Junior Senator from Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2005
Serving with Richard Durbin
Preceded by Peter Fitzgerald
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district
In office January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by Alice J. Palmer
Succeeded by Kwame Raoul
Born August 4, 1961 (1961-08-04) (age 47) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
Children Malia Ann (b. 1998), Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001)
Residence (Kenwood), Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater Harvard Law School, Columbia University, Occidental College
Profession Attorney, Politician
Religion Christian (United Church of Christ)
Website Barack Obama—U.S. Senator for Illinois
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 general election.
Obama is the first African American to be nominated by a major political party for president. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. After a primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.
As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.
References
- Mendell, David (2007). Obama: From Promise to Power. Amistad/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-085820-6.
- Obama, Barack (2004). Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Times Books. ISBN 1-4000-8277-3.
- Obama, Barack (2006). The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.
Further reading
- Curry, Jessica. "Barack Obama: Under the Lights", Chicago Life, Fall 2004.
- Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1, 2006.
- Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", GQ, September 2007.
- MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7, 2007.
- Mundy, Liza. "A Series of Fortunate Events", The Washington Post Magazine, August 12, 2007.
- Wallace-Wells, Ben. "Destiny's Child", Rolling Stone, February 7, 2007.
- Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", Chicago Reader, December 8, 1995.
Links
Official sites
- Barack Obama U.S. Senator for Illinois (U.S. Senate office)
- Obama '08—BarackObama.com (2008 U.S. presidential campaign)
- Fight the Smears: the candidate's responses to Internet rumors.
Congressional links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
Site directory
- Barack Obama at the Open Directory Project
- Works by or about Barack Obama in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
Video: Barack Obama on Current Unemployment statistics in America
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