Barack Obama

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{{Infobox Senator| name = Barack Obama| nationality = American| image name =ObamaBarack.jpg| jr/sr = Junior Senator| state = Illinois| term_start = [January 3, 2005| succeeded = [Incumbent from the 13th district| term_start2=[1997| preceded2=| succeeded2= [Kwame Raoul, [United States of America| spouse = Michelle Obama,
[Harvard Law School ([United Church of Christ)], 1961) is the Senate seniority United States Senate from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party (United States). The Historian of the United States Senate lists him as the fifth African American Senator in History of the United States and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.

Born to a black Kenyan father and a white United States mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He lived for most of his childhood in the majority-minority state U.S. state of Hawaii and spent four of his pre-teen years in the multi-ethnic Indonesian capital city of Jakarta#Culture. A graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizing, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, launching his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003.

Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislature (United States). He went on to win election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a landslide victory 70% of the vote in an United States presidential election, 2004 marked by Republican Party (United States) gains. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th United States Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and Transparency (humanities) legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the 110th United States Congress, he has sponsored legislation on Lobbying in the United States and electoral fraud, Mitigation of global warming , and care for returned Military of the United States personnel.

He is among the Democratic Party's leading candidates for nomination in the U.S. presidential election, 2008. For national polling data, see: Since announcing his Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008 in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes. Video at Brightcove.com. He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.

Early life and career Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas, Kansas). See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1. Throughout his early years, Obama was commonly known at home and school as "Barry Obama." His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a international student.Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced.Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.Obama (1995), pp. 3–5, 9–10. See also: 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. See also: His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya.From his father's side, Obama has two half-sisters and five surviving half-brothers. See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 2 and Chapters 15–19 (Part 3: Kenya). The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10.For details of Obama's early primary schooling in Indonesia, see Obama (1995), p. 154, and Obama (2006), p. 274. For media responses to the January 2007 Insight (magazine) article titled "Hillary's Team Has Questions About Obama's Muslim Background", see : See also: He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979.Obama writes: "For my grandparents, my admission into Punahou Academy heralded the start of something grand, an elevation in the family status that they took great pains to let everyone know." Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4. See also: Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.Obama (1995), Preface to the 2004 Edition, p. xi. See also:

In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. His knowledge about his absent Luo (Kenya and Tanzania) father came mainly through family stories and photographs.Obama writes: "He was an African, I would learn, a Kenyan of the Luo tribe, born on the shores of Lake Victoria in a place called Alego." Obama (1995), p. 9. See also Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind."Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.Obama (1995), Chapters 4 and 5. See also: He used alcoholic beverage, cannabis (drug), and cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."In the book, Obama writes: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it." Obama (1995), pp. 93–94. For analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager ("When I was a kid, I inhaled."), see:

After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia College of Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. See also: He received his Bachelors of Arts degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation See also: Obama (1995), pp. 135–136. before moving to Chicago to take a job as a community organizing.As Director of the Developing Communities Project, Obama worked "alongside low-income residents in the Roseland, Chicago community and the Altgeld Gardens, Chicago public housing development." See also: ( alternate site) He entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the Harvard Law Review's "first black president in its 104-year history." He completed his Juris Doctor degree Latin honors in 1991. On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive. As an associate lawyer with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, employment discrimination law in the United States claims, and Voting Rights Act cases. He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

State legislature Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, Chicago. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the United States House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. As a state legislator, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting successful legislation on political corruption and health care reform. See also: (video) He sponsored a law enhancing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for child care. Obama also led the passage of legislation mandating videotaping of homicide interrogations, and a law to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they stopped.See also: During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose president credited him with having been "immensely helpful in working with police organizations" on capital punishment in the United States reform. He was criticized by a rival pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for having voted either "present" or "no" on anti-Abortion in the United States legislation. See also:

Keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention as keynote speaker. Video at Brightcove.com.

Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, while still serving as a State legislature (United States).For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: See also: After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal Federal Housing Administration and G.I. Bill programs, Obama said:

No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

Questioning the George W. Bush's first term as President of the United States management of the Iraq War, Obama spoke of an enlisted United States Marine Corps, Corporal Seamus Ahern from East Moline, Illinois, Illinois, asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?" He continued:When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.

Finally, he spoke for national unity:The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red state vs. blue state divide; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. Video at Brightcove.com.

The speech was Obama's introduction to most of America. Its enthusiastic reception at the convention and widespread coverage by national media gave him instant celebrity status.

Senate campaign In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic Primary election, Obama trailed millionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes. However, Hull's popularity declined following allegations of domestic violence. Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon (politician); the support of Simon's daughter; and political endorsements by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. ( alternate site) Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. See also: His opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican Party (United States) primary winner Jack Ryan (Senate candidate). However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan. A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on Stem cell controversy, Abortion in the United States, Gun politics in the United States, education voucher, and tax cuts.For debate transcripts and video, see Alan Keyes Archives: In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%.

Senate career Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005. In a move considered exceptional for a first-term incoming senator, he recruited Pete Rouse, a 30-year veteran of the Washington political scene and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, as his chief of staff. Karen Kornbluh, an economist who was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin was hired as Obama's policy adviser. In July 2005, Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author on human rights and genocide, joined Obama's team. He holds assignments on the Senate Committees for United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. See also:

109th Congress Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before the 109th United States Congress in 2005 and 2006, and cosponsored another 427. He took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved Illegal immigration to the United States and United States immigration debate. Beginning in 2005, Obama co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (Republican Party (United States)-Arizona). He later added three amendments to S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act," sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican Party (United States)-Pennsylvania). See also: S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives. In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border. President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."

(Republican Party (United States)-Oklahoma) and Obama join President Bush at the signing ceremony for the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

Partnering first with Sen. Richard Lugar (Republican Party (United States)-Indiana), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (Republican Party (United States)-Oklahoma), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar-Obama" expands the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction concept to conventional weapons, including Man-portable air-defence system and anti-personnel mines. See also: The Lugar-Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding. The "Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. 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.

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In August 2005, he traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of conventional weapons, biological weapons, and weapons of mass destruction as a first defense against potential terrorism attacks.Following meetings with Military of the United States in Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, Obama visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. At a meeting with Palestinian people students two weeks before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election, 2006, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel." He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. In a nationally televised speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and corruption in Kenya. The speech touched off a public debate among rival leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.

110th Congress On the first day of the newly Democratic-controlled 110th United States Congress, in a column published in the Washington Post, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist." He joined with Sen. Russ Feingold (Democratic Party (United States)-Wisconsin) in strengthening restrictions on travel in corporate jets to S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority. Obama joined Charles Schumer (Democratic Party (United States)-New York) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the United States general elections, 2006. Obama's Energy use in the United States initiatives scored pluses and minuses with Environmentalism, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (Republican Party (United States)-Arizona) of a Global warming bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting coal production. Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill proposing to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored with Kit Bond (Republican Party (United States)-Missouri) an amendment to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for a review by the Government Accounting Office following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs. See also: He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, See also: and joined Chuck Hagel (Republican Party (United States)-Nebraska) in introducing legislation to prevent nuclear terrorism. A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by the Senate in September 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill. He also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries. After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was Veto#United_States by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama declared "shows a callousness of priorities that is offensive to the ideals we hold as Americans."

Presidential campaign 2007.For other photos of this event, see:

In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol State Historic Site building in Springfield, Illinois, Illinois, Obama announced his Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008 for the United States presidential election, 2008. Video at Brightcove.com. Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 Lincoln's House Divided Speech speech, Obama said: "That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America." The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008.

Through the fall of 2006, Obama had spoken at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. In September 2006, he was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, an event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. Speculation intensified in October 2006 when Obama first said he had "thought about the possibility" of running for president, departing from earlier statements that he intended to serve out his six-year Senate term through 2010. Following Obama's statement, opinion polling organizations added his name to Opinion polling for the Democratic Party (United States) 2008 presidential candidates. The first such poll, taken in November 2006, ranked Obama in second place with 17% support among Democrats after Sen. Hillary Clinton (Democratic Party (United States)-New York) who placed first with 28% of the responses. In December 2006, Obama spoke at a New Hampshire event celebrating Democratic Party midterm election victories in the New Hampshire primary U.S. presidential primary state.

Obama's campaign raised United States dollar58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year. Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for 29% of Obama's record-breaking total, more than for any other 2008 presidential campaign. His campaign reported adding 108,000 new donors through third quarter fundraising, for a total of 365,000 individual contributors in the first nine months. In May 2007, Obama became the first presidential candidate to be newly assigned United States Secret Service protection more than 18 months before a general election.Sen. Hillary Clinton was already under Secret Service protection because of her status as wife of former President Bill Clinton. The Rasmussen Reports polling organization reported in May 2007 that 49% of Americans consider it "somewhat likely" or "very likely" that Obama will be elected. Also in May and again two months later, John Zogby reported that Obama leads all prospective Republican opponents in polling for the 2008 general election. See also: If elected, Obama would become the first black U.S. president.

Political advocacy on August 23 2007. Video at Brightcove.TV.On the role of government in economy affairs, Obama has written: "we should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and social mobility we should be guided by what works."Obama (2006), p. 159. Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican Party (United States) proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security debate (United States) with Social Darwinism. In May 2006, he joined four other Midwestern United States farming state Senators in calling for the preservation of a US$0.54 per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. See also: Obama spoke out in June 2006 against making recent, temporary Estate tax (United States) cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses." In a speech to the health care advocacy group Families USA, made shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama said: "I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country." Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. See also:

Obama favors tying the minimum wage in the United States to inflation and has been a vocal advocate for United States labor law. In November 2006, he told members of Wake Up Wal-Mart, a union-backed Political campaign, "You gotta pay your workers enough that they can actually not only shop at Wal-Mart, but ultimately send their kids to college and save for retirement." See also: Courting support for his presidential campaign from Iowa members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in July 2007, Obama said: "We are facing a Federal government of the United States that has thrown open its doors to the most anti-union, anti-worker forces we've seen in generations." At the same forum he also vowed to walk a picket line with union organizers if elected. At a May 2007 AFL-CIO meeting in Trenton, New Jersey, New Jersey, he said: "Let’s all acknowledge that to some degree globalization is here.… The world is smaller than it used to be." Obama added, "When we negotiate trade deals, we’ve got to make sure there are strong labor and environmental provisions in those trade deals." A May 2007 article in The Economist, on reviewing Obama's writings, economic proposals, and cadre of close advisers, concluded that "Obamanomics" is "more concerned with helping people deal with globalization than trying to slow it down."

He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. In the fall of 2002, before the start of the Iraq War, Obama addressed an anti-war rally in Chicago, saying:

I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.

Speaking to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in November 2006, Obama called for a "phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq" and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Syria and Iran. Retrieved on 2007-09-30. In March 2007, in a speech to American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel Lobbying in the United States, he said that while the U.S. "should take no option, including military action, off the table, sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions should be our primary means to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons." For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: In August 2007, in a speech detailing his strategy for fighting terrorism, Obama said:

rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 30 2006. For excerpts from Obama's speech, see:

I understand that President Pervez Musharraf Pakistan has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionableintelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, wewill. For full text of the speech, see: For analysis by [Samantha Power, one of Obama's leading foreign policy advisers, on this statement and two other widely reported Obama statements regarding the appropriate uses of military force and diplomacy, see:

In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur Coalition rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur conflict of Sudan. He has divestment US$180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran. In the July-August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, Obama called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world. Saying "we can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission," he called on Americans to "lead the world, by deed and by example."

Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicalism and other religion people, saying, "if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at—to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own—we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse." In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback (Republican Party (United States)-Kansas) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" to show "there is no shame in going for an HIV test." Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for Abortion in the United States: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear Pro-Life#Term controversy stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway." See also: 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." See also:

Personal life In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin, Obama met Michelle Obama, who also worked there.Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: They were married in 1992 and have two daughters, Malia, born in 1999, and Natasha ("Sasha"), born in 2001.Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: The family moved from their Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a nearby US$1.6-million home in 2005. The house purchase and subsequent acquisition of an adjoining strip of land drew media scrutiny in November 2006 because of financial links with controversial Illinois businessman Antoin Rezko. See also: Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team. Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to Smoking cessation. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the Chicago Tribune. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili con carne" as his favorite meal to cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."

A theme of Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the title of his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. See also: Obama (1995), pp. 292–295. In Chapter 6 of the book, titled "Faith," Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizing, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change." Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Jeremiah Wright one day and be baptized."Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: See also:

Books authored , with "#1 New York Times Bestseller" banner.

Obama has authored two bestselling books. The first, Dreams from My Father, was published after his graduation from law school and before running for public office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu, Hawaii and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles, California and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. The book's last chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo (Kenya and Tanzania) family and heritage. In his preface to the 2004 revised edition, Obama explains that he had hoped the story of his family "might speak in some way to the fissures of race that have characterized the American experience, as well as the fluid state of identity—the leaps through time, the collision of cultures—that mark our modern life."Obama (1995), p. vii. Time magazine's Joe Klein wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician." The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope, was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election. It was an immediate bestseller and rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List by early November 2006. The Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president. Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur." Reviewer Michael Tomasky writes that it does not contain "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness," but does show Obama's potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans." An Italian translation was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome. Spanish and German editions were published in June 2007.

Cultural and political image , Texas, on February 23 2007. Obama's campaign estimates 20,000 people attended this event. See also:

Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach inkblot test, a neutral persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations. See also: Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 The New Yorker magazine article described as his "everyman" image. See also: In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native Americans in the United States ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.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 , see: Speaking to an elderly Jewish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed." In an October 2006 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher. We've got it all."

With his Kenyan father, upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and Ivy League#Social elitism 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). During his Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Congress in 2000, two rival candidates charged that Obama was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent constituents' concerns. See also: In January 2007, "The End of Blackness" author Debra Dickerson warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise. "Lumping us all together," Dickerson wrote in Salon.com, "erases the significance of History of slavery in the United States and continuing Racism in the United States while giving the appearance of progress." For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: 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. "What it really lays bare," Obama offered, is that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."

Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 Washington Post opinion column, Eugene Robinson (journalist) characterized him as "the personification of both-and," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the culture wars" of the 1960s. See also: Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all,"Obama (2006), p. 10. See also: has been criticized for his political actions by self-described Progressivism in the United States commentator David Sirota, and complimented for his "can't we all just get along?" manner by Conservatism in the United States columnist George F. Will. But in a December 2006 The Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," former Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "The Establishment" commentators to get "down from your tippy toes" and avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. Echoing the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy, Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."

Recognition and honors An October 2005 article in the British journal New Statesman listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world." In 2005 and again in 2007, Time (magazine) magazine named him one of "Time 100." During his first three years in the U.S. Senate, Obama received Honorary degree Doctorates of Law from Knox College (Illinois) (2005), University of Massachusetts Boston (2006), Northwestern University (2006), Xavier University of Louisiana (2006), Southern New Hampshire University (2007), and Howard University (2007).

References Cited works

Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father, Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3
Obama, Barack.The Audacity of Hope, Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.