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I think readers are more interested in the present - like how obama is causing economic problems etc etc etc
The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] observed that Obama used techniques of [[mind control]] in his campaign, as in this speech: "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 . 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>
The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] observed that Obama used techniques of [[mind control]] in his campaign, as in this speech: "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 . 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>
== Presidency (2009-Present) ==
== Presidency (2009-Present) ==
*White House Communications Office Director [[Anita Dunn]].
*White House Communications Office Director [[Anita Dunn]].
==Early life and career==
Barack Hussein Obama II claims to have been born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham in 1961, but there is evidence<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/14/the-jihadist-vote/</ref> 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 revealed that the [[secular]] public school he attended was not a [[madrassa]], which teaches Islam. On days off in observance of Islamic holidays he 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> Stanley Ann Dunham and the young Obama left Indonesia about 1970 for Hawaii where he attended the Punahou School, a leading private preparatory school where he graduated in 1979.
[[File:FrankMarshallDavis2.jpg|right|202px|thumb|'''Frank Marshall Davis, Communist Party Card No. 47544.'''<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Frank_Marshall_Davis_5.pdf FBI file Frank Marshall Davis], v.5 p. 58 pdf.</ref> The [[U.S. Congress]] found the Communist Party an "instrumentality of a [[conspiracy]]...the agency of a hostile foreign power."<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00000841----000-.html Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950], 50 U.S. Code Chapter 23 Subchapter IV Sec. 841</ref> The [[FBI]] placed Davis in its security index, meaning he could be detained in the event of a national emergency.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Frank_Marshall_Davis_3.pdf FBI File 100-15799 Frank Marshall Davis], v. 3 p. 26.</ref> Davis was an early influence on Obama.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&pg=PA220&dq=Frank%2Brecognizing+their+struggle+as+my+own#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance''], By Barack Obama, Random House, 2007, pp. 89-91, 96-98, .</ref>]]
''[[Political Affairs]]'' magazine describes itself as "affiliated with the [[Communist Party USA]],"<ref>http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/static/17/1/3/</ref> (CPUSA) published a speech by Prof. Gerald Horne upon receipt of the CPUSA archives at the Tamiment Library at New York University on March 28 2007. Prof. Horne stated,
{{Cquote|an African-American poet and journalist by the name of [[Frank Marshall Davis]]...befriended another family – a Euro-American family – that had migrated to Honolulu...a young woman from this family eventually had a child with a young student from [[Kenya]] ...who retracing the steps of Davis eventually decamped to Chicago. In his bestselling memoir ''Dreams of my Father'', the author speaks warmly of an older black poet...as being a decisive influence in helping him to find his present identity as an African-American... At some point in the future, a teacher will add to her syllabus Barack’s memoir and instruct her students to read it alongside Frank Marshall Davis’ equally affecting memoir...when that day comes...a future student will ...examine critically the Frankenstein monsters that US imperialism created in order to subdue Communist parties..."<ref>[http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/5047/ Rethinking the History and Future of the Communist Party],By Gerald Horne, ''Political Affairs magazine, March 28 2007.</ref>}}
evoking the language in [[Chairman Mao]]'s ''Little Red Book'',
{{Cquote|unite and defeat the U.S. aggressors... Monsters of all kinds shall be destroyed.<ref>''Statement Supporting the People of the Congo (L.) Against U.S. Aggression'' (November 28, 1964), ''People of the World, Unite and Defeat the U.S. Aggressors and All Their Lackeys'', 2nd ed., p. 14. Cited in Quotations from Mao Tse Tung from: 1927 - 1964, Mao Tse Tung, [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch07.htm Chapter 7 Dare to Struggle and Dare to Win], Peking Foreign Languages Press, 1966. Online Version: Mao Tse Tung Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2000.</ref>}}
In the 1995 book, ''Dreams from my Father'', the author wrote Obama learned to respect Davis's struggles, "recognizing them as my own." Obama sought Davis's advise as he left for college.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HRCHJp-V0QUC&pg=PA97&dq=manipulate+words+so+they+don%27t+mean+anything+anymore#v=onepage&q=manipulate%20words%20so%20they%20don't%20mean%20anything%20anymore&f=false ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance''], By Barack Obama, Random House, 2007, pp. 97, 220.</ref> Initially Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]], before transferring to [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]] and graduating without honors as 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>
=== Birth Certificate Controversy ===
:''Main article'' : [[Barack Obama birthplace controversy]]
[[Image:Obamapullup2.JPG|325px|thumb|left|'''Candidate Obama cultivated an image''' of sportsmanship and competition; as President, Obama ridiculed disabled people who compete in the [[Special Olympics]]. The comments "set us back decades," according to the program's director. <ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/mar/20/local/chi-090320obama-special-olympics-react Special Olympics chief responds to Obama gaffe], Stacy St Clair, ''Chicago Tribune'', March 20, 2009]</ref>([http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/2009/03/20/Obamas-comment-sets-us-back/1237552251.html Video])
]]
During the democratic primaries the Clinton Campaign led a smear campaign against the validity of Barack Obama's Hawaii Birth certificate, claiming that it was false and that he was ineligible 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://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html</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 "Certification of Live Birth" 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.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html</ref> Critics rightfully point out such documents actually were issued for children not born in the state, and his "Certification of Live Birth" has likewise been dismissed as a forgery. <ref>http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/07/atlas-exclusive.html</ref>
Adding fuel to the fire is Obama's persistent refusal to release documents that could provide answers. While his supporters cite an online version of a "Certification of Live Birth" from Hawaii. <ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92810 Justice, Supremes confirm getting eligibility challenge] WND, March 24, 2009</ref>
[[Bob Schultz]] with the [[We The People Foundation]] said:
"In the end, there is no practical reason why Obama refuses to produce his original birth certificate. He... has a duty to provide evidence that he meets the explicit requirements established by the Constitution."
[[Nancy Salvato]] with [[BasicsProject|BasicsProject.org]] perhaps put it best:
"What perturbs the rest of us is that President Obama has failed to produce a legitimate birth certificate. He has a team of lawyers who are opposing the examination of his sealed records in Hawaii. What he produced was a certificate of live birth... not a birth certificate. The rest of us are appalled at the lack of media examination surrounding the fact that there is no law requiring that a candidate for the highest office in our land produce an authentic birth certificate which proves natural citizenship."
=== Education ===
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. He held the position of Senior Lecturer from 1996 until his election to the senate in 2004. 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.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/was_barack_obama_really_a_constitutional_law.html</ref><ref>[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref>
[[Image:Bernardine Dohrn.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''Bernardine Dohrn formerly of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted''' enjoyed somewhat of a celebrity status among [[radical leftist]]s when she, along with her husband Bill Ayers, hosted a fundraiser for the relatively unknown Barack Obama in 1995; Dohrn issued the Weather Underground terrorist organization's Declaration of War Against the United States ([http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Weather_Underground_Declaration_of_a_State_of_War Full Text]) in 1970.]]
According to the White House website, White House Press Secretary [[Robert Gibbs]] responded to this to this question on April 14 2009,
<blockquote>
Q Why is the President blocking habeas corpus from prisoners at Bagram? I thought he taught constitutional law. And these prisoners have been there --<br>
MR. GIBBS: You're incorrect that he taught on constitutional law.<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-4-14-09/ Office of the Press Secretary], April 14, 2009, whitehouse.gov </ref></blockquote>
===Radical activism===
Following law school, Obama linked up with local communist networks in Chicago<ref>[http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-file-78-smoking-gun-proof-that.html The Jarrett Connection. Proof That Obama’s Hawaii and Chicago Communist Networks Were Linked] Trevor Louden, June 01, 2009.</ref> and oversaw community organizing as director of Illinois Project Vote! Obama states he saw opportunism in Chicago after the election of Harold Washington as the city’s first black mayor. <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/us/politics/07community.html</ref> John Bachtell, CPUSA Illinois district organizer, said at a special meeting on African American Equality, Building the Communist Party and the Young Communist League on September 30, 2007, "The historic election of Washington was the culmination of many years of struggle. It reflected a high degree of unity of the African American community and the alliance with a section of labor, the Latino community and progressive minded whites. This legacy of political independence also endures."<ref>http://www.cpusa.org/article/articleview/858/1/39/</ref>
Obama with [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Louis Farrakhan]] led the [[Million Man March]] on Washington in 1995.[http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/04/wright-obama-helped-organize-march-with.html][http://www1.chicagoreader.com/obama_reader/what_makes_obama_run/?q=012009K]
Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002. In his famous speech delivered in Chicago on October 2, 2002<ref>http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php</ref> Even though Saddam had, in Obama's words, "developed [[weapons of mass destruction|chemical and biological weapons]]" Obama condoned the most hideous [[torture]]<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jackstraw1.html Saddam Hussein's Regime Methods of Torture]</ref> and dismissed Bush administration objectives of democratization and [[human rights]] as fighting a "dumb war." A commentator observed, "one would search long and hard for any words from this apostle of hope and change about the palpable benefits that [[democracy]] might bring to the Arabs and Muslims of the Middle East.<ref>[http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/obama-s-war-11263 Obama's War], Peter Wehner, ''Commentary'', April 2008.</ref>
===Organizes defeat of an incumbent Democratic Senator===
In 1992, Obama was instrumental as head of Illinois Project Vote <ref>[http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence/ Vote of Confidence : A huge black turnout in November 1992 altered Chicago's electoral landscape—and raised a new political star: a 31-year-old lawyer named Barack Obama],
By Gretchen Reynolds, ''Chicago Magazine'', January 1993.</ref> in engineering the defeat of [[Democratic Party]] incumbent U.S. Senator Alan Dixon by [[Carol Moseley Braun]].<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-18/news/mn-3844_1_gus-savage Veteran Illinois Senator Dixon Defeated - Congress], By Bob Sector, ''[[L.A. Times]]'', March 18, 1992.</ref> Dixon, in a spirit of bipartisanship and defying his party's leadership, voted across racial lines to place a black man in high office. The [[leftist]] website [[dKosopedia]] claims "Incumbent Democratic senator Al Dixon's vote to confirm [[US Supreme Court]] Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] outraged Braun."<ref>[http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Carol_Moseley_Braun#Political_career Carol Moseley Braun], dkosopedia.com, retrieved October 25, 2009. Some sources state Moseley Braun's "outrage" was directed at the treatment of Anita Hill over her claims of sexual harassment by the nominee, however Moseley Braun voted to acquit President [[William Jefferson Clinton]] of charges stemming from a [[sexual harassment]] suit which Clinton settled by paying the aggrieved party $850,000 out of court to satisfy damage claims.</ref> With [[Communist Party USA]] backing,<ref>http://newzeal.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-file-39-barack-obama-carol.html</ref> Braun defeated Dixon in the Democratic Primary Election, 38% to 35%.
Sandy Newman, the founder of Project Vote! told ''Chicago Magazine'', "I was asking around among community activists in Chicago and around the country, and they kept mentioning him (Obama)... He did one hell of a job." The magazine further reported, "To understand the full implications of Obama's effort, you first need to understand how voter registration often has worked in Chicago. The Regular Democratic Party spearheaded most drives," with Obama at the helm of Chicago's Project Vote!, those conditions had been reversed. "He helped train 700 deputy registrars, out of a total of 11,000 citywide." Joseph Gardner, the director of the steering committee for Project Vote! said, "It was overwhelming."
===Legal career===
Michelle Robinson began employment at the Chicago Law firm of Sidley-Austin in 1988 where disbarred attorney and [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorist]] [[Bernardine Dohrn]] also worked.<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NjY4YzdhMDBkZGQ3ZmU2MTUzYjdkMzc5ZjUzYmViZWM=</ref><ref>http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDIxMDJiNzU5M2Q1MTY3ZGI1YTdmOWY5MzkwN2QxYzg=</ref> Sidley-Austin is the legal advisor to [[ACORN]],<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=84434 Michelle Obama's old law firm defends ACORN], ''WorldNetDaily, December 23, 2008.</ref> a group accused of facilitating tax fraud, ballot box stuffing, human trafficking and child prostitution.<ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NmIzOTBmNGY3OGEwNzgwZWU1MjMzMjJkNWM4NzVkNmI=</ref> Barack Obama was hired a year later and appears to have misrepresented where he and future First Lady - Michelle Robinson Obama - first met.
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.
=== Religious affiliations ===
[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|left|'''Obama and Jeremiah Wright.'''<br>Despite Wright's rabid and sarcastic anti-American sermons, the Obama's regularly took their two small children to hear him speak. One Obama supporter remarked, "I cannot fathom allowing my children to hear filth from the pulpit."<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/on-my-faith-and-my-church_b_91623.html?show_comment_id=12042024#comment_12042024</ref> ]]
Obama and his wife (raised a Baptist) were members of the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776246/posts</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, 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 was inspired by one of Wright's sermons.
After 20 years of being an active member, in April 2008 candidate Obama made public statements poised to set him at odds with the man who conducted his wedding and baptized his children. With the negative publicity persisting, a month later Obama ended the friendship, left Wright's church, and blamed the media.<ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, May 31, 2008</ref> Obama claimed “It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...", and distanced himself from Wright's sermons as "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in the truth."<ref>USA TODAY, ''Obama breaks with former pastor, Candidate cites rants on U.S. role in terror, AIDS'', by Kathy Kiely and David Jackson [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080430/1a_offlede30_dom.art.htm]</ref><ref>''Obama Says He Is Outraged By Wright's "Rants"''[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080430.htm]</ref> Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statement "G-d damn America," and in describing the September 11th attacks, "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]]."
[[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>}}
== Illinois State Senate (1995-2005) ==
=== Terrorist and communist associations ===
[[File:Youngobama2.jpg|320px|thumb|left|'''Dr. Quentin Young (left) is personal physician to Barack Obama (right) and [[Bernardine Dohrn]] (not shown)'''. Dr. Young was reimbursed by the [[KGB]] after he paid rent in advance on a storefront he used to treat injured rioters during the disruptions of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Transcript_May_22_edited_version.pdf ''The Stealth Candidate''], Transcript, Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, May 22 2008, p. 16.</ref><ref>House Committee on Un-American Activities, ''Subversive Involvement in Disruption of 1968 Democratic Party National Convention'', and ''Hearings Before the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities of the United States'' Senate. Ninety-
Fourth Congress. First Session. Volume 6. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1976, Exhibit 68-13., cited in ''Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection'', Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein, usasurvival.org</ref> The ringleaders, principally [[Weather Underground]] terrorists, received urban guerilla warfare training in Cuba from the [[DGI]] prior to the attacks.<ref>[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Cuban_DGI.pdf Final Talk to the Fourth Contingent, Julian Rizo DGI.]</ref> ]]
In 1995 a cadre of like minded individuals gathered in the home of [[Weather Underground]] (WUO) [[terrorist]]s [[Bernardine Dohrn]] and [[William Ayers|William "Bill" Ayers]]. According to Dr. [[Quentin Young]], "I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers' house to learn that [[Alice Palmer]] was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress." Dr. Young, a longtime friend of the Ayers' and Obama's, put up the money in 1968 to pay for the office that organized a riot in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. [[Carl Davidson]] of [[Progressives for Obama]] was told by [[Fidel Castro]] in March 1968 that Castro believed the United States was ready for [[revolution]]. Several [[Students for a Democratic Society]] (SDS) and WUO cadre trained in Cuba prior to the insurgency. The FBI summarized the situation:
{{Cquote|Rarely has any city been threatened all at one time with an invasion of 100 to 200 thousand dissidents - plots to [[assassin]]ate [[government]]al dignitaries and prominent individuals; intentions to instigate major riots in varied ways; widespread [[sabotage]] of communication, transportation and electrical systems- proposals to pour [[hallucinogen]]ic [[drugs]] into the water supply; clandestine shipments of [[arms]] and [[ammunition]] into the city for use in sniper activities - and myriad forms of [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref>Declassified U.S. Government intelligence information regarding the communist and foreign connections of the Weather Underground. Presented as evidence, on the agreement of the prosecution and defense counsel, in the trial of W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller, p.10.[http://www.usasurvival.org/docs/Declassified_docs.pdf ]</ref>}}
One veteran of the guerrilla warfare training in Cuba was Obama's host, [[Bernardine Dohrn]]. Young met with Dohrn after her return,
{{Cquote|Bernardine went down there already influenced by Cuba and in a state of romantic anticipation. She was at the top of her thermometer going down. I talked to her, sort of debriefed her, when she came back."<ref>Georgie Anne Geyer and Keyes Beach "Cuba: School for U.S. Radicals", ''Chicago Daily News/Chicago Sun-Times'' five part series October 1970, excerpted in [http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/weather/weath1c.pdf FBI file Weather Underground Organization (Weatherman),] Part 1c pp. 5-7 pdf (113-115 in original). [http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/clandestine-agents-of-the-cuban-government-ayers-dohrn-myers/]</ref>}}
Dr. Young related Illinois State Senator Alice Palmer was choosing then Chicago city councilman Barack Obama as her successor.<ref>[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8630.html Obama once visited '60s radicals.], Ben Smith, Politico, February 22, 2008.</ref> Palmer once served on the executive board of the [[U.S. Peace Council]], a [[KGB]] front organization<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=_PZy-U7G2EMC&pg=PA111&dq=U.S.+Peace+Council%2Bkgb&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q=%22U.S.%20Peace%20Council%22&f=false The Apocalyptic premise : Nuclear Arms Debated], By Ernest W. Lefever, E. Stephen Hunt, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C., 1982, pp. 127-137.</ref> that actively opposed President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s defense program. Palmer wrote a report on her visit to [[Moscow]] for the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) published by the CPUSA's ''[[People's Daily World]]''. In the twilight of the Soviet regime Palmer wrote, "Like the Reagan administration, the Soviets talk of increasing productivity among workers and curbing waste...but the Soviets' do not link these issues with ruining the living standards of human beings."
[[Image:Features ayers1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|'''Obama served on the Board of the Woods Fund of Chicago with [[Weather Underground]] [[terrorist|terrorist group]] co-founder Bill Ayers'''<ref>[http://foia.fbi.gov/weather/weath1a.pdf FBI file Weather Underground]</ref> '''at the time this photo appeared of Ayers stomping the American flag''' in ''Chicago Magazine'' in 2001. Ayers, Obama's boss at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, contributes to Obama election campaigns and hosted an important fundraiser in Obama's early career to meet and greet Ayers contacts.]]
Ayers and Dohrn took credit, and have never denied responsibility for a series of [[terrorist]] bombings which included the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]]. The reopening of a [[cold case]] [[homicide]] investigation of a [[San Francisco]] police officer was urged by the San Francisco Police Officer's Association in March 2009.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/BATK16DHA4.DTL&hw=ayers&sn=001&sc=1000 S.F. police union accuses Ayers in 1970 bombing], Demian Bulwa, ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' March 12, 2009.</ref> An FBI informant who infiltrated the [[WUO]]<ref>''Bringing down America : an FBI informer with the Weathermen'', by Larry Grathwohl, Frank Reagan, 1976. [http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/810451/used/Bringing%20down%20America%20:%20an%20FBI%20informer%20with%20the%20Weathermen]</ref> and was close to Ayers reported an exchange he had with Ayers about a prospective bombing:
{{QuoteBox|INFORMANT: We'll blow out the Red Barn restaurant. Maybe even kill a few innocent customers — and most of them are black.<br>
AYERS: We can't protect all the innocent people in the world. Some will get killed. Some of us will get killed. We have to accept that fact.}}
Ayers and Dohrn were not prosecuted because of tainted evidence gathered by the [[FBI]]. Assistant Director of the FBI [[Mark Felt]], also known as “Deep Throat” in the [[Watergate Affair]],<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB156/ Nixon and the FBI: The White House Tapes], National Security Archive, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.</ref> was prosecuted and convicted for civil rights violations of Jennifer Dohrn, Bernardine’s sister, while tracking the terrorist pair. Ayers boasted in his book that he was "guilty as hell, free as a bird," and Felt was pardoned by President [[Ronald Reagan]] who noted Felt followed procedures he believed "essential to keep the Director of the FBI, the [[Attorney General]], and the [[President of the United States]] advised of the activities of hostile foreign powers and their collaborators in this country.<ref>[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1981/41581d.htm Statement on Granting Pardons to W. Mark Felt and Edward S. Miller], April 15, 1981.</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/01/us/two-top-fbi-officials-cleared.html Two Top F.B.I. Officials Cleared], [[New York Times]], December 1, 1983.</ref>
Ayers, Dohrn and Barack Obama's relationship went back several years and they were lending their notoriety among [[radical]] [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career as Palmer's successor. Ayers' and Dohrn's first book written with [[Prairie Fire Organizing Committee|Jeff Jones]], the title ''Prairie Fire'' is taken from the sayings of [[Chairman Mao]]'s ''Little Red Book'', [http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/] "a single spark can set a prairie fire"," announces, {{cquote|we are communist men and women.<ref>Harvey Klehr, ''Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today'' (Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1988), 109.</ref> }}
Co-author and co-Weather Underground founder Jeff Jones<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106653 ''Obama's 'green jobs czar' worked with terror founder] Van Jones served on board of activist group where ex-Weatherman serves as top director'', By Aaron Klein, [[WorldNetDaily]], August 13, 2009.</ref> worked for several years with Obama administration Green Czar [[Van Jones]], another self-described communist arrested in the aftermath of a deadly riot. Like [[Frank Marshall Davis]], there is no indication Ayers, Dohrn, Jeff Jones, Dr. Young, [[Anita Dunn]], or other close associates of Obama have renounced their faith in what [[Allen Weinstein]] describes as "a murderous and discredited ideology."
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and served there for the next eight years.
President Obama is the first person having ties to a known former 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 requisitioned a comparison of 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 Obama's former boss Ayers may have 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] 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; also he wrote "None of this, of course, proves Ayers' authorship conclusively, but the evidence makes him a much more likely candidate than Obama to have written the best parts of Dreams". "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. A philosophy professor from England disagreed.[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77815]</ref> Ayers confesses to violent acts, planting bombs, says he has no regrets and feels he "should have done more."<ref>[http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7127]</ref>
=== Runs as candidate for the Marxist New Party ===
:''For the full article see '''[[New Party]]'''''
In 1995 Obama accepted the nomination and ran as a candidate of the openly [[Marxist]] New Party.<ref>http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434</ref><ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html</ref>
== U.S. Senate (2004-2008) ==
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]].
===CPUSA endorsements, support and get out the vote efforts===
The ''[[People's Weekly World]]'' which describes itself as "the direct descendant of the ''[[Daily Worker]]'' " that enjoys "a special relationship with the [[Communist Party USA]], founded in 1919," and publishes its news and views,<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/static/320 About the People's Weekly World] pww.org</ref> reported on Obama's 2004 Senate primary campaign:
{{Cquote|Activists from Illinois were immersed in the campaign to elect Barak Obama to the U.S. Senate. Obama won a landslide victory in the March 16 Democratic primary.<ref>''A turning point election'', Joelle Fishman, People's Weekly World, 04/24/04.</ref>}} John Bachtell, Illinois Communist Party district organizer added,
{{Cquote|This was a historic victory. It was a victory for political independence and grassroots, coalition, and issue oriented politics over the machine and money.<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/articleprint/5145/ The CPUSA fires up its members to ‘Dump Bush!’], By Tim Wheeler, Washington correspondent, People's Weekly World , 04/24/04.</ref>}} In June the ''People’s Weekly World'' carried a piece by Dee Myles, chair of the education commission of the Communist Party USA, eulogizing [[Frank Marshall Davis]]'s old colleague, [[Vernon Jarrett]]. Myles said,
{{Cquote|from his hospital bed, [Jarrett] wrote an article appealing to Black Chicago to turn out to vote for [[Barack Obama]] in the Illinois primaries. Obama astounded everyone with an incredible landslide victory as the progressive, Black candidate for the [[Democratic Party]] nomination for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. From his sickbed, Vernon Jarrett issued a clarion call, and the people responded.<ref>[http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/5331/ Vernon Jarrett: a partisan journalistic giant], Dee Myles, [[People's Weekly World]] Newspaper, Jun 5, 2004.</ref>}}
===Senate career===
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]
October 2008 crimes against Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson's family highlighted 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><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.[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,'" in Obama's hometown of Chicago.<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>
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>
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>
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>
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.
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.
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.
===Use of filibuster and obstructionism ===
White House Communication Director [[Dan Pfeiffer]] described the frustration of an Administration having its legislative agenda delayed by [[filibuster]]s and obsrtructionism:
{{quotebox|If we're going to have a government that works for the American people, then we need to focus on the things that actually matter ...Every day we waste delaying votes on well-qualified public servants or obstructing progress on problems that need solving is a day we're not doing our jobs. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/03/needless-delays-and-filibusters-run-amok-a-case-study]}}
The ''[[Washington Post]]'' claims [[partisan]] obstructionism is "a legislative tactic [Obama] once practiced himself" :
:*In 2005, a year after his election to the Senate, Obama placed a hold on Susan Bodine to lead the Environmental Protection Agency office that oversees Superfund and emergency cleanup programs because the agency had missed a deadline on new regulations for lead paint exposure.
:*In September 2006, Obama and Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) blocked Robert L. Wilkie's nomination as a Defense Department assistant secretary over a long-delayed Pentagon report on Midwestern wind farms.
:*And Obama joined with other Democrats in October 2007 to block the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. Von Spakovsky later withdrew; Wilkie and Bodine were eventually confirmed. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303801_pf.html]
=== 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.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-2433</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:
*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.
*A bill to raise the [[minimum wage]]; Obama voted against the bill when it was later attached to an Iraq war supplemental spending bill.<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>
=== Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===
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>
Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and filed reports indicating money was 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.
[[File:OenEReuters.jpg|left|200px|thumb|In Egypt, June 2009.]]
=== 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.
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.
During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.
<br>
== Presidential Election (2008) ==
:''See Main article'' : [[Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign]]
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. Of the 127 million votes cast, Obama beat John McCain by 8 million total votes.<ref>http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref> [http://images.newsmax.com/misc/2008_Election_Map.jpg See county breakdown map] <ref>[www.cnn.com/election]</ref>
== Books ==
== Books ==