-13 |accessdate=2008-03-17}} See also: {{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=2008-03-16 |accessdate=2008-03-18 |last=Sullivan |first=Andrew}}</ref> after ABC News broadcast [[Media clip|clips]] of his racially and politically charged sermons.<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=2008-03-14 |accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> Initially, Obama responded by defending Wright's wider role in Chicago's African-American community,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Politics/Story?id=4536957&page=1 |title=Obama Defends Wright on ABC's 'The View'|publisher=[[ABC News]]|author=Miller, Sunlen |date=2008-03-27 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref> but condemned his remarks and ended Wright's relationship with the campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23634881/ |title=Controversial minister leaves Obama campaign |publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-04-28|first=Alex|last=Johnson}}</ref> During the controversy, Obama delivered a speech entitled "[[A More Perfect Union (speech)|A More Perfect Union]]"<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=2008-03-18 |accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> that addressed issues of race. Obama subsequently resigned from [[Trinity United Church of Christ]] "to avoid the impression that he endorsed the entire range of opinions expressed at that church."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-from-controversial-church/ |title=Obama resigns from controversial church |publisher=CNN |accessdate=2008-05-31 |date=2008-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news+ − |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/31/obama.church/ − |title=Obama quits church, citing controversies − |publisher=CNN − |accessdate=2008-07-24 − |date=2008-05-31 − }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24908975/ |title=Obama quits church after long controversy |publisher=MSNBC |accessdate=2008-06-05 |date=2008-06-01}}</ref> − [[Image:Obama Petraeus Hagel.jpg|thumb|General [[David Petraeus]] gives an aerial tour of Baghdad to Barack Obama and [[Chuck Hagel]].]]+ − During April, May, and June, Obama won the [[North Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|North Carolina]], [[Oregon Democratic primary, 2008|Oregon]], and [[Montana Democratic primary, 2008|Montana primaries]] and remained ahead in the count of pledged delegates, while Clinton won the [[Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary, 2008|Pennsylvania]], [[Indiana Democratic primary, 2008|Indiana]], [[West Virginia Democratic primary, 2008|West Virginia]], [[Kentucky Democratic primary, 2008|Kentucky]], [[Puerto Rico Democratic primary, 2008|Puerto Rico]], and [[South Dakota Democratic primary, 2008|South Dakota primaries]]. During the period, Obama received endorsements from more [[superdelegate]]s than did Clinton.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24583678/ |title=Superdelegates put Obama within reach |publisher=MSNBC.com |work=The Associated Press |date=2008-05-12 |accessdate=2008-05-13}}</ref> On May 31, the [[Democratic National Committee]] agreed to seat all of the [[Michigan]] and [[Florida]] delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing Obama's delegate lead while increasing the delegate count needed to win.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=16916/ |title=Clinton Wins Puerto Rico Primary |publisher=Free Internet Press |work=The Associated Press |date=2008-06-01 |accessdate=2008-06-01}}</ref> On June 3, with all states counted, Obama passed the threshold to become the [[presumptive nominee]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/03/election.democrats/index.html |title=Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee |publisher=CNN.com |date=2008-06-04|accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23809081-23109,00.html |title=Obama clinches nomination |publisher=Herald Sun (Australia) |date=2008-06-04|accessdate=2008-06-06 |author=John Whitesides in Washington}}</ref> On that day, he gave a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jeff and Michael Luo |last=Zeleny |title=Obama Clinches Nomination |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/us/politics/04cnd-campaign.html |work=The New York Times |date=2008-06-04 |accessdate=2008-06-04}}</ref> From that point on, he campaigned for the general election race against Senator [[John McCain]], the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee.+ + − On June 19, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down [[Campaign finance in the United States#Public financing of campaigns|public financing]] in the general election since the system was created in 1976, reversing his earlier intention to accept it.<ref>{{cite news |author=Salant, Jonathan D. |title=Obama Won't Accept Public Money in Election Campaign |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aNi.G0PhWnFw&refer=home |publisher=[[Bloomberg]] |date=2008-06-19 |accessdate=2008-06-19}}</ref>+ − On August 23, 2008, Obama selected [[Delaware]] Senator [[Joe Biden]] as his vice presidential running mate.<ref>{{cite news|author=Lis Sidoti and Nedra Pickler|title=Obama picks Biden for veep|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/29/politics/p050941D34.DTL |work=San Francisco Chronicle |author=Sidoti, Liz |coauthors=Fouhy, Beth (Associated Press)|date=2008-08-22 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref> At the [[2008 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in [[Denver]], [[Colorado]], Obama's former rival Hillary Clinton gave a speech strongly supporting Obama's candidacy and later called for Obama to be nominated by [[acclamation]] as the Democratic presidential candidate.<ref>{{cite news |author=Tom Baldwin |title=Hillary Clinton: 'Barack is my candidate' |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4616719.ece |work=TimesOnline |date=2008-08-27 |accessdate=2008-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/politics/28DEMSDAY.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em |title=Obama Wins Hard-Fought Nomination as Biden and Bill Clinton Rally the Party |publisher=The New York Times |author=Nagourney, Adam |date=2008-08-27|accessdate=2008-08-27}}</ref> Then, on August 28, Obama delivered a speech to the 84,000 supporters in Denver. During the speech, which was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide, he accepted his party's nomination and presented his policy goals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obama accepts Democrat nomination |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7586375.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |date=2008-08-29 |accessdate=2008-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/08/29/soaring-speech-from-obama-plus-some-specifics/ |title=Soaring speech from Obama, plus some specifics |work=The Christian Science Monitor |author=Marks, Alexandra |date=2008-08-29 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref>+ − [[Image:obama08acceptance.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Obama delivering his [[Barack Obama presidential acceptance speech, 2008|presidential acceptance speech]]]]+ − After McCain was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, polls indicated that he had closed the gap with Obama. There were three [[United States presidential election debates|presidential debates]] between Obama and McCain in September and October 2008.<ref>[http://www.debates.org/pages/news_111907.html Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Sites, Dates, Formats and Candidate Selection Criteria for 2008 General Election], [[Commission on Presidential Debates]], 2007-11-19. Retrieved 2008-07-06.</ref><ref>"[http://www.courant.com/topic/ Gun Ruling Reverberates]," ''[[The Hartford Courant]]'', 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-07-06.</ref>+ − After the debates, Obama pulled ahead in national polls. On November 2, 2008, Obama's grandmother, [[Madelyn and Stanley Dunham|Madelyn Dunham]], died from cancer at the age of 86. Obama learned of his grandmother's death on November 3, one day before the election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obama's grandmother dies after battle with cancer |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/03/obama.grandma/index.html |work=CNN |date=November 3, 2008 |accessmonthday=November 4 |accessyear=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html| title=McCain pledges to help Obama lead| publisher=CNN| date=2008-11-04| accessdate=2008-11-04}}</ref>+ − ==President-elect of the United States==+ − {{see also|Presidential transition of Barack Obama}} − On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defeated [[John McCain]] and became the first [[African American]] to be elected President of the United States.<ref name="bbc1">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7709978.stm |title=BBC NEWS | World | Americas | US Elections 2008 | Obama wins historic US election |publisher=News.bbc.co.uk |date=Page last updated at 06:09 GMT, Wednesday, 5 November 2008 |accessdate=2008-11-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/us/politics/05elect.html?hp|title=Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls|work=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=2008-11-05}}</ref><ref name="first1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html|title=Obama: 'This is your victory'|accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=November 5|publisher=CNN|year=2008|author=CNN}}</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-assess5-2008nov05,0,6354926.story White Americans play major role in electing the first black president], Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2008</ref> In his [[Barack Obama presidential acceptance speech, 2008|victory speech]], delivered before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Chicago, Obama proclaimed that "change has come to America."<ref name="independent1">{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/change-has-come-says-presidentelect-obama-992930.html |title=Change has come, says President-elect Obama - Americas, World - The Independent |publisher=Independent.co.uk |author=Rural Notebook |date= |accessdate=2008-11-05}}</ref> Born in [[Hawaii]], Obama will be the first U.S. President born outside the [[contiguous United States]]. He also will be [[List of United States Presidents by age|fifth youngest President at a date of accession]] and the second since Lincoln whose [[List of United States Presidents by place of primary affiliation|primary political base]] is [[Illinois]].+ − President-elect Obama is scheduled to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009.+ − His assigned Secret Service codename is "Renegade".<ref>{{cite news |work=Boston Globe |title=A first trip to Oval Office |url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/11/a_first_trip_to.html |first=Foon |last=Rhee |date=November 10, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Chicago Tribune |title='Renegade' joins 'Twinkle,' 'Rawhide,' 'Lancer' on list of Secret Service code names |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-secret-service-code-names-obama,0,2687400.story |first=Rex W. |last=Huppke |date=November 10, 2008}}</ref>+ − ==Political positions==+ − {{Main|Political positions of Barack Obama}} − − A method that some political scientists use for gauging [[ideology]] is to compare the annual ratings by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) with the ratings by the American Conservative Union (ACU).<ref>{{cite news |author=Mayer, William |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28761-2004Mar27?language=printer |title=Kerry's Record Rings a Bell |work=Washington Post |date=2004-03-28 |quote=The question of how to measure a senator's or representative's ideology is one that political scientists regularly need to answer. For more than 30 years, the standard method for gauging ideology has been to use the annual ratings of lawmakers' votes by various interest groups, notably the [[Americans for Democratic Action]] (ADA) and the [[American Conservative Union]] (ACU). |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref> Based on his years in Congress, Obama has a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acuratings.org/2005senate.htm |title=2005 U.S. Senate Votes |publisher=American Conservative Union |accessdate=2008-09-20}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.acuratings.org/2006senate.htm |title=2006 U.S. Senate Votes |publisher=American Conservative Union |accessdate=2008-09-20}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.acuratings.org/2007senate.htm |title=2007 U.S. Senate Votes |publisher=American Conservative Union |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref> and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2005.pdf |title=ADA's 2005 Congressional Voting Record |publisher=Americans for Democratic Action |accessdate=2008-09-20}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2006.pdf |title=ADA's 2006 Congressional Voting Record |publisher=Americans for Democratic Action |accessdate=2008-09-20}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2007.pdf |title=ADA's 2007 Congressional Voting Record |publisher=Americans for Democratic Action |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref>+ − Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's [[2003 invasion of Iraq|policies on Iraq]].<!--+ − --><ref>{{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=2002-09-26 |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 President [[George W. 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=2002-10-02 |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=2002-10-03 |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=2003-10-03|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=2002-10-03 |work=Chicago Defender |page=1 |title=War with Iraq undermines U.N. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220379051.html |quote=Photo caption: Left Photo: Sen. Barack Obama along with Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to nearly 3,000 anti-war protestors (below) during a rally at Federal Plaza Wednesday. |accessdate=2008-10-28}} {{cite news |author=Bryant, Greg |date=2002-10-02 |publisher=[[Medill School of Journalism#Medill News Service - Chicago|Medill News Service]] |title=300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq |url=http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:joI6vZO9y4UJ:mesh.medill.northwestern.edu/mnschicago/archives/2002/10/300_protesters.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite web |author=Katz, Marilyn |date=2007-10-02 |title=Five Years Since Our First Action |publisher=Chicagoans Against War & Injustice |url=http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?p=127 |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news | title=300 attend rally against Iraq war |author=Bryant, Greg; Vaughn, Jane B. |work=Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) |page=8 |format=paid archive |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ADHB&p_theme=adhb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=300%20AND%20attend%20AND%20rally%20AND%20against%20AND%20Iraq%20AND%20war&s_dispstring=300%20attend%20rally%20against%20Iraq%20war%20AND%20date(10/3/2002%20to%2010/3/2002)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=10/3/2002%20to%2010/3/2002)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |date=2002-10-03 |accessdate=2008-10-28}} Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177.</ref> speaking out against the war.<!-- − --><ref>{{cite news |author=Obama, Barack |date=2002-10-02 |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><!-- − --><ref>{{cite news |author=McCormick, John |date=2007-10-03 |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 |quote=The top strategist for Sen. Barack Obama has just 14 seconds of video of what is one of the most pivotal moments of the presidential candidate's political career. The video, obtained from a Chicago TV station, is of Obama's 2002 speech in opposition to the impending Iraq invasion. |accessdate=2008-10-28}} {{cite news |author=Pallasch, Abdon M. |date=2007-10-03 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=26 |title=Obama touts anti-war cred; Kicks off tour 5 years after speech critical of going to Iraq |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Obama%20touts%20anti-war%20cred)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Obama%20touts%20anti-war%20cred)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-10-28}}</ref> 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=2003-03-16 |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=2003-03-17 |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 that "it's not too late" to stop the war.<!-- − --><ref>{{cite news |author=Ritter, Jim |date=2003-03-17 |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> − + − 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=2006-11-20 |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 he did not rule out military action.<ref>{{cite web |first=Barack |last=Obama |title=AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks |date=2007-03-02 |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=2004-09-25 |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> Obama has indicated that he would engage in "direct presidential diplomacy" with Iran without preconditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/foreign_policy/ |title=Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan to Secure America and Restore Our Standing |publisher=Obama for America|accessdate=2008-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/us/politics/01cnd-obama.html?_r=2&ei=5088&en=6e53bced62b78a88&ex=1351656000&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin |title=Obama Pledges 'Aggressive' Iran Diplomacy |author=Gordon, Michael R. and Zeleny, Jeff |work=The New York Times|date=2007-11-02|accessdate=2008-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/us/politics/24transcript.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all|title=Transcript of fourth Democratic debate |work=The New York Times |date=2007-07-24 |accessdate=2008-06-17}}</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=2007-08-01 |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=2007-08-01 |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=2007-07-08 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/qaeda.php |work=International Herald Tribune |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</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=2005-12-27 |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=2006-05-01 |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 (Associated Press) |last=Kuhnhenn |title=Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings |date=2007-05-17 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/17/politics/p171906D95.DTL |accessdate=2008-01-14}}; {{cite news |first=Barack |last=Obama |title=Hit Iran Where It Hurts |date=2007-08-30 |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 of the United States|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 journal |first=Barack |last=Obama |title=Renewing American Leadership |date=July–August 2007 |volume=86 |issue=4 |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html |journal=Foreign Affairs |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>+ + − + − [[Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Obama speaking at a rally in [[Conway, South Carolina|Conway]], [[South Carolina]]<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>]]+ − 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=2007-09-18 |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 income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,<ref>{{citenews |title=Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy |date=2004-08-13 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/16/politics/main636398.shtml |publisher=CBS |accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref> close corporate tax loopholes, lift the income cap on Social Security taxes, 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=2007-09-18 |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 ten year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce [[Energy policy of the United States|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=2007-10-09 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no [[grandfather clause|grandfathering]] of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf|title=The Blueprint for Change: Barack Obama's plan for America|author=Barack Obama|publisher=Obama for America |accessdate=2008-04-20|format=PDF}}</ref>+ − + + − ==Family and personal life==+ − {{main|Family of Barack Obama}} − − + − Obama met his wife, [[Michelle Obama|Michelle Robinson]], in June 1989 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of [[Sidley Austin]].<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: {{cite news |first=Sarah |last=Brown |title=Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act |date=2005-12-07 |work=Daily Princetonian |url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/12/07/news/14049.shtml |accessdate=2008-04-28}} {{cite news |first=Eric |last=Tucker |title=Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama |date=2007-03-01 |publisher=ABC News |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2916437 |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</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 date.<ref>Obama (2006), p. 329.</ref> They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Fornek |title=Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet' |date=2007-10-03 |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/585261,CST-NWS-wedding03.stng |work=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The couple's first daughter, [[Family of Barack Obama#Malia Ann and Sasha Obama|Malia Ann]], was born in 1998,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0708/Born_on_the_4th_of_July.html |title=Born on the 4th of July |date=2008-07-04 |accessdate=2008-07-10 |publisher=[[The Politico]] |last=Martin |first=Jonathan}}</ref> followed by a second daughter, [[Family of Barack Obama#Malia Ann and Sasha Obama|Natasha ("Sasha")]], in 2001.<ref>Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: {{cite web |title=Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama |url=http://www.gannettnewsservice.com/?cat=153 |work=Gannett News Service |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref>+ − Applying the proceeds of a book deal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-obama-rezkomar15,0,4474107,full.story|title=Obama: I trusted Rezko|date=2008-03-15}}</ref> in 2005 the family moved from a [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]], Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring [[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jeff |last=Zeleny |title=The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year |date=2005-12-24 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051224obama,0,6232648.story |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer and friend [[Tony Rezko]] attracted media attention because of Rezko's indictment and subsequent conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24973282/ |title=Rezko found guilty in corruption case |accessdate=2008-06-24 |date=2008-06-04 |work=The Associated Press |publisher=MSNBC.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html |title=Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser |work=The Washington Post |date=2006-12-17 |accessdate=2008-06-10|last=Slevin |first=Peter}}</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=2007-12-07 |url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/5.html |publisher=CNNMoney.com |accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also:+ − {{cite news |first=Zachary A |last=Goldfarb |title=Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates |date=2007-03-24 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305.html |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million—up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jeff |last=Zeleny |title=Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/politics/17obama.html |date=2008-04-17 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> − [[Image:BarackObama-Basketball.JPEG|left|thumb|upright|Obama playing basketball with U.S. military in [[Djibouti]] in 2006<ref>{{cite news |title=Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: August 31—September 1, 2006 |format=video |date=2007-02-06 |publisher=YouTube |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9GqdzQeCz0|work=Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa|accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref>]]+ + − In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family. "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look like [[Bernie Mac]], and I've got relatives who look like [[Margaret Thatcher]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20061018/10 |title=Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First |date=2006-10-18 |work=The Oprah Winfrey Show |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref> Obama has seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living, and a half-sister, [[Maya Soetoro-Ng]], the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband.<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Fornek |title=Half Siblings: 'A Complicated Family' |date=2007-09-09 |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545462,BSX-News-wotrees09.stng |work=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2008-06-24}} See also: {{cite web |url=http://www.suntimes.com/images/cds/special/family_tree.html |title=Interactive Family Tree |date=2007-09-09 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref> Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Fornek |title=Madelyn Payne Dunham: 'A Trailblazer' |date=2007-09-09 |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545449,BSX-News-wotreeee09.stng |work=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref> until her death on November 2, 2008, just before the presidential election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/03/obama.grandma/index.html|publisher=CNN |title= Obama's grandmother dies after battle with cancer |publisher= CNN |accessdate= 2008-11-04 |date= 2008-11-03}}</ref> In ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama ties his mother's family history to possible [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestors and distant relatives of [[Jefferson Davis]], president of the southern 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=2007-03-02 |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/bal-te.obama02mar02,0,3453027.story |work=Baltimore Sun |accessdate=2008-06-24}} {{cite news |first=Mary |last=Jordan |title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own |date=2007-05-13 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=2008-06-24}} {{cite news |title=Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises |date=2007-09-08 |publisher=CBS 2 (Chicago) |url=http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Barack.Obama.family.2.339709.html |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2008-06-24}}</ref>+ − + − Obama is a [[Christianity|Christian]] whose religious views have evolved in his adult life. In ''[[The Audacity of Hope]]'', Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists") to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his father as "raised a [[Muslim]]", but a "confirmed [[atheism|atheist]]" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." In the book, Obama explains how, through working with [[black church]]es as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: {{cite news |first=Barack |last=Obama |title=My Spiritual Journey |date=2006-10-23 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html |work=Time |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/ |title='Call to Renewal' Keynote Address |accessdate=2008-06-16 |last=Obama |first=Barack |date=2006-06-28 |work=Barack Obama: U.S. Senator for Illinois (website)}}</ref> He was baptized at [[Trinity United Church of Christ]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2|title=Barack Obama's search for faith|author=Jodi Kantor|date=April 30, 2007|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}+ − April 30, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html|title=My Spiritual Journey|author=Barack Obama|date=Oct 16, 2006|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time magazine]]}}</ref>+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − ==Cultural and political image==+ − {{main|Public image of Barack Obama}} − <!-- Note - we now have a main article, so if you agree with the split we should CONDENSE this section, not EXPAND it. Please help summarize this, and add new material to the new main article --> − With his Kenyan father and white American mother, his upbringing in [[Honolulu]] and [[Jakarta]], and his [[Ivy League]] education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African-American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the [[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=2007-12-28 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/28/america/obama.php |work=International Herald Tribune |accessdate=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 that "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=2007-08-19 |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/1322008241.html?dids=1322008241:1322008241&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |work=Newsday |accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>+ − Echoing the [[inaugural address of John F. Kennedy]], Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, saying: "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=2007-10-04 |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=2007-10-15 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1565992/Barack-Obama-is-JFK-heir%2C-says-Kennedy-aide.html |work=Daily Telegraph |accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref>+ − Many commentators mentioned Obama's international appeal as a defining factor for his public image.<ref>[http://www.theroot.com/id/48102 ''The Root'']; [http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-06-12-poll_N.htm ''USA Today'']</ref> Not only did several polls show strong support for him in other countries,<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/09/2360240.htm?section=world World wants Obama as president: poll]</ref> but Obama also established close relationships with prominent foreign politicians and elected officials even before his presidential candidacy, notably with then current [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]], whom he met in [[London]] in 2005,<ref>[http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/ "Obama to visit nuclear, biological weapons destruction facilities in former Soviet Union" - Senate.gov]</ref> with [[Italy]]'s [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] leader [[Walter Veltroni]], who visited Obama's Senate office in 2005,<ref>[http://www.partitodemocratico.it/allegatidef/veltroni63375.pdf Quel giorno di tre anni fa a Washington Barack mi raccontò la sua speranza][http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aea6jJJwShpQ&refer=europe Rome Mayor's Leadership Bid May Lead to Early Italian Elections]; [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2005/aprile/30/politico_prevale_sull_amministratore_co_10_050430003.shtml VELTRONI A NEW YORK - Il politico prevale sull' amministratore]; [http://store.libreriarizzoli.it/4DLink/4DAction/MostraScheda?Codice=978881701658 Libreria Rizzoli Galleria]</ref> and+ − with [[President of France|French President]] [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], who also visited him in [[Washington]] in 2006.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/blogs/certainideasofeurope/2008/02/sarkozy_obama_and_mccain.cfm "Sarkozy, Obama and McCain" - ''The Economist'']</ref>+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − *Obama, Barack (1998) ''Public policy in the 21st century.'' [[Loyola University Chicago]]. Center for Instructional Design.; VHS Video + − *{{cite book|last=Obama|first=Barack|title=[[Dreams from My Father|Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance]]|publisher=[[Times Books]]|year=2004|isbn=1-4000-8277-3}}+ − *Obama, Barack (2005) ''EBONY'S 60th Anniversary - The Political Movement In Black America''. Chicago, Johnson Pub. Co., etc., Ebony. 61, no. 1, (2005): 116 + − *Obama, Barack (2005) ''Bound to the Word - Guardians of truth and knowledge, librarians must be thanked for their role as champions of privacy, literacy, independent thinking, and, most of all, reading.'' American libraries. 36, no. 7, (2005): 48, Chicago, American Library Association.+ − *{{cite book|last=Obama|first=Barack|title=[[The Audacity of Hope|The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream]]|publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]]|year=2006|isbn=0-307-23769-9}}+ − *Obama, Barack (2006) ''It takes a nation : how strangers became family in the wake of Hurricane Katrina : the story of MoveOn.org Civic Action's HurricaneHousing.org'' by Laura Dawn; Barack Obama; San Rafael, CA : Earth Aware, ISBN: 1932771867 9781932771862+ − *Obama, Barack (2006) ''Lobbying reform : congressional ethics in the wake of scandal : does the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act provide for sufficient reforms?'' by Trent Lott; Barack Obama; Congressional Digest Corporation.; et al, Bethesda, MD : Congressional Digest Corp., OCLC: 84912539 + − *Obama, Barack (2007) ''Barack Obama in his own words'' Ed. Lisa Rogak, New York: Carroll & Graf, 2007. ISBN: 9780786720576 0786720573+ − *Obama, Barack (2008, contr.) in ''Health care'' by David M Haugen; Detroit : Greenhaven Press/Gale; ISBN: 9780737740066; 073774006X; 9780737740073; 0737740078 + − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''Affordable Health Care for All Americans: The Obama-Biden Plan 13. Affordable Health Care for All Americans: The Obama-Biden Plan'' JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 300, no. 16, (2008): 1927, Chicago : American Medical Association, 1960- − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''An American story : the speeches of Barack Obama : a primer'' by Barack Obama and David Olive; Toronto: ECW Press, ISBN: 9781550228649; 1550228641 − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''Change we can believe in : Barack Obama's plan to renew America's promise'', New York : Three Rivers Press, ISBN: 9780307460455 : 0307460452 : 9780739383223 0739383221 − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''Barack Obama's speech on race : "A more perfect union."'' BN Publishing, ISBN: 9650060448 9789650060442 − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''An analysis of the Obama health care proposal'' by John Holahan; Linda Blumberg; Barack Obama; Health Policy Center (Urban Institute, Washington), D.C. : Urban Institute Health Policy Center, OCLC: 262633852 − *Obama, Barack (2008) ''Renewing American leadership'' [[Foreign Affairs]], New York/N.Y.(0015-7120), 86 (Juli-August 2007) 4 S. 2-16 Ill. − *{{cite book|last=Mendell|first=David|title=Obama: From Promise to Power|publisher=Amistad/[[HarperCollins]]|year=2007|url=http://www.harpercollins.com/book/index.aspx?isbn=9780060858209|isbn=0-06-085820-6}} − {{refend}}
Barack Hussein Obama (view source)
Revision as of 03:52, November 11, 2008
, 03:52, November 11, 2008Undo revision 554229 by JesusLovesMeTheMost (Talk)
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|President-Elect Barack Obama]]
'''Barack Hussein Obama II''' (born in Honolulu,<ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_5.jpg Large, high-resolution picture of his birth certificate]</ref><ref>[http://www.kitv.com/politics/17860890/detail.html?rss=hon&psp=news KITV Honolulu report]</ref> August 4, 1961) is the [[Democratic party|Democratic]] junior [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] (2004 - present) and President-elect of the United States.<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_wins_presidency/2008/11/04/147788.html?utm_medium=RSS]</ref> On November 4, Obama and his running mate [[Senator Joseph Biden]] won the presidency after spending a record-shattering $650 million, all of which has been raised from small donors.
| office = [[President-elect|President-elect of the United States]]
Obama has espoused the socialist idea of "spreading the wealth" in other words raising the tax rates on business and the wealthy to a burdensome level in order to redistribute their income to low income individuals, many of whom don't currently pay taxes. From which John McCain replied "He's running for Redistributor In Chief, I'm running for Commander In Chief." <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/31/mccain-hungry-upset-obama-eyes-landslide/ McCain Attacks Obama's Faith in Americans] Fox News, 10-31-2008</ref> The slogan "From each according to their ability to each according to their need" is an idea originally proposed by [[Karl Marx]] and is clearly the inspiration for the centrally planned economy Obama will introduce to the US in January 2009. In addition, his health care plan forces employers to purchase health care or pay a fine and will force many into a poorly run single payer system. The socialization of health care will force taxpayers to pay for healthcare for those who refuse to purchase it themselves.
The October 2008 crimes against Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's family highlight Obama's record against law and order, as he voted against making it a crime in Illinois "for convicts on probation or on bail to have contact with a street gang".<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html]</ref> The person of interest in the murders of Hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew is the estranged husband of Hudson's sister and a convicted felon who had violated his parole conditions. <ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-julian-king-autopsy-1029,0,2752431.story]</ref> "'We've got 75,000 gang members - that's almost six gang members to one police officer.'"<ref>"More people have been murdered in Chicago this year than in New York - even though New York's population is three times greater. When Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed last month, they pushed the city's homicide total for the year to 436 and counting. New York has had 430 homicides." [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/01/2008-11-01_chicago_buried_in_murders.html]</ref>
Obama is the first person having ties to a known terrorist to gain control over America's nuclear weapons.<ref>http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127</ref><ref>http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/26/obama-associate-bill-ayers-unrepentant-for-acts-of-terror/</ref> Author and blogger Jack Cashill compared the writing style of Bill Ayers' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', with Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Ayres had ghostwritten Dreams.<ref>www.cashill.com, ''Who Wrote “Dreams From My Father"?'', by Jack Cashill, October 9, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.cashill.com/natl_general/who_wrote_dreams_from.htm] Jack Cashill compared the writing style of Bill Ayers' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', with Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Ayers had ghostwritten ''Dreams''. Cashill states that a computer comparison of Obama's so-called autobiography with that of the terrorist Bill Ayers, supports the theory that Ayers actually wrote parts of Obama's book. "In assessing the signature of sample passages from Dreams," the experienced analyst found "a very strong match to all of the Ayers samples" that he processed. He did not address the possibility that Ayers had plagiarized from Obama's earlier book.</ref> <ref>[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77815]</ref> Dr. Peter Millican, who was hired to do a computer analysis comparing the two works, called the charges "very implausible". <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/02/report-professor-paid-g-prove-ayers-wrote-obamas-autobiography/comments/]"Dr. Peter Millican -- a distinguished philosophy professor at Hertford College in Oxford, England -- ... was reportedly paid to use a computer software program to find suspected similarities between Obama's best-selling 2004 autobiography "Dreams from My Father" and Ayers' memoir "Fugitive Days." But Millican called the charges "very implausible" after a preliminary review of the two works."</ref> Ayers admitted that he was "guilty as hell" in planting bombs in the 1970s, and that he has no regrets and felt he "should have done more."<ref>[http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127]</ref>
Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, where Obama received his Democratic Party nomination, recently criticized Obama as the "most committed" [[abortion]]-supporting candidate "since the ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' abortion decision in 1973.<ref>http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14088</ref> Obama said "the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."<ref>[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]</ref> That bill "would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again."<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008</ref> Indeed, Obama was upset with the decision of the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] not to strike down the law passed by the [[United States Congress]] to prohibit partial-birth abortion, believing that partial-birth abortion is guaranteed right of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] and that there should be no ability to legislate against it.
Doctors from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons have stated that Obama uses techniques of mind control in his speeches and campaign symbols. For example, one speech declared, "a light will shine down from somewhere, it will light upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will say to yourself, 'I have to vote for Barack.'"<ref name="mind control">http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0089</ref> The doctors observe that "Obama's logo is noteworthy. It is always there, a small one in the middle of the podium, providing a point of visual fixation ... [that] resembles a crystal ball, a favorite of hypnotists."<ref name="mind control"/>
==Obama will likely be the first Muslim President==
[[Image:OBAMA MUSULMAN.jpg|thumb|President Obama wearing traditional African garb, a gift from his hosts while visiting Kenya<ref>[http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-wore-muslim-gear-during-kenya-trip]</ref>]]
President-elect Obama will likely become the first [[Muslim]] [[President]], and may use the [[Koran]] to be sworn into office at his inauguration on [[January]] 20, 2009.<ref>Christian Science Monitor, ''At swearing in, congressman [Keith Ellison, D Minnesota, who is a Muslim] wants to carry Koran. Outrage ensues.'', by Jane Lampman, December 07, 2006, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1207/p01s03-uspo.html]"In Congress, newly elected representatives do not put their left hands on any book. They raise their right hands, and are sworn in together as the speaker of the House administers the oath of office. Some do carry a book, according to House historians, and some choose to photograph a private swearing-in afterward with their hand on the Bible."</ref><ref>Obama hoped to become President when he was sworn in as U.S. Senator in 2004, and did not use a Koran at that time. Subsequently Democratic House member Keith Ellison established the precedent for being sworn in using the Koran, and there is no guarantee that Obama would not do likewise if sworn in as President. [http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_obama.html FactCheck.org, Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, ''Sliming Obama'', January 10, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008]</ref> The evidence that he is a Muslim includes:
*Obama's background, education, and outlook are [[Muslim]], and fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity.<ref>http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17736/barack-obama-2</ref><ref>http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina31103.htm. During the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class, according to the LATimes. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.obama16mar16,0,1634059,print.story?coll=bal_news_nation_promo Campaign downplays his connection during boyhood in Indonesia, Baltimore Sun, March 16, 2007]</ref>
*Obama's middle name (Hussein) references '''Husayn''', who was the grandson of [[Muhammad]], which most Christians would not retain.<ref> Oxford Dictionary of First Names, 2nd edition (2007).[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277459/al-Husayn-ibn-Ali]. Only after Obama became politically ambitious did he declare himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name "Hussein" with a Christian one as most do when they undergo a religious conversion. For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to "Paul"; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]]. "It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion"[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]</ref>
*Obama recently referred to his "Muslim faith."<ref>Obama declared, "John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqIpdBOg6I]</ref>
*Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset," and recited "with a first-class [Arabic] accent" the opening lines: Allah is Supreme! ... I witness that there is no god but Allah ...."<ref>http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=78309</ref>
*Obama stated that the autobiography of Malcolm X, a Nation of Islam leader who became a Muslim, inspired him in his youth.<ref>For example, Obama writes in his own autobiography, "Only Malcolm X's autobiography seemed to offer something different. His repeated acts of self-creation spoke to me. The blunt poetry of his words, his unadorned insistence on respect, promised a new and uncompromising order, martial in its discipline, forged through sheer force of will. ... [E]ven as I imagine myself following Malcolm's call, one line in the book stayed with me. He spoke of a wish he'd once had, the wish that the white blood that ran through him, there by an act of violence, might somehow be expunged."[http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/does_obama_know_america.html]</ref>
*Obama raised nearly $1 million and campaigned for a [[Kenyan]] presidential candidate who had a written agreement with [[Muslim]] leaders promising to convert Kenya to an Islamic state that bans Christianity.<ref> [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78324] Text of the agreement, as three images: [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78323]</ref>
*Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism.<ref>In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).</ref>
*On the campaign trail Obama has been reading "The Post-American World" by Fareed Zakaria,<ref>http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=fa8cf1bf-2cc8-4d6e-b72d-a07d406e19ff</ref> which is written from a Muslim point-of-view.<ref>http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-08-09/news/the-interpreter/</ref>
*Contrary to [[Christianity]], the Islamic doctrine of [[taqiyya]] encourages adherents to deny they are Muslim if it advances the cause of Islam.
*Obama uses the Muslim Pakistani pronunciation for "Pakistan" rather than the common American one.<ref>Obama repeatedly pronounced "Pakistan" as "Pokiston" in the first presidential debate.</ref>
*Many of Obama's statements about religion conflict with Christianity, leading one group to demonstrate with a 7-part video series, "Why Barack Obama is Not a Christian."<ref>http://www.christianadc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=23073&articleId=3249</ref>
*Obama was thoroughly exposed to Christianity as an adult in Chicago prior to attending law school, yet no one at law school saw him display any interest in converting. Obama unabashedly explained how he became "churched" in a 2007 speech: "It's around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. 'If you're organizing churches,' they said, 'it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while.' And I thought, 'I guess that makes sense.'"<ref>[http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=15363 Obama, ACORN, and the churches] SperoNews, October 7, 2008</ref>
*Obama is mentioned as helping to organize the 1995 million man march led by black [[Muslim]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]] from the [[Nation of Islam]]. <ref>[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9291850 Louis Farrakhan Biography] Biography.com</ref>
[[Image:Ann Dunham with father and children.jpg|thumb|float|left|Right-to-left: Barack Obama and half-sister [[Maya Soetoro-Ng]], with their mother [[Ann Dunham]] and grandfather [[Madelyn and Stanley Dunham|Stanley Dunham]], in Hawaii (early 1970s)]]
Obama tries to downplay his [[Islamic]] background by claiming that his [[Kenya|Kenyan]] [[Muslim]] father was a "confirmed [[atheist]]" before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html</ref> There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991, nor of Barack Obama's joining of a Mosque (The Islamic house of worship) at any time in his life. Finally, Obama abruptly left his radical Christian church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.
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==Obama and Elitism==
Obama has consistently shown himself to be an elitist who looks down on "ordinary" Americans. Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied "it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama did not recount his statement but instead replied, I "didn't say it as well as I should have."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> Although many rural counties went for McCain, Obama carried the state with 54.6% of the vote, compared to 44.3% for John McCain.<ref>[http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=28&OfficeID=1]</ref>
Obama entered [[Harvard Law School]] in late 1988. At the end of his first year, he was selected, based on his grades and a writing competition, as an editor of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]''.<ref name="Harvard Law 2007">{{cite news |author=Levenson, Michael; Saltzman, Jonathan |date=2007-01-28 |title=At Harvard Law, a unifying voice |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full |work=The Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Kantor, Jodi |date=2007-01-28 |title=In law school, Obama found political voice |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Kodama, Marie C |date=2007-01-19 |title=Obama left mark on HLS |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516664 |work=The Harvard Crimson |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Mundy, Liza |title=A series of fortunate events |date=2007-08-12 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802038_pf.html |work=The Washington Post |page=W10 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite journal |author=Heilemann, John |title=When they were young |date=2007-10-22 |url=http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=When+They+Were+Young&expire=&urlID=24417790&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fnews%2Ffeatures%2F39321%2F&partnerID=73272 |journal=New York |volume=40 |issue=37 |pages=32–7, 132–3 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Mendell (2007), pp. 80–92.</ref> In February 1990, in his second year, he was elected president of the ''Law Review'', a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the ''Law Review'''s staff of eighty editors.<ref name="Harvard Law 1990">{{cite news |author=Butterfield, Fox |date=1990-02-06|title=First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260 |work=The New York Times |page=A20 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Ybarra, Michael J |date=1990-02-07 |title=Activist in Chicago now heads Harvard Law Review |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28797353.html?dids=28797353:28797353&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=3 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Matchan, Linda |date=1990-02-15 |title=A Law Review breakthrough |url=http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=&s.author=Linda+Matchan&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1990-02-15&s.endDate=1990-02-15 |format=paid archive |work=The Boston Globe |page=29 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Corr, John |date=1990-02-27 |title=From mean streets to hallowed halls |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_theme=pi&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PI&s_search_type=customized&s_dispstring=Author(John%20Corr)%20AND%20date(02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=Author&p_text_advanced-0=(John%20Corr)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Drummond, Tammerlin |date=1990-03-12 |title=Barack Obama's Law; Harvard Law Review's first black president plans a life of public service |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60017156.html?dids=60017156:60017156&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Los Angeles Times |page=E1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Pugh, Allison J. (Associated Press) |date=1990-04-18 |title=Law Review's first black president aims to help poor |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&p_theme=realcities2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_site=miami&s_trackval=MH&s_dispstring=Title(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)%20AND%20date(04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Miami Herald |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-15}}</ref> Obama's election as the [[List of African-American firsts|first black president of the ''Law Review'']] was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.<ref name="Harvard Law 1990"/> During his summers, he returned to Chicago where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of [[Sidley Austin|Sidley & Austin]] in 1989 and [[Hopkins & Sutter]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite news |author=Aguilar, Louis |date=1990-07-11 |title=Survey: Law firms slow to add minority partners |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28774085.html?dids=28774085:28774085&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Business) |quote=Barack Obama, a summer associate at Hopkins & Sutter in Chicago |accessdate=2008-06-15}}</ref> After graduating with a [[Juris Doctor|Juris Doctor (J.D.)]] [[Latin honors|''magna cum laude'']]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/09/barackobama.uselections20081|title=Barack Obama|last=Adams|first=Richard|date=2007-05-09|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=2008-10-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/973560/Barack-Obama|title=Barack Obama (American politician)|last=Mendell|first=David|accessdate=2008-10-26}}</ref> from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.<ref name="Harvard Law 2007"/>
In an attempt counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he "worked his way through college and Harvard Law." This claim is at best an exaggeration, as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html</ref>, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.
Obama almost always reads from prepared text on a [[teleprompter]] and rarely allows tough questions.<ref>After one debate against [[Hillary Clinton]] in Philadelphia, the Obama campaign announced that the questions were too difficult and that Obama would not agree to future debates with her.</ref><ref name="teleprompter">The Daily Standard, ''Obama Unplugged Lost without a Teleprompter'', by Dean Barnett, 02/12/2008[http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp]</ref> Indeed, when unable to read from prepared text he often fails at articulating his positions and is caught tripping over his own feet.<ref>This was first displayed in the Saddleback Forum, and has occurred subsequently also.</ref> His most recent debate performances illustrate that he may have been extensively coached over the course of 2008, although he still repeatedly fumbles at moments where he moves off his memorized remarks.
==Insights==
Obama taught [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago Law School]] for twelve years, being first classified as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and then as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.<ref>{{cite web |author=University of Chicago Law School |date=2008-03-27 |title=Statement regarding Barack Obama |publisher=University of Chicago Law School |url=http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html |accessdate=2008-06-10}} {{cite web |author=Miller, Joe |date=2008-03-28 |title=Was Barack Obama really a constitutional law professor?|publisher=FactCheck.org |url=http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/was_barack_obama_really_a_constitutional_law.html |accessdate=2008-06-10}} {{cite web |author=Holan, Angie Drobnic |date=2008-03-07 |title=Obama's 20 years of experience |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/mar/07/obamas-20-years-experience/ |publisher=PolitiFact.com |accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> He also joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a twelve-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an [[associate (business rank)|associate]] for three years from 1993 to 1996, then [[of counsel]] from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Robinson, Mike (Associated Press) |date=2007-02-10 |title=Obama got start in civil rights practice |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/20/obama_got_start_in_civil_rights_practice/ |work=The Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Pallasch, Abdon M |date=2007-12-17 |title=As lawyer, Obama was strong, silent type; He was 'smart, innovative, relentless,' and he mostly let other lawyers do the talking |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/700499,CST-NWS-Obama-law17.article |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=4 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author= |date=1993-06-27 |title=People |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24302659.html?dids=24302659:24302659&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=9 (Business) |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author= |date=1993-07-05 |title=Business appointments |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Business%20appointments)%20AND%20date(7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Business%20appointments)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |work=Chicago-Sun-Times |page=40 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite web |author=Miner, Barnhill & Galland |year=2008 |title=About Us |url=http://www.lawmbg.com/index.cfm/PageID/2711 |publisher=Miner, Barnhill & Galland – Chicago, Illinois |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Obama (1995), pp. 438–439, Mendell (2007), pp. 104–106.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ARDC Individual Attorney Record of Public Registration and Public Disciplinary and Disability Information as of October 17, 2008 at 12:52:13 PM |url=https://www.iardc.org/ldetail.asp?id=595938384 |publisher=Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois |accessdate=2008-10-19}}</ref>
Obama displayed ignorance about American history when he said, "Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp</ref>
Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of [[Public Allies]] in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite web |author=Public Allies |year=2008 |title=Fact Sheet on Public Allies' History with Senator Barack and Michelle Obama |url=http://www.publicallies.org/site/c.liKUL3PNLvF/b.3960231/ |publisher=[[Public Allies]] |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> He served from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of the [[Woods Fund of Chicago]], which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and also from 1994 to 2002 on the board of directors of The [[Joyce Foundation]].<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/> Obama served on the board of directors of the [[Chicago Annenberg Challenge]] from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/> He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/>
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref> He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref> He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref> Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. <ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref>The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref>
In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama admitted using illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as "blow" and "pot" respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before claiming to choose a different path in life.<ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/</ref>
Obama was elected to the [[Illinois Senate]] in 1996, succeeding State Senator [[Alice Palmer (Illinois politician)|Alice Palmer]] as Senator from Illinois' 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=2007-04-03 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-01-14}}{{dead link|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story|date=November 2008}}
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 support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]</ref> Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.
In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means 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>
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> In his famous 2002 speech<ref>http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php</ref> at an anti-war rally, Obama said that he was against "dumb wars" and expressed some reservations about the Iraq War because he disagrees with the ideological agendas of the Bush administration, but he did not explicitly oppose the war. In his 2004 Democrat Convention speech, Obama said that he did not know how he would have voted on the Iraq War.
Obama's campaign "is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer."<ref>http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs</ref>
Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for President of the United States.<ref> [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]</ref> <ref>http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/</ref>
==Charitable Giving==
In the years 2000 through 2004, before becoming a United States Senator and being in the public spotlight, Obama gave 1% of his earnings to charity even though he made $250,000 per year. Since becoming a national figure, that amount has jumped to 6%.<ref>http://patterico.com/2008/10/31/obama-and-bidens-charitable-giving-they-dont-want-to-spread-their-own-wealth-around/</ref>. Obama's small donations are consistent with atheism and were perhaps influenced by his nonbelieving mother. According to a study by the Barna Group, atheists give less per capita in donations than religious Americans <ref>http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=272 The Barna Update, 2007</ref>.
==Aunt is in the United States Illegally==
At the end of October 2008 it came to light that Obama's aunt is in the United States illegally and has been since 2004 when her request for asylum was turned down. She has been living in public tax payer funded housing in Boston. This may have some bearing on Obama's immigration policy given that a member of his own family is in violation of current US immigration law. There are also questions about how much Obama knew about this.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27481680 Obama's Aunt Living in US Illegally]</ref> The Obama campaign issued a statement to the effect that they had no knowledge of this situation and returned the donation she made to his campaign; in the United states it is illegal to accept campaign contributions from people who are not currently citizens or legal residents of the united states. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/01/obama.aunt/index.html</ref>
[[Image:Coburn and Obama discuss S. 2590.jpg|thumb|right|Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Obama discussing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act.<ref>{{cite web |title=President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. |date=2006-09-26 |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html|publisher=White House|2008-04-27}}</ref>]]
==Statements==
Obama has been noted by several independent sources as misquoting historical events and statements by famous persons. A notable example came after Obama's win in the [[North Carolina]] democratic primary. Obama was quoted as saying, "I trust the American people to understand that it is not weakness, but wisdom to talk not just to our friends, but to our enemies as Roosevelt did, and Kennedy did, and Truman did." (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt spoke with none of the [[Axis]] or [[Japanese]] leaders and the the only communication that was sent to them was unconditional surrender. (President) [[Harry Truman]] took over for FDR and continued his unconditional surrender philosophy as well as ending [[World War II]] with an atomic bomb.<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/obama_needs_to_study_history_b.html</ref>
==Early life and education==
Barack Hussein Obama II is said to have been born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961, but there is some evidence that he may have actually been born in Kenya. 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. Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. His days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays were spent praying in a Mosque with his stepfather. <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/pipes_obama_muslim/2008/10/09/138898.html Obama 'Lying' About Muslim Past, Expert Says] NewsMax, October 9, 2008</ref> 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.
[[Image:Lugar-Obama.jpg|left|thumb|Obama and [[Richard Lugar]] visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nunn–Lugar Report |month=August |year=2005 |publisher=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office|url=http://lugar.senate.gov/nunnlugar/pdf/trip_report_2005.pdf|accessdate=2008-04-30|format=PDF}}</ref>]]
For college, Obama initially attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science. Obama refuses to describe his academic performance at Columbia despite commenting about New York during this period and despite disclosures of the academic record for all other major-party presidential candidates since at least 2000.<ref>http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/</ref>
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 ''Harvard Law Review'', which uses racial quotas, in 1989. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990, a story that was immediately promoted in the [[New York Times]].<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&scp=3&sq=Obama%201990&st=cse</ref> He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991, but did not serve in a clerkship. Federal clerkships are the typical post-graduate position for top law students.
Obama has described himself as a constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref> He held the position of Lecturer, an adjunct position, from 1992 to 1996.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref> He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref> Dan Ronayne, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, has pointed that Obama was only a senior lecturer and not a full professor. <ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics]</ref>The University states that Senior Lecturers are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure track.<ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref>
===Committees===
==Legal career==
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]], [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Environment and Public Works]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Veterans' Affairs]] through December 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20061209190827/obama.senate.gov/committees/ |format=archive |date=2006-12-09 |title=Committee Assignments |accessdate=2008-04-27 |publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Obama Gets New Committee Assignments |date=2006-11-15 |publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office |url=http://obama.senate.gov/news/061115-obama_gets_new/ |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on [[United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs|European Affairs]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Baldwin |title=Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience |date=2007-12-21 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece |work=Sunday Times (UK) |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He met with [[Mahmoud Abbas]] before he became President of [[Palestine]], and gave a speech at the [[University of Nairobi]] condemning corruption in the Kenyan government.<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=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Chuck |last=Goudie |title=Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor |date=2006-01-12 |url=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=3806933 |work=WLS-TV |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud |date=2006-08-28 |url=http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1989646,00.html |work=News24.com |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Wamalwa |title=Envoy Hits at Obama Over Graft Remark |date=2006-09-02 |url=http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957666 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071010050740/http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957666 |archivedate=2007-10-10 |work=The Standard (Nairobi) |accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Moracha |coauthors=Mangoa Mosota |title=Leaders Support Obama on Graft Claims |date=2006-09-04 |url=http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957752 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071007115436/http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957752 |archivedate=2007-10-07 |work=The Standard (Nairobi) |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref>{{clear}}
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the 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.
==Senate career==
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 the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].
A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR <ref>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm</ref>
==2008 presidential campaign==
His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[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> He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref> and 16th most liberal in 2005.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</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>
</ref>
[[Image:Flickr Obama Springfield 01.jpg|thumb|220px|left|Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois]]
Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a "new strategy" in [[Afghanistan]], a country he only visited in 2008.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html</ref> Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.
Obama's campaign raised $58 million during the first half of 2007, of which donations of less than $200, classified as "small donations" by campaign laws, accounted for $16.4 million. The $58 million set the record for fundraising by a presidential campaign in the first six months of the calendar year before the election.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jim |last=Malone |title=Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination |date=2007-07-02 |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-07/2007-07-02-voa52.cfm?CFID=62046237&CFTOKEN=65376399 |work=Voice of America |accessdate=2008-01-14}}
In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 annually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.
Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.<ref>[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008</ref> The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. Some argue that this bill depletes the US's volunteer military personnel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed.
</ref> Obama and Clinton split delegates and states nearly equally in the March 4 contests of [[Vermont Democratic primary, 2008|Vermont]], [[Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008|Texas]], [[Ohio Democratic primary, 2008|Ohio]], and [[Rhode Island Democratic primary, 2008|Rhode Island]]; Obama closed the month by winning Wyoming and [[Mississippi Democratic primary, 2008|Mississippi]].<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}}
As senator, Obama has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks which averages to $500,000. per day over four years, <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122108935141721343.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama Can't Win Against Palin] Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2008</ref> for which the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste has given him a rating of 10% in 2007 (18% lifetime).<ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/DocServer/2007_Senate_Ratings_Final.pdf?docID=3242 2007 Senate Scorecard]</ref> A score of 100% represents voting against all pork, and 0% represents voting ''for'' all pork. Democrats averaged 5% in 2007, whereas Republicans averaged 60%. <ref>[http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/News2?abbr=CCAGW_&page=NewsArticle&id=11590 CCAGW Releases ''2007 Congressional Ratings'']</ref>
According to a Fox News report on October 5th, Obama has taken more than $126,000. in campaign contribution from [[Fannie Mae]] in a little over three years. This ranks him second, only Chris Dodd has received more campaign contribution dollars from Fannie Mae.
=== Bills co-sponsored ===
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html</ref>
Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 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> His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}
*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.
=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===
In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.
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.
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 [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. <ref> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ </ref>
[[Image:ObamaAbingtonPA.JPG|right|thumb|Obama campaigning in Pennsylvania, October 2008]]
Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website<obamasenate2010.gov> is now defunct.
==Presidential campaign==
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]
Senator Obama began his 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>
Obama stated that if elected he would enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars, stop investing in "unproven" [[National missile defense|missile defense systems]], not "weaponize" space, "slow development of [[Future Combat Systems]]," and work towards eliminating all [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear weapons]]. Obama favors ending development of new nuclear weapons, reducing the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, enacting a global ban on production of fissile material, and seeking negotiations with Russia in order to take [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBMs]] off high alert status.<ref>{{cite video |people=Barack Obama |date2=2007-10-22 |title=Obama-Caucus4Priorities |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o84PE871BE |format=flv |publisher=Obama '08 |accessdate=2008-05-18}}</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 (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11.
By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million 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,
{{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 economic affairs, in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and opposed Republican proposals to establish private accounts for [[Social Security debate (United States)|Social Security]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Ben A |last=Franklin |title=The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon |date=2005-06-01 |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=2005-09-12 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509120140sep12,0,5564730.story |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama said he supports [[universal health care]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nedra |last=Pickler |title=Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years |date=2007-01-25 |publisher=Associated Press via ''Union-Tribune'' (San Diego) |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070125-1240-democrats-healthcare.html |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama proposes 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=2007-11-20 |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3894699 |publisher=ABC News |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
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.
Speaking regarding his knowledge of the Afghanistan conflict, Obama points the finger at U.S. troops and American policy "...just airraiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there." <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293365,00.html Barack Obama Caught on Tape Accusing U.S. Troops of 'Killing Civilians'] Fox News, August 15, 2007</ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrW4fOGIMVY See Video]
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 feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]]. Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions. Then Obama claimed that 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, and went on to become the unofficial Democratic nominee.
Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]] and other religious groups.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Lerner |title=U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia |date=2006-07-03 |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/News/2006/07/Sen-Barack-Obama-Revisiting-His-Historic-Speech-On-Faith-And-Politics.aspx |title=Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address |date=2006-06-28 |work=Beliefnet |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2006, he joined Sen. [[Sam Brownback]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Kansas|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=2006-06-28 |url=http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/HIVAIDSCommunity/StartingAMinistry/churches_challenged_to_take_the_lead.htm |work=PurposeDriven.com |accessdate=2008-01-14}}{{dead link|url=http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/HIVAIDSCommunity/StartingAMinistry/churches_challenged_to_take_the_lead.htm|date=November 2008}}</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=2006-08-27 |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=2006-12-01 |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> 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=2007-06-24 |publisher=Associated Press via CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/24/politics/main2971556.shtml |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=2007-07-30 |url=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204016.aspx |work=Christian Broadcasting Network |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>
At a campaign event in Elkhart, Indiana, a seven-year-old girl asked Barack Obama why he wants to be President. He replies,
'''"America is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children."''' <ref>[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/08/09/mostly-mia-obamas-downer-america-delivered-7-year-old Media Mostly MIA on Obama's 'America No Longer What It Once Was' Downer Delivered to 7 Year-Old] Newsbusters.org, August 9, 2008</ref>
Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee on June 3rd after receiving a majority of pledged delegates and superdelegates. His only remaining primary opponent, [[Hillary Clinton]], conceded the race on June 7th. On August 23, Joe Biden was announced as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Obama became the official Democratic nominee on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention, when Hillary Clinton's motion to end the roll call vote of the states and select Obama by acclamation was passed.
[[Image:Barack and michelle .jpg|thumb|right|Barack Obama and his wife [[Michelle Obama]]]]
Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years.<ref>{{cite news |title=When Barry Became Barack |date=2008-03-31 |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/128633 |accessdate=2008-11-06}}</ref>
On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Healthcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. "Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States."
On June 6th, an [[AP]] article <ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]</ref> presented the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.
Senator Obama visited U.S. troops in Iraq in 2006<ref>[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=3794382 Obama visits troops in Iraq]</ref> and in Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2008<ref>[http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=3794382 Obama visits troops and officials in Afghanistan and Kuwait]</ref>
Obama's tax plan calls for increasing taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans, while cutting taxes for the middle class. According to the non-partisan [[Tax Policy Center]], most Americans would pay less taxes than under Senator McCain's plan.<ref>[http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749 An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans: Updated September 12, 2008]</ref> According to another non-partisan group, Americans for Tax Reform, tax-payers would clearly be burdened by an Obama Presidency.<ref>[http://www.atr.org/content/html/2008/june/0616-obama_mccaintaxes.html McCain vs. Obama on Taxes] Americans For Tax Reform, June 2008</ref>
===Campaign financing===
Obama is the first presidential candidate to reject public financing. He broke his promise to accept it in the hope that his powerful fund-raising machine would generate far more money than the $84.1 million McCain is getting in public funding. Indeed, on August 14th, the Obama campaign announced it had received donations from 2 million individuals, setting new records. Obama raised $272 million for the primaries and expects to raise $300 million for the general election. However the Republican National Committee has been raising much more than the Democratic National Committee and each candidate had about $100 million in cash on September 1. Each expects to spend about $300 million by November. However, Obama is obliged to devote much of his time to fund raising among supporters rather than campaigning among undecided voters.<ref> see [http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/09/09/was-obama-right-to-opt-out-of-public-financing.aspx Andrew Romano, "Was Obama Right to Opt Out of Public Financing?," ''Newsweek'' (Sept. 9, 2008) online]</ref> Among his backers is homosexual pornography baron [[Terrence Bean]].
===Secrecy===
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=2007-06-01 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/politics/01hoops.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also: {{cite news |title=The Love of the Game |format=video |date=2008-04-15 |publisher=YouTube (BarackObama.com) |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Lqm5emQl4 |work=[http://www.hbo.com/realsports/stories/2008/episode.133.s1.html HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel] |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to [[Smoking cessation|quit smoking]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Christi |last=Parsons |title=Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking |date=2007-02-06 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080216014954/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story |archivedate=2008-02-16 |work=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref>
The Democratic party feels it necessary to keep all questions about Obama at a safe distance. It is an unprecedented move to keep secrets about a presidential candidate. The following questions remain sealed from the public. <ref>[http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-sent-obama-why-has-he-refused-to.html Who sent Obama? Why has he refused to release these basic documents?] ObamaWTF.blogspot.com</ref>
# Certified Copy of original Birth certificate(see certificate controversy below)
# Columbia College records
# Columbia Thesis paper
# Campaign donor analysis requested by 7 major watchdog groups
# [[Harvard]] College records
# Illinois State Senate records
# [[Illinois]] State Senate schedule
# [[Law]] practice client list and billing records/summary
# Locations and names of all half-siblings and step-mothers
# Medical records (only the one page summary released so far)
# Occidental College records
# Parent's [[Marriage]] Certificate
# Record of baptism
# Selective Service Registration
# Trips schedules for trips outside of the United States before 2007
# Scholarly articles
# Access to his Grandmother (Obama's Grandmother has since passed away from cancer [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g3m4YaeYwDHXS6hHdZJi8pm6cZdAD947RJKO0])
# List of all campaign workers that are lobbyists
Obama keeps donations secret by exploiting a loophole that allows campaigns to refuse to divulge donations under $200.00. This is useful to the candidate because many of his contributions are from dubious foreign or illegal sources. It is described as the "largest pool of unidentified money that has ever flooded into the U.S. election system, before or after the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms of 2002." <ref>http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/Obama_fundraising_illegal/2008/09/29/135718.html</ref>
===Tone===
Many observers have criticized Obama's campaign for its incivility. For instance, John McCain's wife Cindy noted that Obama is running "the dirtiest campaign in American history."
Obama's smears usually fall into two categories: race-baiting and distortions. On October 10, 2008, Obama surrogate Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) typified the campaign by comparing Sen. McCain to racial segregationists and Klansmen. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division," Lewis exclaimed before comparing Sen. McCain to segregationist Democrat George Wallace, further noting that he, "...never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged [the attacks in which] four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama." <ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/11/mccain.lewis/index.html?eref=rss_politics</ref> This is particularly harsh to Sen. McCain because he fondly admires Lewis. <ref>http://www.rickwarrennews.com/transcript/civil_forum_transcript-04.txt</ref>
As for the distortions and personal attacks, Obama mocks Sen. McCain's for his age and Gov. Palin for being a woman and outsider. For instance, Obama responded with a subtle reference to Alzheimer's disease when Sen. McCain criticized his foreign policy in May 2008, alleging that Sen. McCain "lost his bearings" <ref>http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Obama_McCain_offensive_losing_his_bearings.html</ref>. Senior Adviser Mark Salter noted, "He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue. This is typical of the Obama style of campaigning." <ref>http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/salter_obama_attacked_mccains.php</ref>. In reference to Gov. Palin, Obama was caught for his quiet hiring of Winner & Associates to disseminate a sexist smear video against her. <ref>http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php</ref> Some argue this is a FEC violation because it lacked obligatory label denoting it was sponsored by the Obama Campaign. <ref>http://eclipseweb.blogspot.com/2008/09/vicious-anti-sarah-palin-smear-campaign.html</ref> One of the biggest distortions by Obama is that 95% of all taxpayers will get a tax cut. <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385651698727257.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Obama's 95% Illusion] Wall Steet Journal, October 13, 2008</ref> Without the distortion, Obama is proposing income re-distribution because those families that pay no taxes, one-third, will get money from the wealthy top 5%.
Another feature of the Obama campaign is the unruly audience. CNN reported in October of 2008 <ref>http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,3565842635.aspx</ref>, that people are calling John McCain a terrorist at these events. According to Sen. McCain, "I've heard the [label terrorist], unfortunately, at Senator Obama's rallies being said about me. There's always a fringe element." Other eyewitness reports are harsher <ref>http://theinvigilator.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-front-of-disgust.html</ref>.
==Election==
Senator Obama won the 2008 Presidential election, with over 52% of the popular vote. He carried every state that [[John Kerry]] won in 2004, in addition to Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida, and Indiana. He beat John McCain by nearly 200 electoral votes.<ref>[www.cnn.com/election]</ref>
== Positions and Qualifications ==
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 <ref>http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html</ref>. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama<ref> [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008</ref> The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. <ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008</ref>The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Barack's wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter<ref>[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004</ref> in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the mother's womb.<ref>[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act</ref> With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.
In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, <ref>http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/</ref>{{QuoteBox|"If they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|175px|thumb|right|[[Weather Underground]] co-founder Bill Ayers<ref>http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf</ref> stomps on the American flag in this 2001 pose for Chicago Magazine.]]
Obama, having been asked about his associations with [[William Ayers]], an unrepentant [[terrorist]],<ref>[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/August-2001/No-Regrets/]</ref> he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own. Ayers and his wife, [[Bernardine Dohrn]], hosted a fundraiser for Obama in their home in 1995 at the start of Obama's political career. Obama compares his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008</ref>
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take "extreme" positions or would use terrorist tactics.
"The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions"
Obama has no military or executive experience and little 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, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in a transparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office. In 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 Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed. A newspaper that favored Obama took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.<ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html</ref>
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 name="teleprompter" /> The [[New York Times]] noted that "Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&ex=1358485200&en=bb179297e5f61acb&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin</ref> When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.<ref>"Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut," the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]</ref>
Obama often makes reference to his "two decades of experience" in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book, or organizing community events.
== Political views ==
Obama's political views have been subjected to 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>
Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:<ref>David Kopel, "The Democrats and Gun Control," Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]</ref>
:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he "never saw or approved the questionnaire," and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.
After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.
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>
He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as "an age-appropriate manner".<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>
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>
::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.
Barack Obama, in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way. In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to "dumb wars". At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama, has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraeus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.
Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him [[George W. Bush|President George Bush]] or even Mr. George Bush. Obama has also disrespectfully called him 'George Bush'. Oddly, when Bill Clinton spoke with Obama on September 11th, 2008 predicting he would win handily, Obama responded, "There you go, you can take it from the President of the United States."<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/campaign.wrap/index.html</ref> It appears Obama will use the term for a former President, but will not do the same for the actual President. Examples of Obama's treatment of our current President:
* "I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy," Obama said <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008</ref>
* "For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies," <ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008</ref>
* "George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists." <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008</ref>
* Obama called the U.S. economy a disaster thanks to "John McCain's President, George W. Bush" <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_mccain/2008/08/18/122924.html No More Hugs: Obama Tears Into McCain] AP, August 18, 2008</ref> Side note, George W. Bush is also Barack Obama's President.
== Foreign policy experience ==
In his presidential campaign, Obama stated<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-says-no-to-foreign_b_95357.html</ref> that "foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident" and then cited "having lived in Indonesia for four years, having family that is impoverished in small villages in Africa". He lived in Indonesia from age 6 to 10, and he later discovered that his father had some other children in Africa.
While campaigning, he has visited several foreign countries. 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 several nuclear and 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.<ref>http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/</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. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. <ref>http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/</ref>
During a ten-day-long 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>
==Religious affiliations==
Obama and 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. The church embraces [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.<ref>[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]</ref> Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons.
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008</ref>{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace..."}} Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements "G-d damn America" and describing the September 11th attacks, he said "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."<ref>[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]</ref> In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic."
[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]
[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.<ref>[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim</ref> Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/</ref>
{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside."}}<ref>Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 </ref>
Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.
{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.
And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006</ref>
== Books ==
* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.'' (B. Obama and, allegedly, William Ayers) ISBN 0307383415
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.'' (B. Obama) ISBN 0307455874
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak) ISBN 0786720573
* ''Change We Can Believe In. Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise.'' (B. Obama)
* ''The Case Against Barack Obama. The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate. '' (David Freddso) ISBN 1596985666
* ''The Obama Nation. Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.'' (Jerome R. Corsi) ISBN 1416598065
* ''Obama Unmasked. Did Slick Hollywood Handlers Create the Perfect Candidate?'' (Floyd Brown and Lee Trexler) ISBN 0936783591
* ''Obama: The Man Behind The Mask.'' (Andy Martin) ISBN 0965781240
* ''The Audacity of Deceit. Barack Obama's War on American Values.'' (Brad O'Leary) ISBN 1935071025
==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>
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>
Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of "mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners" on the campaign trail.<ref>[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008</ref>
[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set "an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism" <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008</ref>
===Birth Certificate Controversy===
During the democratic primaries the Clinton Campaign lead a smear campaign against the validity of Barrack Obama's Hawaii Birth cirtificate, claiming that it is false and that he is intelligible for Presidency. <ref>[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTgxZmIwNTg0OWVhMWJkODNmZjI4ZjY4Mjg2OWRmNzI=]</ref> After initially refusing to produce a birth certificate in response to such rumors, the Obama campaign eventually endorsed a document posted on the Daily Kos as
authentic.<ref>[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/12/11012/6168/320/534616 Obama's Birth Certificate]</ref> The response is split regarding the birth certificate. Some commentators, such as those at the National Review, are satisfied with the document.<ref>[http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk= http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVjN2I1MjlhM2ZjZjRjYzBkODAxZjZkZGQyYWNkMDk=]</ref> However, some analysts claim that the birth certificate is false.<ref>[http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12939.htm]</ref>
On August 21st, 2008, Factcheck.org published an article regarding the controversy.<ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Born in the U.S.A.]</ref> The site stated, "FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship." In addition, the site posted high-resolution photographs of the birth certificate, which clearly showed the raised seal, stamp of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka, and certificate number. The birth date corresponds to a birth announcement published in the ''Honolulu Advertiser '' on Sunday, August 13, 1961. <ref>http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/obama-was-born-in-hawaii-wrong-can-of-worms/</ref>
A Philadelphia attorney, Phillip Berg, has filed a lawsuit against the DNC and Barack Obama. Berg maintains that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia. The "dual loyalties" which have not been shown to exist do not violate any constitutional or legal precedents and would make Sen. Obama a poor choice for President, not an invalid choice.
Obama website Fight The Smears has confirmed that Obama was once a Kenyan citizen until 1982. Attorney Philips Berg's lawsuit is being challenged by the Obama Campaign. Instead of producing the original birth certificate in court and paying a number of legal fees and taking several days out of his busy campaigning schedule the Obama campaign had the case dropped on the grounds that it lacked any supporting evidence. <ref>http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=10815605</ref> The fact that Mr. Berg's dual arguments were mutually contradictory may also have contributed.
The state of Hawaii announced that the document is legitimate and official, Since the state of Hawaii is the issuing body they have ultimate authority with regards to the matter.<ref>http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081031/BREAKING01/81031064/0/BREAKING04</ref> If states are no longer regarded as a valid authority on citizenship of those born within them then no one is eligible for President because no one can prove that they are natural born citizens.
==See also==
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]
*[[The Honorable James David Manning]]
*[[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)]]
*[[New Party]]
==Further reading==
*[[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.
==Sources==
*[http://www.barackobama.com/ Offical Obama for President Website]
*[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]
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]
*[http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490 Voting Record of Barack Hussein Obama]
==References==
==References==
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[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
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