Election+of+08+-+Obama's+Political+VS+Personal+Life

Obama's Personal and Political Life
 We all know Barack Obama as the current [|President of the United States,] but how much do we //really// know about him? Here's some important information on both his political and personal life and achievements.  **General** -On August 4, 1961, Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. - He attended Occidental College (in LA) for 2 years, then transferred to Columbia University (NY) where he received a degree in political science in 1983. - Obama's father died when Barack was 22 years old, only having seen his father once after leaving Indonesia. - In 1985, Barack moved to Chicago and also visited his family in Kenya, Africa. Three years later, he attended Harvard Law School and in 1989 began working at the Sidley & Austin law firm, where he met his wife-to-be, Michelle Robinson. - His first book [|Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance], was published in 1995 and later re-printed in 2004, in 10 languages. - In 2006, his second book, //The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream// was published and soon took the No. 1 spot on the //New York Times// - Some of the hard issues President Obama has to deal with is both the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan, global warming, huge national debt (about $9 trillion currently), and a declining economy. - In an attempt to re-start the economy, Obama has implemented a $787 million stimulus plan in order to get the economy back on track. He has since given out loans for the ailing auto-industry (especially GM and Chrysler), created new regulations for Wall Street, cut taxes for workers, their families and small businesses, given aid to those who lost their homes to foreclosures and created a $3.5 trillion budget for the coming years. - As for the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan, Obama has made a plan to bring back home the troops (except for a small unit of about 30,000) by August 2010. He is currently working on repealing the [|"Don't-Ask, Don't-Tell"] policy in the military. and Amazon.  In a 2006 interview, Obama said, "It's like a little mini-United Nations", when asked about his extended family. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher.” Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years. Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian, which he learned during his four childhood years in Jakarta. When he was just two years old, his parents divorced. Later, the family moved to Indonesia, but events in their life caused Obama's father to send Barack back to Hawaii to live with his grandparents at 10 years old.
 * Family; Life**

Obama is often referred to as an brilliant orator. During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama has delivered a series of weekly Internet video addresses. In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate and worked on expanding health-care, as well as education for the poor. Later, Obama was elected chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and helped in requiring videotaping and recording of confessions for capital cases. He ran in 2000 for a seat in the House of Representatives for Illinois, but lost. He attempted again in 2004 and won. Soon after 9/11, Obama tried to push former President George W. Bush to avoid a war, saying "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars." Although he worked hard to oppose the War in Iraq, in 2003 the war began. Also, In 2004, Obama ran against Alan Keyes (a former pres. candidate) for a seat in the U.S. Senate, and won with 70% of the vote. Soon after entering office, Obama worked with Republican Senators Richard Lugar (IN) and Tom Corburn (OK) to: destroy weapons of mass destruction in Europe and Russia, push for alternative energy use and improvement for veterans' benefits.
 * [[image:http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/fensterm/files/2009/10/440px-Official_portrait_of_Barack_Obama.jpg width="308" height="419" align="left" caption="Barak Obama's official White House portrait"]]Cultural and Political Image**

On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the 2009 [|Nobel Peace Prize] "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The award caused a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures, because many believed that he did nothing to deserve the award, aside from being the first black president. A year later, in February 2007, Obama announced he would run for the Democratic nomination for president. This election was one of the most famous and headlined because Barack was the first African-American to run for president and his opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was the first woman to run. Obama won the nomination for the Democratic candidate, defeating Clinton on June 3, 2008 in a close race. Clinton gave her full support for Obama and was later chosen as the U.S. Secretary of State. Senator Joe Biden (DE) was chosen as Obama's running mate for Vice President. They ran against Republican candidate and Vietnam War veteran, Senator John McCain (AZ) and his (controversial) pick for VP, Governor Sarah Palin (AK). On November 8, 2008, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, in a close margin, winning with 52.9% of the vote to McCain's 45.7%.



__**Sources:**__ Obama Biography Barack Obama Life Obama Biography [|Fun Facts] [|Official White House "meet the president"] 

__**Pictures**__ Young Obama Picture Obama Family Picture John McCain Picture [|White House Portrait]

**Additional Topics for Election of '08:** Vocabulary AP PARTS Health Care Iraq War Domestic Policy Economy Obama's Political and Personal Life