posted January 07, 2008 08:17 PM            

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Barack Hussein Obama (pronounced /bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/[1]) (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.[2][3] He is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, the third popularly elected African American Senator, and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.[4] Born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He lived most of his early life in Hawaii, and spent four of his pre-teen years in Jakarta, Indonesia. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, 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 legislator. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a landslide 70% of the vote in an election year marked by Republican gains.[5][6] As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the 110th Congress, he has sponsored legislation on lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel.

Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as major priorities.[7] He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has written 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.[8]

Early life and career:
Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya, of Luo ethnicity) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas).[9] His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.[10] Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced.[11] His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya.[12] His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, and the family moved to Jakarta in 1967.[13] Obama attended local schools in Jakarta from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language,[14] which he still speaks passably.[15] He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.[16] Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.[17]

In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. His knowledge about his African father, who returned once for a brief visit in 1971, came mainly through family stories and photographs.[12] 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."[18] The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[19] He wrote that he used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".[20]

After high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[21] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[22] Obama received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked at Business International Corporation and NYPIRG before moving to Chicago to take a job as a community organizer.[23] As Director of the Developing Communities Project, he worked with low-income residents in Chicago's Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development.[24] He entered Harvard Law School in 1988.[25] In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the Harvard Law Review's "first black president in its 104-year history".[26] He completed his J.D. degree magna *** laude in 1991.[27] On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive.[27] As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases.[28] He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.[29]

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posted January 08, 2008 11:19 AM            

We've heard all his overblown anti-war socialist rhetoric before...all the way back to the 1960's.

posted January 08, 2008 11:30 AM            

But why does he seem riding the wave all of a sudden?

posted January 08, 2008 04:17 PM            

Now she is tanking. She can't give any Republican a run for their money. Hell, not even Obama can and, I will say it, even though I am a minority and it is not PC.. this country is not yet ready for a female or an African American president.

The Dem's best bet is to elect Edwards to run against a Pubbie. Even then, the don't have a leg to stand on.

posted January 08, 2008 05:59 PM            

Has everyone chosen their canidate yet???

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 08, 2008 06:09 PM            

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Has everyone chosen their canidate yet???

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posted January 08, 2008 06:54 PM            

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 09, 2008 07:52 AM            

I wouldn't mind if Hillary or Obama won because both would be easy to beat.

posted January 09, 2008 11:44 AM            

CNN said SW MI was Romney territory and NW MI is McCains.

The elders ( mostly farmers)here have a long memory of Dad George`s instituting the Mi state income tax & still carry a grudge lol.

Romney isn`t on my canidate list but for different reasons.

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 09, 2008 12:27 PM            

I haven't decided whom to support either. It's a tough choice to choose amongst the Republican front runners. Though any of the top 5 Republicans would be head and shoulders above any of the democrat contenders from top to bottom. I just have a real problem with candidates who change positions on basic issues. Makes me wonder what they really believe...and more importantly, what they would really do if they had the chance.

Hey Pid, I'm almost out of popcorn. It's been very instructive watching Hillary almost...almost come to tears that people don't understand how much she has to offer America. Not to mention finding out Obama voted "Present" more than 120 times when he was in the state legislature. Present ...now there's a man with very strong convictions on important issues.

posted January 10, 2008 08:32 AM            

I was chatting with neighbor boy, a senior in H.S. studying about the elections . He asked a question I thought I`d pass on as I had no answer.

If Ron Paul is the baby boomers choice of a qualified and electable candidate, why is he the best kept secret is America?

thanks,

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 10, 2008 10:07 AM              

Interesting about Romney's dad in Michigan. Governor Engler was the one I remember most. Repubs liked him a lot. He kept taxes down. My gut tells me Romney wont get the nom. Hes too smooth and people don't like the idea that he's a rich business man.

posted January 10, 2008 02:15 PM            

2004 Dem nominee Kerry endorses Obama

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the White House Thursday in a timely slap at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as his own vice presidential running mate.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_po/obama_kerry

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 10, 2008 02:34 PM            

Whats with Hillary using the word God ?
Yeow it stinks everytime she uses that word.

posted January 13, 2008 12:30 PM            

It wasn`t a rhetorical question

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 19, 2008 05:13 PM            

I wish that gay marriages will be legal in USA as well as health care reform,mental health reform,and education reform.

I am for Hillary Clinton.

posted January 19, 2008 07:25 PM            

(*Before someone outs themselves here as an ignoramus through a misguided knee jerk defense of her actions without knowing anything about it as all too frequently happens, I should point out that her crusade, which was a cynical political ploy, focused on raising the legal age to buy GTA from 17 to 18 in order to "protect the children." This was based on the fact that IF a 17-year-old got a hacker's help, then he could access a ridiculous porn scene that was almost as vanilla as it was unbelievable. The shooting of cops & prostitutes, or the Grand Theft Auto itself which is the point of the game, did not seem to concern her, any more than it bothered her archconservative allies that helped her to go after GTA.)

I'd also like to remind you that her husband pushed the DOMA, which was political gay bashing in response to 1 or 2 states legalizing gay marriage in their own state. Hillary never said anything against it. Hillary has also repeatedly expressed friendship and solidarity with Tipper Gore (Al Gore's wife), and she wrote Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society, which was practically a fundamentalist Christian tract (heck, just check who published it for her).

posted January 20, 2008 02:51 PM            

If I am not mistaken, in the beginning the Left was created from the Right. So you will see overlaps between policies. The Left believes in universal principles and the right does not.

I also observerd that Hillary makes I statements throughout her campaigns rather than Obama (who constantly says we). So her using the word 'God' is subjective experience so I am ok with that.

What's with Bill though, referring to Obama as 'A kid, fairy tale story, and roll of dice '? An opinionated Leo is that - LOL

posted January 20, 2008 06:59 PM            

When Hillary does it with him, she's right. He's still wrong.