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{{Infobox Senator |
{{Infobox Senator<!-- please do not edit infobox; it is now correct --> |
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| name = Barack Obama |
| name = Barack Obama |
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| image name = ObamaBarack.jpg |
| image name = ObamaBarack.jpg |
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| jr/sr = Junior Senator |
| jr/sr = Junior Senator |
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| state = [[Illinois]] |
| state = [[Illinois]] |
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| term_start = [[January 4]] [[2005]] |
| term_start = [[January 4]] [[2005]] |
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| alongside = |
| alongside = Richard Durbin |
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| preceded = [[Peter Fitzgerald]] |
| preceded = [[Peter Fitzgerald]] |
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| state_senate2 = Illinois| district2 = |
| state_senate2 = Illinois| district2 = 13{{th}} |
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| term_start2 = [[January 8]], [[1997]] |
| term_start2 = [[January 8]], [[1997]] |
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| term_end2 = [[November 4]], [[2004]] |
| term_end2 = [[November 4]], [[2004]] |
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| nationality = [[United States|American]] |
| nationality = [[United States|American]] |
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| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |
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| spouse = [[Michelle Obama]] |
| spouse = [[Michelle Obama]] (m. 1992) |
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| children = Malia Ann (b. 1998),<br />Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001) |
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| religion = [[United Church of Christ]] |
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| residence=([[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]]), [[Chicago, Illinois]] |
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| alma_mater = [[Occidental College]], <br />[[Columbia University]],<br /> [[Harvard Law School]] |
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| profession = [[Attorney]] |
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| religion = [[Christian]]: ([[United Church of Christ]]) |
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| signature = Barack Obama signature.svg |
| signature = Barack Obama signature.svg |
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| website = [http://obama.senate.gov Barack Obama - U.S. Senator for Illinois] }} |
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'''Barack Hussein Obama |
'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''' (born [[August 4]] [[1961]]) is the junior [[United States Senator]] from [[Illinois]] and the first [[African American]] [[presumptive nominee]] of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in the upcoming [[2008 U.S. presidential election]]. He married [[Michelle Obama]] in 1992 and has two daughters. Obama has written two books: a memoir of his youth titled ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'', and a personal commentary on U.S. politics titled ''[[The Audacity of Hope]]''. |
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A graduate of [[Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], Obama worked as a [[Community organizing|community organizer]] and practiced as a [[civil rights]] attorney before serving in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004. From 1992 to 2004, he also taught [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago Law School]]. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he announced his campaign for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in January 2003. After winning a landslide primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote. |
A graduate of [[Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], Obama worked as a [[Community organizing|community organizer]] and practiced as a [[civil rights]] attorney before serving in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004. From 1992 to 2004, he also taught [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago Law School]]. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he announced his campaign for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in January 2003. After winning a landslide primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote. |
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==Early life and career== |
==Early life and career== |
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{{main|Early life and career of Barack Obama}} |
{{main|Early life and career of Barack Obama}} |
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Obama was born on [[August 4]] [[1961]], in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], to [[Barack Obama, Sr.]], of Nyangoma-Kogelo, [[Siaya District]], [[Kenya]], and [[Ann Dunham]], of [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], [[Kansas]].<ref name=Barry>{{cite news | first=Kirsten | last=Scharnberg | coauthors=Kim Barker | title=The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth | date=[[March 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-youth-story,0,5069625.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite web | title=Meet Barack | url=http://www.barackobama.com/about/ | publisher=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1.</ref> His parents met while both were attending the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see {{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Creation of Tales|date=[[November 1]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html | work=East African | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: {{cite news | first=Tim | last=Jones | title=Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas | date=[[March 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703270151mar27,1,3372079.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of [[Indonesia]] in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in [[Jakarta]] until he was ten years old.<ref name=Barry /> He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's family while attending [[Punahou School]] from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Serafin | title=Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics | date=[[March 21]] [[2004]] | url=http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/21/news/story4.html | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4.</ref> Following high school, Obama moved to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], where he studied at [[Occidental College]] for two years.<ref>{{cite web | title=Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83 | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.oxy.edu/x2526.xml | publisher=Occidental College | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He then transferred to [[Columbia College of Columbia University|Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], where he majored in [[political science]] with a specialization in [[international relations]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work=Columbia College Today|accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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Obama graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from Columbia in 1983, then worked at [[Business International Corporation]] and [[New York Public Interest Research Group]] before moving to [[Chicago]] in 1985 to take a job as a community organizer.<ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say | date=[[October 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Bob | last=Secter | coauthors=John McCormick | title=Portrait of a Pragmatist | date=[[March 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,282774.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}} </ref><ref name=NRLizza>{{cite news | first=Ryan | last=Lizza | title=The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education | format=alternate link | date=[[March 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.pickensdemocrats.org/info/TheAgitator_070319.htm | work =New Republic | accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 135–139.</ref> He entered [[Harvard Law School]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Levenson | coauthors= Jonathan Saltzman | title=At Harvard Law, a Unifying Voice | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=John | last=Heilemann | title=When They Were Young | date=[[October 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://nymag.com/news/features/39321/ | work=The New York Magazine | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> His election in 1990 as the first black president of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]'' was widely reported.<ref>{{cite news |author=Butterfield, Fox |title=First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260 |work=The New York Times |page=A20 |date=February 6, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} {{cite news |author=Ybarra, Michael J. |title=Activist in Chicago now heads Harvard Law Review |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28797353.html?dids=28797353:28797353&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=3 |date=February 7, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} {{cite news |author=Matchan, Linda |title=A Law Review breakthrough |url=http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=&s.author=Linda+Matchan&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1990-02-15&s.endDate=1990-02-15 |format=paid archive |work=The Boston Globe |page=29 |date=February 15, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} {{cite news |author=Corr, John |title=From mean streets to hallowed halls |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_theme=pi&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PI&s_search_type=customized&s_dispstring=Author(John%20Corr)%20AND%20date(02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=Author&p_text_advanced-0=(John%20Corr)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=C01 |date=February 27, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} {{cite news |author=Drummond, Tammerlin |title=Barack Obama's Law; Harvard Law Review's first black president plans a life of public service |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60017156.html?dids=60017156:60017156&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Los Angeles Times |page=E1 |date=March 12, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} {{cite news |author=Pugh, Allison J. (Associated Press) |title=Law Review's first black president aims to help poor |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&p_theme=realcities2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_site=miami&s_trackval=MH&s_dispstring=Title(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)%20AND%20date(04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Miami Herald |page=C01 |date=April 18, 1990 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} See also: {{cite news |author=Kantor, Jodi |title=In law school, Obama found political voice |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |page=1 |date=January 28, 2007 |accessdate=2008-05-02}} Mendell (2007), pp. 80–92.</ref> Obama graduated with a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard in 1991, then returned to Chicago where he headed a voter registration drive and began writing his first book, ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'', a memoir published in 1995.<ref>{{cite news | first=Marie C | last=Kodama | title=Obama Left Mark on HLS | date=[[January 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516664 | work=Harvard Crimson | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), p. xiii and {{cite news | first=Gretchen | last=Reynolds | title=Vote of Confidence | date=January 1993 | url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence/ | work=Chicago Magazine | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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Obama was born on [[August 4]] [[1961]], at the Kapiolani Medical Center in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], to [[Barack Obama, Sr.]], of [[Nyangoma-Kogelo]], [[Siaya District]], [[Kenya]], and [[Ann Dunham]], of [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], [[Kansas]]. His parents met while both were attending the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see {{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Creation of Tales|date=[[November 1]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html | work=East African | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: {{cite news | first=Tim | last=Jones | title=Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas | date=[[March 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703270151mar27,1,3372079.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> After her divorce, Dunham married [[Lolo Soetoro]], and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of [[Indonesia]] in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in [[Jakarta]] until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending [[Punahou School]] from the [[Education in the United States#School grades|fifth grade]] in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Serafin | title=Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics | date=[[March 21]] [[2004]] | url=http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/21/news/story4.html | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4.</ref> |
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Between 1993 and 2002, Obama served on the board the Woods Fund of Chicago, a philanthropic organization providing grants to Chicago's disadvantaged people and communities.<ref name="woods">{{cite web | url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/berman | title=Obama Under the Weather | publisher=[[The Nation]] | accessdate=2008-05-05 |last=Barman | first=Ari | date=[[May 1]], [[2008]]}}</ref> In 1999 he was joined on the board by [[Bill Ayers]], who had previously hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 1996.<ref name="woods" /> His tenuous association with Ayers would later draw scrutiny during Obama's [[Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008|2008 presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24196396/ | title=Ex-radical Ayers in eye of campaign storm | publisher=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-05-05 | last=Curry | first=Tom | date=[[April 18]], [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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Following high school, Obama moved to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], where he studied at [[Occidental College]] for two years.<ref>{{cite web | title=Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83 | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.oxy.edu/x2526.xml | publisher=Occidental College | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He then transferred to [[Columbia College of Columbia University|Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], where he majored in [[political science]] with a specialization in [[international relations]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jan05/cover.php | title=Barack Obama '83 | work=Columbia College Today | author=Boss-Bicak, Shira | date=January 2005 | accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> Obama graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from Columbia in 1983, then worked at [[Business International Corporation]] and [[New York Public Interest Research Group]].<ref name="Who's Who 2008">{{cite book |author=Chassie, Karen (ed.) |year=2007 |title=Who's Who in America, 2008 |url=http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/products/WAprodinfo.asp |location=New Providence, NJ |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |isbn=9780837970110 |page=p. 3468 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say | date=[[October 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 133–140; Mendell (2007), pp. 62–63.</ref> |
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Obama taught constitutional law part-time at the [[University of Chicago Law School]] from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref>{{cite news | first=Abdon M | last=Pallasch | title=Professor Obama was a Listener, Students Say | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/253391,CST-NWS-prof12.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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After four years in New York City, Obama moved to [[Chicago]] to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland ([[Roseland, Chicago|Roseland]], [[West Pullman, Chicago|West Pullman]], and [[Riverdale, Chicago|Riverdale]]) on Chicago's far [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]].<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Secter, Bob; McCormick, John |date=March 30, 2007 |title=Portrait of a pragmatist |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,6651421,full.story |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news | first=Ryan | last=Lizza | title=The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education | format=alternate link | date=March 19, 2007 | url=http://www.pickensdemocrats.org/info/TheAgitator_070319.htm | work =New Republic | accessdate=2008-04-13}} Obama (1995), pp. 140–295; Mendell (2007), pp. 63–83.</ref> During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in [[Altgeld Gardens, Chicago|Altgeld Gardens]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Matchan, Linda |date=February 15, 1990 |title=A Law Review breakthrough |url=http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=&s.author=Linda+Matchan&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1990-02-15&s.endDate=1990-02-15 |format=paid archive |work=The Boston Globe |page=29 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news |author=Corr, John |date=February 27, 1990 |title=From mean streets to hallowed halls |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_theme=pi&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PI&s_search_type=customized&s_dispstring=Author(John%20Corr)%20AND%20date(02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=Author&p_text_advanced-0=(John%20Corr)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Obama, Barack |month=August-September |year=1988 |title=Why organize? Problems and promise in the inner city |journal=Illinois Issues |volume=14 |issue=8–9 |pages=40–42 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} reprinted in: {{cite book |year=1990 |pages=pp. 35–40 |author=Knoepfle, Peg (ed.) |title=After Alinsky: community organizing in Illinois |location=Springfield, IL |publisher=Sangamon State University |isbn=0962087335 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite news |author=Tayler, Letta; Herbert, Keith |date=March 2, 2008 |title=Obama forged path as Chicago community organizer |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/nation/ny-usobam025598601mar02,0,7841545,full.story |work=Newsday |page=A06 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> In summer 1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks then Kenya for five weeks where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 299–437.</ref> |
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Obama worked as an [[lawyer|associate attorney]] with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2002. After 1996, he worked at the firm only during the summer, when the Illinois Senate was not in session.<ref name="legal career">{{cite news | title=Law Graduate Obama Got His Start in Civil Rights Practice | date=[[February 19]] [[2007]] | publisher=''International Herald Tribune'' | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/20/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Attorney-at-Law.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Obama worked on cases where the firm represented community organizers, pursued [[employment discrimination law in the United States|discrimination]] claims, and on [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights]] cases. He also spent time on real estate transactions, filing incorporation papers and defending clients against minor lawsuits.<ref name="lawyer days"/> Mostly he drew up briefs, contracts, and other legal documents as a junior associate on legal teams.<ref name="lawyer days">{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obamalegal6apr06,0,6774732,full.story | title=Obama's lawyer days: brief and not all civil rights | first=Dan | last=Moran | publisher=Los Angeles Times | date=2008-04-08 | accessdate=2008-04-15}}</ref> Obama also did some work on taxpayer-supported building rehabilitation loans for Rezmar Corp.,<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama and his Rezko ties | date=[[April 23]] [[2007]] | publisher=''Chicago Sun-Times'' | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref> half-owned by [[Tony Rezko]], who later raised approximately $250,000 for Obama's various political campaigns.<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff writer |title=Obama: Rezko Raised Up to $250K |url=http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/03/14/1367529-obama-rezko-raised-up-to-250k|work=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Newsvine]] |date=2008-03-14 |accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref> In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for political corruption charges and the case was brought to trial in March 2008.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335592,00.html | title=Courtroom Wire: Notes From Tony Rezko's Corruption Trial | publisher=FOXNews | first=Marla | lasr=Cichowski | date=[[April 10]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-15}}</ref> Obama has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24122886/ | title=Witness: Obama attended Rezko party | publisher=MSNBC.com | accessdate=2008-04-15 | work=Associated Press | date=[[April 15]], [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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Obama entered [[Harvard Law School]] in fall 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the law review based on his grades and a writing competition.<ref name="Harvard Law 2007">{{cite news |author=Levenson, Michael; Saltzman, Jonathan |date=January 28, 2007 |title=At Harvard Law, a unifying voice |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full |work=The Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Kantor, Jodi |date=January 28, 2007 |title=In law school, Obama found political voice |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Kodama, Marie C |date=January 19, 2007 |title=Obama left mark on HLS |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516664 |work=The Harvard Crimson |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Mundy, Liza |title=A series of fortunate events |date=August 12, 2007 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802038_pf.html |work=The Washington Post |page=W10 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite journal |author=Heilemann, John |title=When they were young |date=October 22, 2007 |url=http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=When+They+Were+Young&expire=&urlID=24417790&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fnews%2Ffeatures%2F39321%2F&partnerID=73272 |journal=New York |volume=40 |issue=37 |pages=32–7, 132–3 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Mendell (2007), pp. 80–92.</ref> In his second year he was elected president of the law review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.<ref name="Harvard Law 1990"> {{cite news |author=Butterfield, Fox |date=February 6, 1990|title=First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260 |work=The New York Times |page=A20 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Ybarra, Michael J |date=February 7, 1990 |title=Activist in Chicago now heads Harvard Law Review |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28797353.html?dids=28797353:28797353&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=3 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Matchan, Linda |date=February 15, 1990 |title=A Law Review breakthrough |url=http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=&s.author=Linda+Matchan&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1990-02-15&s.endDate=1990-02-15 |format=paid archive |work=The Boston Globe |page=29 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Corr, John |date=February 27, 1990 |title=From mean streets to hallowed halls |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&p_theme=pi&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PI&s_search_type=customized&s_dispstring=Author(John%20Corr)%20AND%20date(02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=02/27/1990%20to%2002/27/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=Author&p_text_advanced-0=(John%20Corr)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Drummond, Tammerlin |date=March 12, 1990 |title=Barack Obama's Law; Harvard Law Review's first black president plans a life of public service |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60017156.html?dids=60017156:60017156&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Los Angeles Times |page=E1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Pugh, Allison J. (Associated Press) |date=April 18, 1990 |title=Law Review's first black president aims to help poor |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&p_theme=realcities2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_site=miami&s_trackval=MH&s_dispstring=Title(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)%20AND%20date(04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=04/18/1990%20to%2004/18/1990)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Law%20Review's%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes |format=paid archive |work=The Miami Herald |page=C01 |accessdate=2008-06-15}}</ref> Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]'' was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.<ref name="Harvard Law 1990"/> He graduated with a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] [[Latin honors|''magna cum laude'']] from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of [[Sidley Austin|Sidley & Austin]] in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.<ref name="Harvard Law 2007"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Aguilar, Louis |date=July 11, 1990 |title=Survey: Law firms slow to add minority partners |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28774085.html?dids=28774085:28774085&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Business) |quote=Barack Obama, a summer associate at Hopkins & Sutter in Chicago |accessdate=2008-06-15}}</ref> |
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The publicity from his election as the first black president of the ''Harvard Law Review'' led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations.<ref name="Scott 2008a"> {{cite news |author=Scott, Janny |date=May 18, 2008 |title=The story of Obama, written by Obama |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18memoirs.html?pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Obama (1995), pp. xiii–xvii.</ref> In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the [[University of Chicago Law School]] provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.<ref name="Scott 2008a"/> He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir, at one point Obama retreated to [[Bali]] for several months with his wife, Michelle, to work on it without interruptions, before it was finally published as ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'' in summer 1995.<ref name="Scott 2008a"/> |
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Obama directed Illinois Project Vote! from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading ''Crain's Chicago Business'' to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.<ref name="Illinois Blue Book 2000">{{cite book |author=White, Jesse (ed.) |year=2000 |title=Illinois Blue Book, 2000, Millennium ed. |url=http://www.sos.state.il.us/bb/toc.html |location=Springfield, IL |publisher=Illinois Secretary of State |oclc=43923973 |page=p. 83 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jarrett, Vernon |date=August 11, 1992 |title='Project Vote' brings power to the people |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Vernon%20Jarrett)%20AND%20date(8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Vernon%20Jarrett)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |work=Chicago Sun-Times |format=paid archive |page=23 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite journal |author=Reynolds, Gretchen |month=January |year=1993 |title=Vote of Confidence |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/January-1993/Vote-of-Confidence |journal=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]] |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=53-54 |accessdate=2008-06-06}} {{cite journal |author=Anderson, Veronica |month=September 27-October 3, |year=1993 |title=40 under Forty: Barack Obama, Director, Illinois Project Vote |journal=[[Crain Communications Inc.|Crain's Chicago Business]] |volume=16 |issue=39 |page=43 |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> |
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Obama taught [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago Law School]] for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years (1992–1996), and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years (1996–2004).<ref>{{cite web |author=University of Chicago Law School |date=March 27, 2008 |title=Statement regarding Barack Obama |publisher=University of Chicago Law School |url=http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html |accessdate=2008-06-10}} {{cite web |author=Miller, Joe |date=March 28, 2008 |title=Was Barack Obama really a constitutional law professor?|publisher=FactCheck.org |url=http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/was_barack_obama_really_a_constitutional_law.html |accessdate=2008-06-10}} {{cite web |author=Holan, Angie Drobnic |date=March 7, 2008 |title=Obama's 20 years of experience |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/mar/07/obamas-20-years-experience |publisher=PolitiFact.com |accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> |
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In 1993 Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an [[associate (business rank)|associate]] for three years from 1993 to 1996, then [[of counsel]] from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Robinson, Mike (Associated Press) |date=February 10, 2007 |title=Obama got start in civil rights practice |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/20/obama_got_start_in_civil_rights_practice |work=The Boston Globe |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author=Pallasch, Abdon M |date=December 17, 2007 |title=As lawyer, Obama was strong, silent type; He was 'smart, innovative, relentless,' and he mostly let other lawyers do the talking |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/700499,CST-NWS-Obama-law17.article |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=4 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author= |date=June 27, 1993 |title=People |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24302659.html?dids=24302659:24302659&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=9 (Business) |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite news |author= |date=July 5, 1993 |title=Business appointments |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Business%20appointments)%20AND%20date(7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Business%20appointments)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |work=Chicago-Sun-Times |page=40 |accessdate=2008-06-15}} {{cite web |author=Miner, Barnhill & Galland |year=2008 |title=About Us |url=http://www.lawmbg.com/index.cfm/PageID/2711 |publisher=Miner, Barnhill & Galland - Chicago, Illinois |accessdate=2008-06-15}} Obama (1995), pp. 438–439, Mendell (2007), pp. 104–106.</ref> |
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Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of [[Public Allies]] in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in spring 1993.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/><ref>{{cite web |author=Public Allies |year=2008 |title=Fact Sheet on Public Allies' History with Senator Barack and Michelle Obama |url=http://www.publicallies.org/site/c.liKUL3PNLvF/b.3960231/ |publisher=[[Public Allies]] |accessdate=2008-06-06}}</ref> He served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund Obama's DCP, from 1993–2002, and served on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation from 1994–2002.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/> Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995–2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995–1999.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/> He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.<ref name="Who's Who 2008"/> |
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==State legislature== |
==State legislature== |
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{{main|Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama}} |
{{main|Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama}} |
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Obama was elected to the [[Illinois Senate]] in 1996, succeeding State Senator [[Alice Palmer (Illinois politician)|Alice Palmer]] as Senator from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]] neighborhoods from [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]]-[[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]] south to [[South Shore, Chicago|South Shore]] and west to [[Chicago Lawn, Chicago|Chicago Lawn]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Jackson | coauthors= Ray Long | title=Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot | date=[[April 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}} |
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Obama was elected to the [[Illinois Senate]] in 1996 from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]] neighborhoods from [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]]-[[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]] south to [[South Shore, Chicago|South Shore]] and west to [[Chicago Lawn, Chicago|Chicago Lawn]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Jackson | coauthors= Ray Long | title=Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot | date=[[April 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}} |
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{{cite book |author=[[Jesse White (politician)|White, Jesse]] |year=2001 |chapter=Legislative Districts of Cook County, 1991 Reapportionment |chapterurl=http://www.sos.state.il.us/publications/02bluebook/legislative_branch/legdistrictmaps.pdf |title=Illinois Blue Book 2001–2002 |location=Springfield |publisher=[[Secretary of State of Illinois|Illinois Secretary of State]] |pages=p. 65}}State Sen. District 13 = State Rep. Districts 25 & 26.</ref> Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol | date=[[February 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=In Illinois, Obama Dealt with Lobbyists | date=[[September 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/23/in_illinois_obama_dealt_with_lobbyists/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics | date=[[January 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | title=In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career | date=[[February 9]], [[2007]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://video.chicagotribune.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?clipid1=1226539 | work=CLTV | format=video | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> He sponsored a law increasing [[tax credit]]s for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.<ref name=Scott20070730>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | first=Rick | last=Pearson | coauthors=Ray Long | title=Careful Steps, Looking Ahead | date=[[May 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures,<ref>{{cite news |author=Allison, Melissa |date=December 15, 2000 |title=State takes on predatory lending; Rules would halt single-premium life insurance financing |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/65214450.html?dids=65214450:65214450&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Business) |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Long, Ray; Allison, Melissa |date=April 18, 2001 |title=Illinois OKs predatory loan curbs; State aims to avert home foreclosures |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/71459393.html?dids=71459393:71459393&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |accessdate=2008-06-01}}</ref> and in 2003, Obama sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor [[racial profiling]] by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.<ref name=Scott20070730 /><ref>{{cite news |author=Tavella, Anne Marie |date=April 14, 2003 |title=Profiling, taping plans pass Senate |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ADHB&p_theme=adhb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=Profiling,%20AND%20taping%20AND%20plans%20AND%20pass%20AND%20Senate&s_dispstring=Profiling,%20taping%20plans%20pass%20Senate%20AND%20date(4/4/2003%20to%204/4/2003)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=4/4/2003%20to%204/4/2003)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |type=paid archive |work=Daily Herald |page=17 |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Haynes, V. Dion |date=June 29, 2003 |title=Fight racial profiling at local level, lawmaker says; U.S. guidelines get mixed review |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/352884461.html?dids=352884461:352884461&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=8 |accessdate=2008-06-01}} {{cite news |author=Pearson, Rick |date=July 17, 2003 |title=Taped confessions to be law; State will be 1st to pass legislation |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/370136121.html?dids=370136121:370136121&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |type=paid archive |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 (Metro) |accessdate=2008-06-01}}</ref> |
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{{cite book |author=[[Jesse White (politician)|White, Jesse]] |year=2001 |chapter=Legislative Districts of Cook County, 1991 Reapportionment |chapterurl=http://www.sos.state.il.us/publications/02bluebook/legislative_branch/legdistrictmaps.pdf |title=Illinois Blue Book 2001-2002 |location=Springfield |publisher=[[Secretary of State of Illinois|Illinois Secretary of State]] |pages=p. 65}}State Sen. District 13 = State Rep. Districts 25 & 26.</ref> Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol | date=[[February 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=In Illinois, Obama Dealt with Lobbyists | date=[[September 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/23/in_illinois_obama_dealt_with_lobbyists/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics | date=[[January 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | title=In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career | date=[[February 9]], [[2007]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://video.chicagotribune.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?clipid1=1226539 | work=CLTV | format=video | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> He sponsored a law increasing [[tax credit]]s for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.<ref name=Scott20070730>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | first=Rick | last=Pearson | coauthors=Ray Long | title=Careful Steps, Looking Ahead | date=[[May 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> 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 detained.<ref name=Scott20070730 /> |
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Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-04-20 | date=[[August 24]] [[2000]] | publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000824102110/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |archivedate=2000-04-12 }} {{cite web | url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-04-20 |date=[[October 9]] [[2004]] | publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040802233730/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | archivedate=2004-08-02}}</ref> In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent [[Bobby Rush]] by a margin of two to one.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/ilh.htm | title=Federal Elections 2000: U.S. House Results - Illinois | publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] | accessdate=2008-04-24}}. See also: {{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14502364|title=Obama's Loss May Have Aided White House Bid}} and {{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama | date=[[September 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref><ref name=McClelland20070212> {{cite news | first=Edward | last=McClelland | title=How Obama Learned to Be a Natural | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/ | work =Salon | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard | last=Wolffe | coauthors= Daren Briscoe | title=Across the Divide | date=[[July 16]] [[2007]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/33156 | work=Newsweek | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-20}} and {{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-10-24-3157940059_x.htm|title=Obama learned from failed Congress run}}</ref> |
Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-04-20 | date=[[August 24]] [[2000]] | publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000824102110/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |archivedate=2000-04-12 }} {{cite web | url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-04-20 |date=[[October 9]] [[2004]] | publisher=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040802233730/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | archivedate=2004-08-02}}</ref> In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent [[Bobby Rush]] by a margin of two to one.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/ilh.htm | title=Federal Elections 2000: U.S. House Results - Illinois | publisher=[[Federal Election Commission]] | accessdate=2008-04-24}}. See also: {{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14502364|title=Obama's Loss May Have Aided White House Bid}} and {{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama | date=[[September 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref><ref name=McClelland20070212> {{cite news | first=Edward | last=McClelland | title=How Obama Learned to Be a Natural | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/ | work =Salon | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard | last=Wolffe | coauthors= Daren Briscoe | title=Across the Divide | date=[[July 16]] [[2007]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/33156 | work=Newsweek | accessdate=2008-04-20}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-20}} and {{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-10-24-3157940059_x.htm|title=Obama learned from failed Congress run}}</ref> |
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In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jackie | last=Calmes | title=Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama | date=[[February 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117219748197216894-Sn6oV_4KLQHp_xz7CjYLuyjv3Jg_20070324.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]] reforms.<ref>{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | coauthors=Aaron Blake | title=Obama's Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals | date=[[March 14]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | title=US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms | date=[[November 12]] [[2007]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/12/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Death-Penalty.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Melanie | last=Coffee | title=Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat | date=[[November 6]] [[2004]] | publisher=HPKCC | url=http://www.hydepark.org/hpkccnews/raoul.htm#ap | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> |
In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jackie | last=Calmes | title=Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama | date=[[February 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117219748197216894-Sn6oV_4KLQHp_xz7CjYLuyjv3Jg_20070324.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]] reforms.<ref>{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | coauthors=Aaron Blake | title=Obama's Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals | date=[[March 14]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | title=US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms | date=[[November 12]] [[2007]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/12/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Death-Penalty.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> He was criticized by rival [[pro-choice]] candidates in the Democratic primary and by his Republican [[pro-life]] opponent in the general election for a series of "present" or "no" votes on [[late-term abortion]] and [[minors and abortion|parental notification]] issues.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eric | last=Zorn | title=Disparagement of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up | archiveurl=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/12/disparagement-o.html | archivedate=2007-12-20 | date=[[March 9]] [[2004]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/573751701.html?dids=573751701:573751701&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-20}}{{cite news | title=Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views | date=[[August 9]] [[2004]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}} See also: {{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | title=Abortion Foes Target Obama Because of His Vote Record on Illinois Legislation | date=[[February 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/abortion-foes-target-obama-because-of-his-vote-record-on-illinois-legislation-2007-02-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Melanie | last=Coffee | title=Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat | date=[[November 6]] [[2004]] | publisher=HPKCC | url=http://www.hydepark.org/hpkccnews/raoul.htm#ap | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> |
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==U.S. Senate campaign== |
==U.S. Senate campaign== |
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{{seealso|United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004}} |
{{seealso|United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004}} |
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In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]] that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Decisions by Republican incumbent [[Peter Fitzgerald]] and his Democratic predecessor [[Carol Moseley Braun]] not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.<ref>{{cite news | last=Davey | first=Monica | title=Closely Watched Illinois Senate Race Attracts 7 Candidates in Millionaire Range | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/politics/campaign/07ILLI.html | work=The New York Times | date=[[March 7]] [[2004]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor [[Harold Washington]] and an endorsement by the daughter of the late [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]], former U.S. Senator for Illinois.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben | last=Wallace-Wells | title=Obama's Narrator | date=[[April 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01axelrod.t.html | work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.<ref>{{cite news | first=Monica | last=Davey | title=From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat | date=[[May 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D61431F934A25750C0A9629C8B63 | work =New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=John S | last=Jackson | title=The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race | date=August 2006 | publisher=Southern Illinois University | url=http://www.siu.edu/~ppi/PDF/papers/Obama.pdf | work=Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist [[David Axelrod (political consultant)|David Axelrod]] that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Decisions by Republican incumbent [[Peter Fitzgerald]] and his Democratic predecessor [[Carol Moseley Braun]] not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.<ref>{{cite news | last=Davey | first=Monica | title=Closely Watched Illinois Senate Race Attracts 7 Candidates in Millionaire Range | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/politics/campaign/07ILLI.html | work=The New York Times | date=[[March 7]] [[2004]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman [[Blair Hull]] and Illinois Comptroller [[Daniel Hynes]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Mendell | title=Obama Routs Democratic Foes; Ryan Tops Crowded GOP Field | date=[[March 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0403170332mar17,1,1737252.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> However, Hull's popularity declined following reports of his ex-wife's allegations of domestic abuse.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christopher | last=Hayes | title=Check Bounce | date=[[March 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.chrishayes.org/articles/check-bounce/ | format=alternate link | work=TNR Online | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor [[Harold Washington]] and an endorsement by the daughter of the late [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]], former U.S. Senator for Illinois.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben | last=Wallace-Wells | title=Obama's Narrator | date=[[April 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01axelrod.t.html | work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.<ref>{{cite news | first=Monica | last=Davey | title=From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat | date=[[May 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D61431F934A25750C0A9629C8B63 | work =New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=John S | last=Jackson | title=The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race | date=August 2006 | publisher=Southern Illinois University | url=http://www.siu.edu/~ppi/PDF/papers/Obama.pdf | work=Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner [[Jack Ryan (2004 U.S. Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]], withdrew from the race in June 2004.<ref>{{cite news | title=Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois | date=[[June 25]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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Obama's opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner [[Jack Ryan (2004 U.S. Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]]. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife, actress [[Jeri Ryan]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois | date=[[June 25]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Maura Kelly | last=Lannan | title=Alan Keyes Enters U.S. Senate Race in Illinois Against Rising Democratic Star | date=[[August 9]], [[2004]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040809-0849-illinoissenate.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ford | last=Liam | coauthors= David Mendell | title=Keyes Sets Up House in Cal City | date=[[August 13]], [[2004]] | url =http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0408130201aug13,1,7640082.story | work =Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.<ref>For debate transcripts and video, see ''Alan Keyes Archives'': {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=367 | title=Alan Keyes and Barack Obama Debate, Hosted by Illinois Radio Network | date=[[October 12]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=370 |title=U.S. Senate Debate Sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Illinois | date=[[October 21]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web | url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=373 | title=Debate Sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago |accessdate=2008-04-13 |date=[[October 26]] [[2004]]}}</ref> In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.<ref>{{cite news | title=America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois | url =http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles | date=[[November 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201945.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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In July 2004, Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Bernstein| title=The Speech | date=June 2007| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2007/The-Speech/ | work=Chicago Magazine| accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a [[World War II]] veteran and a beneficiary of the [[New Deal|New Deal's]] [[Federal Housing Administration|FHA]] and [[Servicemen's Readjustment Act (USA)|G.I. Bill]] programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention | format=text or [http://www.barackobama.com/tv/speeches.php?bcpid=900718856&bclid=900554575&bctid=791793079 video] | date=[[July 27]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php | publisher=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Randal C | last=Archibold | title=The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere | date=[[July 29]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E7DB103DF93AA15754C0A9629C8B63 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Ronald | last=Roach | title=Obama Rising | date=[[October 7]] [[2004]] | publisher=DiverseEducation.com | url=http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_4041.shtml | work=Black Issues In Higher Education | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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In |
In July 2004, he wrote and delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: {{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url =http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work =Columbia College Today| accessdate=2008-04-13}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Bernstein| title=The Speech | date=June 2007| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2007/The-Speech/ | work=Chicago Magazine| accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a [[World War II]] veteran and a beneficiary of the [[New Deal|New Deal's]] [[Federal Housing Administration|FHA]] and [[Servicemen's Readjustment Act (USA)|G.I. Bill]] programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention | format=text or [http://www.barackobama.com/tv/speeches.php?bcpid=900718856&bclid=900554575&bctid=791793079 video] | date=[[July 27]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php | publisher=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Randal C | last=Archibold | title=The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere | date=[[July 29]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E7DB103DF93AA15754C0A9629C8B63 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-13}} {{cite news | first=Ronald | last=Roach | title=Obama Rising | date=[[October 7]] [[2004]] | publisher=DiverseEducation.com | url=http://www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_4041.shtml | work=Black Issues In Higher Education | accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref> |
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==U.S. Senate career== |
==U.S. Senate career== |
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{{main|United States Senate career of Barack Obama}} |
{{main|United States Senate career of Barack Obama}} |
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Obama was sworn in as a senator on [[January 4]] [[2005]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://obama.senate.gov/about/ | title=About Barack Obama | accessdate=2008-04-27 | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.<ref>{{cite news | first=Charles | last=Babington | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry | date=[[December 8]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701755.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars | date=[[September 17]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama_mon_nusep17,1,4819101,full.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He hired [[Pete Rouse]], a 30-year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader [[Tom Daschle]], as his chief of staff, and economist [[Karen Kornbluh]], former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury [[Robert Rubin]], as his policy director.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10828 | work=The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Perry | last=Bacon Jr. | title=The Outsider's Insider | date=[[August 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601446.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He recruited [[Samantha Power]], author on human rights and genocide, and former Clinton administration officials [[Anthony Lake]] and [[Susan E. Rice|Susan Rice]] as foreign policy advisers.<ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Traub | title=Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny? | date=[[November 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Neil | last=King | title=Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle | date=[[September 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118895877299317784.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Lynn | last=Sweet | title=Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts | date=[[May 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/379187,CST-EDT-sweet10.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
Obama was sworn in as a senator on [[January 4]] [[2005]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://obama.senate.gov/about/ | title=About Barack Obama | accessdate=2008-04-27 | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.<ref>{{cite news | first=Charles | last=Babington | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry | date=[[December 8]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701755.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars | date=[[September 17]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama_mon_nusep17,1,4819101,full.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He hired [[Pete Rouse]], a 30-year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader [[Tom Daschle]], as his chief of staff, and economist [[Karen Kornbluh]], former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury [[Robert Rubin]], as his policy director.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10828 | work=The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Perry | last=Bacon Jr. | title=The Outsider's Insider | date=[[August 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601446.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He recruited [[Samantha Power]], author on human rights and genocide, and former Clinton administration officials [[Anthony Lake]] and [[Susan E. Rice| Susan Rice]] as foreign policy advisers.<ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Traub | title=Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny? | date=[[November 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Neil | last=King | title=Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle | date=[[September 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118895877299317784.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Lynn | last=Sweet | title=Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts | date=[[May 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/379187,CST-EDT-sweet10.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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The Senate historian lists Obama as the fifth [[African American]] Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm | title=Breaking New Ground: African American Senators | publisher=U.S. Senate Historical Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He is the only Senate member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Member Info | url=http://www.house.gov/kilpatrick/cbc/member_info.html | publisher=Congressional Black Caucus | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety | date=[[June 26]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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The following sentence is a compromise that was reached at the talk page (see the archives). Please do not modify it without discussion. |
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-->The Senate historian lists Obama as the fifth [[African American]] Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm | title=Breaking New Ground: African American Senators | publisher=U.S. Senate Historical Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He is the only Senate member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Member Info | url=http://www.house.gov/kilpatrick/cbc/member_info.html | publisher=Congressional Black Caucus | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety | date=[[June 26]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> ''[[Congressional Quarterly|CQ Weekly]]'', a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007, and the ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Nather | title=The Space Between Clinton and Obama | date=[[January 14]] [[2008]] | url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqw/weeklyreport110-000002654703.html | work=CQ Weekly | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Tom | last=Curry | title=What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23276453/ | work=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings| title=Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007 | work=National Journal | date=[[January 31]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Asked about the ''Journal'''s characterization of his voting record, Obama expressed doubts about the survey's methodology, blaming "old politics" labeling of political positions as "conservative" or "liberal" for creating predispositions that prevent problem-solving.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Interview | format=transcript | date=[[February 12]] [[2008]] | publisher=Politico | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0B213312-3048-5C12-000E0262A76D6B18 | work=WJLA-TV | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=[[Robin]] | last=[[Toner]] | title=Obama's Promise of a New Majority | date=[[March 23]] [[2008]] | publisher=also [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/us/politics/25obama.html NYT version] (published [[2008-03-25]]) | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/23/america/liberal.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-30}}</ref> |
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===Legislation=== |
===Legislation=== |
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{{seealso|List of bills sponsored by Barack Obama in the United States Senate}} |
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Consistent with his interests in conservation, Obama voted in favor of the [[Energy Policy Act of 2005]]. |
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Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform. In 2005, he cosponsored the "[[Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act]]" introduced by Republican [[John McCain]] of Arizona.<ref>{{cite web | first=109th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act | date=[[May 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01033: | publisher=Thomas | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He later added three amendments to the "[[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006|Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act]]", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite news | title=Immigration Bill Divides House, Senate | date=[[September 22]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-22-immigration_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite web | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/060525-obama_statement_on_senate_passage_of_immigration_reform_bill/index.html | title=Obama Statement on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform Bill | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the [[Secure Fence Act of 2006|Secure Fence Act]], authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the [[United States–Mexico border]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html | work=CBS 2 (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."<ref>{{cite web | title=President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act | date=[[October 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061026.html | publisher=White House | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform. In 2005, he cosponsored the "[[Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act]]" introduced by Republican [[John McCain]] of Arizona.<ref>{{cite web | first=109th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act | date=[[May 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01033: | publisher=Thomas | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He later added three amendments to the "[[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006|Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act]]", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite news | title=Immigration Bill Divides House, Senate | date=[[September 22]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-22-immigration_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite web | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/060525-obama_statement_on_senate_passage_of_immigration_reform_bill/index.html | title=Obama Statement on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform Bill | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the [[Secure Fence Act of 2006|Secure Fence Act]], authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the [[United States–Mexico border]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html | work=CBS 2 (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."<ref>{{cite web | title=President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act | date=[[October 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061026.html | publisher=White House | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Coburn and Obama discuss S. 2590.jpg|thumb |
[[Image:Coburn and Obama discuss S. 2590.jpg|thumb|Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Obama discussing the [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006| Coburn–Obama Transparency Act]]<ref>{{cite web | title=President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html | publisher=White House | 2008-04-27}}</ref>]] |
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Partnering with Republican Senators [[Richard Lugar]] of Indiana and then [[Tom Coburn]] of Oklahoma, Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. " |
Partnering with Republican Senators [[Richard Lugar]] of Indiana and then [[Tom Coburn]] of Oklahoma, Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar-Obama" expanded the [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction|Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction]] concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/ | title=Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President | date=[[January 11]] [[2007]] | publisher=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard G | last=Lugar | coauthors=Barack Obama | title=Junkyard Dogs of War | date=[[December 3]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201509.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}} The Lugar-Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding. {{cite web | url=http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=278019 | title=Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law | publisher=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | date=[[June 28]] [[2007]] | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> The "[[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|Coburn-Obama Transparency Act]]" authorized the establishment of ''USAspending.gov'', a web search engine launched in December 2007 and run by the [[Office of Management and Budget]].<ref>{{cite news | first=John | last=McCormack | title=Google Government Gone Viral | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/502njiqx.asp | work=Weekly Standard | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite web | title=President Bush Signs Coburn-Obama Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=LegislativeFloorAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=eb582f19-802a-23ad-41db-7a7cb464cfdb | publisher=Tom Coburn U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}} The site provides the name and location of each entity receiving a Federal award, the funding agency, and the amount of the grant or contract. {{cite web | title=About This Site | url=http://www.usaspending.gov/aboutthissite.php | publisher=USAspending.gov | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> After Illinois residents complained of waste water contamination by a neighboring nuclear plant, Obama sponsored legislation requiring plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks.<ref>{{cite news |last=McIntire |first=Mike | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/politics/03exelon.html | title=Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate | date=[[February 3]] [[2008]] | |
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work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> A compromise version of the bill was subsequently blocked by partisan disputes and later reintroduced.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Dobbs | title=Obama's 'Backroom Deal'? | date=[[February 14]] [[2008]] | url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_backroom_deal.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Democratic Republic of the Congo | date=April 2006 | url=http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/drc0406.shtml | publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite web | title=The IRC Welcomes New U.S. Law on Congo | date=[[January 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.theirc.org/news/the-irc-welcomes-new-us-law.html | publisher=International Rescue Committee | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> A compromise version of the bill was subsequently blocked by partisan disputes and later reintroduced.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Dobbs | title=Obama's 'Backroom Deal'? | date=[[February 14]] [[2008]] | url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_backroom_deal.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Democratic Republic of the Congo | date=April 2006 | url=http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/drc0406.shtml | publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite web | title=The IRC Welcomes New U.S. Law on Congo | date=[[January 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.theirc.org/news/the-irc-welcomes-new-us-law.html | publisher=International Rescue Committee | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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In January 2007, Obama worked with Democrat [[Russ Feingold]] of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyists]] to members of Congress and require disclosure of [[Campaign finance in the United States#Bundling|bundled campaign contributions]] under the "[[Honest Leadership and Open Government Act]]," which was signed into law in September 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel | date=[[November 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feingold-obama-go-after-corporate-jet-travel-2007-11-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation | date=[[December 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-press-fec-on-bundling-regulation-2007-12-05.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | title=Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=Federal Election Commission | url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2007/20070924travel.shtml | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He introduced [[Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act|S. 453]], a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.<ref>{{cite news | first=Seth | last=Stern | title= |
In January 2007, Obama worked with Democrat [[Russ Feingold]] of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyists]] to members of Congress and require disclosure of [[Campaign finance in the United States#Bundling|bundled campaign contributions]] under the "[[Honest Leadership and Open Government Act]]," which was signed into law in September 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel | date=[[November 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feingold-obama-go-after-corporate-jet-travel-2007-11-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation | date=[[December 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-press-fec-on-bundling-regulation-2007-12-05.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | title=Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=Federal Election Commission | url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2007/20070924travel.shtml | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He introduced [[Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act|S. 453]], a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.<ref>{{cite news | first=Seth | last=Stern | title=Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | publisher=The New York Times | url=http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/31/cq_2213.html | work=CQPolitics.com | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite web | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00453: | publisher=Thomas | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | title=Honesty in Elections | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/opinion/31wed1.html | work=The New York Times | format=editorial | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with McCain of a climate change bill to reduce [[greenhouse gas]] emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting [[Coal#Liquefaction_-_Coal-To-Liquids_.28CTL.29|liquefied coal]] production.<ref>{{cite news | first=Hebert | last=H. Josef | title=Congress Begins Tackling Climate Issues | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/29/ap/politics/mainD8MV8LBG0.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Elizabeth | last=Williamson | title=The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still… Coal | date=[[January 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901503.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Obama also introduced the "[[Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007]]," a bill to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.<ref>{{cite news | first=E. Kasak | last=Krystin | title=Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home |date=[[February 7]] [[2007]] | publisher=The Times (Munster, Indiana) | url =http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/illiana/doc65cc98d8dc6506b28625727b0011edb5.txt | work=Medill News Service | accessdate=2008-04-27}} "Latest Major Action: 1/30/2007 Referred to Senate committee." {{cite web | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 | date=[[January 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00433: | publisher=Thomas | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for an official review following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.<ref>{{cite web | title=Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action | date=[[October 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=5C1EBFEB-1321-0E36-BA7D-04630AEFAD31 | publisher=Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Dine | title=Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges | date=[[December 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/srlinks.nsf/story/2E7CC823AD55667B862573A7007D12A2?OpenDocument | work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, and joined Republican [[Chuck Hagel]] of Nebraska in introducing legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.<ref>{{cite news | first=Adam | last=Graham-Silverman | title=Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran | date=[[September 12]] [[2007]] | url =http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002583189.html | work=CQ Today | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref name=ObamaSchiff>{{cite web | title=Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved | date=[[December 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071220-obama_schiff_pr/ | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> A provision from the |
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for an official review following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.<ref>{{cite web | title=Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action | date=[[October 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=5C1EBFEB-1321-0E36-BA7D-04630AEFAD31 | publisher=Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Dine | title=Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges | date=[[December 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/srlinks.nsf/story/2E7CC823AD55667B862573A7007D12A2?OpenDocument | work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, and joined Republican [[Chuck Hagel]] of Nebraska in introducing legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.<ref>{{cite news | first=Adam | last=Graham-Silverman | title=Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran | date=[[September 12]] [[2007]] | url =http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002583189.html | work=CQ Today | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref name=ObamaSchiff>{{cite web | title=Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved | date=[[December 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071220-obama_schiff_pr/ | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.<ref name=ObamaSchiff /> Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.<ref>{{cite web | title=Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members | date=[[August 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070802-senate_passes_o_1/ | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> The legislation passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, but was blocked from becoming law by President Bush in October 2007.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Stout | title=Bush Vetoes Children's Health Bill |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/washington/03cnd-veto.html |work=The New York Times | date=2007-10-03 |accessdate=2008-04-27 }} See also: {{cite news | title=Reaction to Children's Health Veto | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/03/national/w143407D40.DTL | work=Associated Press | publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2007-10-03 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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===Committees=== |
===Committees=== |
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[[Image:Lugar-Obama.jpg| |
[[Image:Lugar-Obama.jpg|thumb|thumb|right|Obama and ex-Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar visit a Russian mobile launch missile dismantling facility.<ref>{{cite web | title=Nunn-Lugar Report | date=August 2005 | publisher=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | url =http://lugar.senate.gov/nunnlugar/pdf/trip_report_2005.pdf | accessdate=2008-04-30}}</ref>]] |
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Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]], [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Environment and Public Works]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Veterans' Affairs]] through December 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20061209190827/obama.senate.gov/committees/ | format=archive | date=2006-12-09 | title=Committee Assignments | accessdate=2008-04-27 | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Obama Gets New Committee Assignments | date=[[November 15]] [[2006]] | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | url=http://obama.senate.gov/news/061115-obama_gets_new/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on [[United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs|European Affairs]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Tom | last=Baldwin | title=Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece | work=Sunday Times (UK) | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]], [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Environment and Public Works]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Veterans' Affairs]] through December 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20061209190827/obama.senate.gov/committees/ | format=archive | date=2006-12-09 | title=Committee Assignments | accessdate=2008-04-27 | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions]] and [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Obama Gets New Committee Assignments | date=[[November 15]] [[2006]] | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | url=http://obama.senate.gov/news/061115-obama_gets_new/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on [[United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs| European Affairs]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Tom | last=Baldwin | title=Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece | work=Sunday Times (UK) | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama has 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 terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christina | last=Larson | title=Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP | date=September 2006 | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.larson.html | work=Washington Monthly | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Following meetings with U.S. military in [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]] in January 2006, he visited [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], and the [[Palestinian territories]]. At a meeting with [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] students two weeks before [[Hamas]] won the legislative election, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."<ref>{{cite news | first=Chuck | last=Goudie | title=Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor | date=[[January 12]], [[2006]] | url =http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3806933 | work= |
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama has 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 terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christina | last=Larson | title=Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP | date=September 2006 | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.larson.html | work=Washington Monthly | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Following meetings with U.S. military in [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]] in January 2006, he visited [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], and the [[Palestinian territories]]. At a meeting with [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] students two weeks before [[Hamas]] won the legislative election, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."<ref>{{cite news | first=Chuck | last=Goudie | title=Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor | date=[[January 12]], [[2006]] | url =http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3806933 | work=WJLS-TV | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to [[South Africa]], [[Kenya]], [[Djibouti]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Chad]]. In a speech at the [[University of Nairobi]], he spoke about political corruption and ethnic rivalries.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud | date=[[August 28]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1989646,00.html | work=News24.com | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> The speech touched off controversy among Kenyan leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Chris | last=Wamalwa | title=Envoy Hits at Obama Over Graft Remark | date=[[September 2]], [[2006]] | url =http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957666 | work=The Standard (Nairobi) | accessdate=2008-04-27}} {{cite news | first=Vincent | last=Moracha | coauthors=Mangoa Mosota | title=Leaders Support Obama on Graft Claims | date=[[September 4]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957752 | work=The Standard (Nairobi) | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> |
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==Presidential campaign== |
==Presidential campaign== |
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{{Future election candidate|section|Obama, Barack}} |
{{Future election candidate|section|Obama, Barack}} |
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{{main|Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008}} |
{{main|Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008}} |
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[[Image:Flickr Obama Springfield 01.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign on [[February 10]], [[2007]]<ref>For other photos of this event, see: {{cite news | url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157594528136270/show/ | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | accessdate=2008-01-14 |date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | format=photo gallery | work=Barack Obama, Flickr}}</ref>]] |
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[[Image:Flickr Obama Austin 01.jpg|thumb|right|Obama supporters at a campaign rally in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Wayne | last=Slater | title=Obama Reels in Austin Crowd | date=[[February 24]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022407dntexobama.10794.html | work =Dallas Morning News | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Elliott | title=Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too | date=[[May 28]] [[2007]] | publisher=Boston Globe | url =http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/28/obama_measuring_campaign_success_not_just_in_cash_but_crowds_too/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07 }}</ref>]] |
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In February 2007, standing before the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old State Capitol]] building in [[Springfield, Illinois]], Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news | title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref> Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to [[Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln's]] 1858 [[Lincoln's House Divided Speech|House Divided]] 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."<ref>{{cite news | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | format=video | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | publisher=Brightcove.TV | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Speaking at a [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to [[negative campaigning]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/barack_obama.php |title=Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting | format=video | date=[[February 2]] [[2007]] | work=Democratic National Committee | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Full text from [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500753_pf.html CQ Transcripts Wire]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]]. See also: {{cite news | first=Paul | last=Harris | title=The Obama Revolution | date=[[February 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2005508,00.html | work=Guardian Unlimited | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Since announcing his presidential campaign Obama has emphasized ending the [[ |
In February 2007, standing before the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old State Capitol]] building in [[Springfield, Illinois]], Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news | title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref> Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to [[Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln's]] 1858 [[Lincoln's House Divided Speech|House Divided]] 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."<ref>{{cite news | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | format=video | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | publisher=Brightcove.TV | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Speaking at a [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to [[negative campaigning]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/barack_obama.php |title=Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting | format=video | date=[[February 2]] [[2007]] | work=Democratic National Committee | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Full text from [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500753_pf.html CQ Transcripts Wire]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]]. See also: {{cite news | first=Paul | last=Harris | title=The Obama Revolution | date=[[February 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2005508,00.html | work=Guardian Unlimited | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Since announcing his presidential campaign Obama has emphasized ending the [[Iraq War]], increasing [[Energy policy of the United States|energy independence]], and providing [[Universal_health_care#United_States|universal health care]] as his top three priorities.<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected? | url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/#top-priorities | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Michael | last=Falcone | title=Obama's 'One Thing' | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/obamas-one-thing/ | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-14}}</ref> |
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Obama's campaign raised $58 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Malone | title=Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination | date=[[July 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-02-voa52.cfm | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeanne | last=Cummings | title=Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook | date=[[September 26]] [[2007]] | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3ECB3515-3048-5C12-004D622CB6F4E214 | work=Politico | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.<ref>{{cite news | first=Emily | last=Cadei | title=Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002674309 | work=CQ Politics | accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref> |
Obama's campaign raised [[United States dollar|US$]]58 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.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Malone | title=Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination | date=[[July 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-02-voa52.cfm | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeanne | last=Cummings | title=Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook | date=[[September 26]] [[2007]] | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3ECB3515-3048-5C12-004D622CB6F4E214 | work=Politico | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.<ref>{{cite news | first=Emily | last=Cadei | title=Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002674309 | work=CQ Politics | accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref> Amidst concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection to Obama 18 months before the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Helen | last=Kennedy | title=Obama Gets Earliest-Ever Secret Service Detail | date=[[May 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/05/04/2007-05-04_raising_his_guard.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Barack Michelle.jpg|thumb|Barack and Michelle Obama at the Iowa caucuses, [[January 3]], [[2008]]]] |
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With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in [[Iowa]] and [[New Hampshire]], and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jay | last=Newton-Small | title=Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1677121,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}<br />{{cite news | first=Adam | last=Nagourney | coauthors=Jeff Zeleny | title=Obama Rolls Out Aggressive Approach to Clinton's Campaign | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/28/america/obama.php | work =International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Campaigning in Iowa, he told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from [[Independent (voter)|independent]] and Republican voters in the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Balz | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers | date=[[November 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802459.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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Among the first four [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008#January|DNC-sanctioned]] state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa]], [[Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008|Nevada]] and [[South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|South Carolina]] while winning an equal number in [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|New Hampshire]]. |
With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in [[Iowa]] and [[New Hampshire]], and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jay | last=Newton-Small | title=Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1677121,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}<br />{{cite news | first=Adam | last=Nagourney | coauthors=Jeff Zeleny | title=Obama Rolls Out Aggressive Approach to Clinton's Campaign | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/28/america/obama.php | work =International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Campaigning in Iowa, he told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from [[Independent (voter)|independent]] and Republican voters in the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Balz | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers | date=[[November 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802459.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Among the first four [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008#January|DNC-sanctioned]] state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa]], [[Nevada Democratic caucuses, 2008|Nevada]] and [[South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|South Carolina]] while winning an equal number in [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008|New Hampshire]]; Clinton, however, won the popular vote in Nevada and New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#IA | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Iowa | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 5]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#SC | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for South Carolina | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 22]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NH | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 10]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-01-14}}<br />{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#NV | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Nevada | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 22]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> His win in Iowa was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers, while blacks turned away from Clinton after perceived attempts by Clinton to label Obama as a racial candidate.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-what-wouldnt-clinton-do-to-secure-power-794923.html | title=Johann Hari: What wouldn't Clinton do to secure power? | work=The Independent | author=Johann Hari | date=[[March 13]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#IADEM | title=Entrance Polls: Iowa | publisher=CNN | date=[[January 3]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/1447135071.html?dids=1447135071:1447135071&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+16%2C+2008&author=MELANYE+T+PRICE&pub=Hartford+Courant&edition=&startpage=C.1&desc=WHAT+OBAMA+MEANS |format=paid archive | title=What Obama Means | work=Hartford Courant | author=Melanye T. Price | date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}} See also: {{cite news | first=James | last=Montgomery | coauthors=Kim Stolz | title=Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus Wins Are Largely Thanks To Young Voters | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579042/20080104/index.jhtml | work=MTV | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Trailing Clinton nationally by 20% heading into the February [[Super Tuesday, 2008|Super Tuesday]], he eliminated that lead and emerged with another 20 more delegates than Clinton.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_delegate_count.html | title=2008 Democratic Delegates | work=RealClearPolitics | accessdate=2008-03-25}}</ref> He broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising more than $90 million for his primary campaign while Clinton raised $45 million in the same period.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-money7mar07,1,5383518.story | title=Obama sets fundraising record with $55 million | work=Los Angeles Times | author=Dan Morain | date=[[March 7]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/make-that-11-for-obama/ |title=Make That 11 for Obama | author=Brian Knowlton | work=The New York Times | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> He then won the [[Vermont Democratic primary, 2008|Vermont primary]] and the caucus portion of [[Texas Democratic primary and caucuses, 2008|Texas primary and caucuses]], but lost the [[Ohio Democratic primary, 2008|Ohio]], [[Rhode Island Democratic primary, 2008|Rhode Island]], and Texas primary elections to Clinton.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/dates/index.html#val=20080304 | title=Results: March 4 - Multi-State Events | publisher=[[CNN]] | date=2008-03-04 | accessdate=2008-03-04}}</ref> |
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In March 2008, a [[Jeremiah Wright controversy|controversy]] broke out concerning Obama's former pastor of 23 years, [[Jeremiah Wright]].<ref name="Obama's Pastor">{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 | title=Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 | author=Brian Ross | coauthors=Rehab el-Buri|publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[March 13]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-17}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/for-the-record.html | title=For The Record | work=The Daily Dish | publisher=''The Atlantic'' |date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18 | last=Sullivan | first=Andrew}}</ref> After ABC News broadcast [[Media clip|clips]] of his racially and politically charged sermons,<ref name="Obama's Pastor" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/14/obamas-spiritual-adviser-questioned-us-role-in-spread-of-hiv-sept-11-attacks/ | title=Obama's Pastor's Sermon: 'God Damn America' | publisher=FOXNews | author=Jeff Goldblatt | date=[[March 14]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks and ending Wright's relationship with the campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23634881/ |title=Controversial minister leaves Obama campaign | publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-04-28|first=Alex|last=Johnson}}</ref> Obama delivered a speech, during the controversy, entitled "[[A More Perfect Union (speech)|A More Perfect Union]]"<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0319/p25s01-uspo.html | title=Remarks by Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union' | author=Barack Obama | work=The Christian Science Monitor | date=[[March 18]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> that addressed issues of race. After Wright reiterated some of his remarks in a speech at the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us/politics/28text-wright.html | title=Reverend Wright at the National Press Club | publisher=The New York Times | work=CQ Transcriptions | date=[[April 28]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-05-14}}</ref> Obama strongly denounced Wright, who he said "[presented] a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24371827 | title=Obama denounces former pastor | publisher=MSNBC.com | accessdate=2008-05-14 | date=[[April 29]], [[2008]] | work=The Associated Press}}</ref> Obama resigned from Trinity on [[May 31]], [[2008]], after Catholic priest [[Michael Pfleger]] gave a guest oratory that disparaged Hillary Clinton. Obama stated his resignation was to avoid an impression that he endorsed the entire range of opinions expressed at that church.<ref> {{cite news | url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-from-controversial-church/ | title =Obama resigns from controversial church | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-05-31 |date=[[May 31]] [[2008]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24908975/ | title =Obama quits church after long controversy | publisher=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-06-05 | date=[[June 1]] [[2008]]}}</ref> |
In March 2008, a [[Jeremiah Wright controversy|controversy]] broke out concerning Obama's former pastor of 23 years, [[Jeremiah Wright]].<ref name="Obama's Pastor">{{cite news | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 | title=Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 | author=Brian Ross | coauthors=Rehab el-Buri|publisher=''[[ABC News]]'' | date=[[March 13]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-17}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/03/for-the-record.html | title=For The Record | work=The Daily Dish | publisher=''The Atlantic'' |date=[[March 16]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18 | last=Sullivan | first=Andrew}}</ref> After ABC News broadcast [[Media clip|clips]] of his racially and politically charged sermons,<ref name="Obama's Pastor" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/14/obamas-spiritual-adviser-questioned-us-role-in-spread-of-hiv-sept-11-attacks/ | title=Obama's Pastor's Sermon: 'God Damn America' | publisher=FOXNews | author=Jeff Goldblatt | date=[[March 14]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-04}}</ref> Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks and ending Wright's relationship with the campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23634881/ |title=Controversial minister leaves Obama campaign | publisher=[[MSNBC]]|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-04-28|first=Alex|last=Johnson}}</ref> Obama delivered a speech, during the controversy, entitled "[[A More Perfect Union (speech)|A More Perfect Union]]"<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0319/p25s01-uspo.html | title=Remarks by Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union' | author=Barack Obama | work=The Christian Science Monitor | date=[[March 18]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> that addressed issues of race. After Wright reiterated some of his remarks in a speech at the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us/politics/28text-wright.html | title=Reverend Wright at the National Press Club | publisher=The New York Times | work=CQ Transcriptions | date=[[April 28]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-05-14}}</ref> Obama strongly denounced Wright, who he said "[presented] a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24371827 | title=Obama denounces former pastor | publisher=MSNBC.com | accessdate=2008-05-14 | date=[[April 29]], [[2008]] | work=The Associated Press}}</ref> Obama resigned from Trinity on [[May 31]], [[2008]], after Catholic priest [[Michael Pfleger]] gave a guest oratory that disparaged Hillary Clinton. Obama stated his resignation was to avoid an impression that he endorsed the entire range of opinions expressed at that church.<ref> {{cite news | url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-from-controversial-church/ | title =Obama resigns from controversial church | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-05-31 |date=[[May 31]] [[2008]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24908975/ | title =Obama quits church after long controversy | publisher=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-06-05 | date=[[June 1]] [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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==Political positions== |
==Political positions== |
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{{see also|Political positions of Barack Obama}} |
{{see also|Political positions of Barack Obama}} |
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On the role of government in economic 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|upward mobility]] [...] we should be guided by what works."<ref>Obama (2006), p. 159.</ref> Speaking before the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for [[Social Security debate (United States)|Social Security]] with [[social Darwinism]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben A | last=Franklin | title=The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon | date=[[June 1]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20050601obama_1.cfm | work =Washington Spectator | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }}</ref> In the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]], Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the [[social safety net]] for the poor.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume | date=[[September 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509120140sep12,1,5984193.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group [[Families USA]] that he supports |
On the role of government in economic 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|upward mobility]] [...] we should be guided by what works."<ref>Obama (2006), p. 159.</ref> Speaking before the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for [[Social Security debate (United States)|Social Security]] with [[social Darwinism]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben A | last=Franklin | title=The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon | date=[[June 1]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20050601obama_1.cfm | work =Washington Spectator | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }}</ref> In the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]], Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the [[social safety net]] for the poor.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume | date=[[September 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509120140sep12,1,5984193.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group [[Families USA]] that he supports universal healthcare in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nedra | last=Pickler | title=Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years | date=[[January 25]] [[2007]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070125-1240-democrats-healthcare.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. {{cite news | first=Karen | last=Tumulty | title=Obama Channels Hillary on Health Care | date=[[May 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1626105,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite web | url=http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/ | title=Creating a Healthcare System that Works | accessdate=2008-01-14 | publisher=BarackObama.com }}</ref> |
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[[Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg|thumb| |
[[Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Obama speaking at a rally in [[Conway, South Carolina|Conway]], [[South Carolina]] on [[August 23]] [[2007]]<ref>{{cite news | title=Rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC | format=video | date=[[August 23]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1155183011&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | publisher=Brightcove.TV | accessdate=2008-02-17}}</ref>]] |
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''[[Congressional Quarterly|CQ Weekly]]'', a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007, and the ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007, 10th for 2006, and 16th for 2005.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Nather | title=The Space Between Clinton and Obama | date=[[January 14]] [[2008]] | url=http://public.cq.com/docs/cqw/weeklyreport110-000002654703.html | work=CQ Weekly | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=Tom | last=Curry | title=What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal | date=[[February 21]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23276453/ | work=MSNBC | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings| title=Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007 | work=National Journal | date=[[January 31]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Asked about the ''Journal'''s characterization of his voting record, Obama expressed doubts about the survey's methodology, blaming "old politics" labeling of political positions as "conservative" or "liberal" for creating predispositions that prevent problem-solving.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Interview | format=transcript | date=[[February 12]] [[2008]] | publisher=Politico | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0B213312-3048-5C12-000E0262A76D6B18 | work=WJLA-TV | accessdate=2008-04-27}} See also: {{cite news | first=[[Robin]] | last=[[Toner]] | title=Obama's Promise of a New Majority | date=[[March 23]] [[2008]] | publisher=also [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/us/politics/25obama.html NYT version] (published [[2008-03-25]]) | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/23/america/liberal.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-30}}</ref> A standard method that political scientists use for gauging ideology is to compare the annual ratings by the [[Americans for Democratic Action]] (ADA) with the ratings by the [[American Conservative Union]] (ACU).<ref>Mayer, William. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28761-2004Mar27?language=printer "Kerry's Record Rings a Bell"], ''Washington Post'', ([[2004-03-28]]): "The question of how to measure a senator's or representative's ideology is one that political scientists regularly need to answer. For more than 30 years, the standard method for gauging ideology has been to use the annual ratings of lawmakers' votes by various interest groups, notably the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the American Conservative Union (ACU)." Retrieved [[2008-06-07]].</ref> Based on his years in Congress (i.e. 2005, 2006, and 2007), Senator Obama has a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU,<ref>[http://www.acuratings.org/2005senate.htm "2005 U.S. Senate Votes"], American Conservative Union; [http://www.acuratings.org/2006senate.htm "2006 U.S. Senate Votes"], American Conservative Union; [http://www.acuratings.org/2007senate.htm "2007 U.S. Senate Votes"], American Conservative Union. Retrieved [[2008-06-07]].</ref> and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA.<ref>[http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2005.pdf "ADA's 2005 Congressional Voting Record"], Americans for Democratic Action; [http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2006.pdf "ADA's 2006 Congressional Voting Record"], Americans for Democratic Action; [http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/2007.pdf "ADA's 2007 Congressional Voting Record"], Americans for Democratic Action. Retrieved [[2008-06-07]].</ref> |
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Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Schoenberg | title=Obama Shares School Plan | date=[[November 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS01/711210347/1043 | work=Concord Monitor | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama's campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional [[merit pay]] systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the [[collective bargaining]] process.<ref>{{cite news | first=Teddy | last=Davis | coauthors=Sunlen Miller | title=Obama Bucks Party Line on Education | date=[[November 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3894699 | publisher=ABC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Schoenberg | title=Obama Shares School Plan | date=[[November 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS01/711210347/1043 | work=Concord Monitor | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama's campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional [[merit pay]] systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the [[collective bargaining]] process.<ref>{{cite news | first=Teddy | last=Davis | coauthors=Sunlen Miller | title=Obama Bucks Party Line on Education | date=[[November 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3894699 | publisher=ABC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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At the [[Tax Policy Center]] in September 2007, he blamed [[interest group|special interests]] for distorting the [[taxation in the United States|U.S. tax code]].<ref>{{cite news | title=A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/events/obama.cfm | publisher=Tax Policy Center | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,<ref>{{citenews | title=Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy | date=[[August 13]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/16/politics/main636398.shtml | publisher=CBS | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref> close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore [[tax haven]]s, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/18/obama.taxplan/ | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a [[emissions trading|cap and trade]] auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay | date=[[October 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no [[grandfathering]] of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf|title=The Blueprint for Change: Barack Obama's plan for America|author=Barack Obama|accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> |
At the [[Tax Policy Center]] in September 2007, he blamed [[interest group|special interests]] for distorting the [[taxation in the United States|U.S. tax code]].<ref>{{cite news | title=A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/events/obama.cfm | publisher=Tax Policy Center | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,<ref>{{citenews | title=Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy | date=[[August 13]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/16/politics/main636398.shtml | publisher=CBS | accessdate=2008-04-05}}</ref> close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore [[tax haven]]s, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the [[Internal Revenue Service| IRS]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/18/obama.taxplan/ | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a [[emissions trading|cap and trade]] auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay | date=[[October 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no [[grandfathering]] of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf|title=The Blueprint for Change: Barack Obama's plan for America|author=Barack Obama|accessdate=2008-04-20}}</ref> |
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Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.<!-- |
Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.<!-- |
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--><ref>{{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[September 26]] [[2002]] |work=[[Chicago Defender]] |page=1 |title=Opposition to war mounts |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220062931.html |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> On [[October 2]], [[2002]], the day |
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[September 26]] [[2002]] |work=[[Chicago Defender]] |page=1 |title=Opposition to war mounts |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220062931.html |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> On [[October 2]], [[2002]], the day [[George W. Bush|Bush]] and [[United States Congress|Congress]] agreed on the [[Iraq Resolution|joint resolution]] authorizing the Iraq War,<!-- |
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--><ref>{{cite web |author=[[White House Press Secretary|Office of the Press Secretary]] |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |title=President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution |publisher=[[Executive Office of the President of the United States|The White House]] |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Tackett, Michael |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=Bush, House OK Iraq deal; Congress marches with Bush |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569641.html?dids=203569641:203569641&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago [[Protests against the Iraq War|anti-Iraq War rally]] in [[Kluczynski Federal Building|Federal Plaza]],<!-- |
--><ref>{{cite web |author=[[White House Press Secretary|Office of the Press Secretary]] |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |title=President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution |publisher=[[Executive Office of the President of the United States|The White House]] |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Tackett, Michael |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=Bush, House OK Iraq deal; Congress marches with Bush |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569641.html?dids=203569641:203569641&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago [[Protests against the Iraq War|anti-Iraq War rally]] in [[Kluczynski Federal Building|Federal Plaza]],<!-- |
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--><ref>{{cite news |author=Glauber, Bill |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=War protesters gentler, but passion still burns |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569621.html?dids=203569621:203569621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Defender |page=1 |title=War with Iraq undermines U.N. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220379051.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Bryant, Greg |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |publisher=[[Medill School of Journalism#Medill News Service - Chicago|Medill News Service]] |title=300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq |url=http://mesh.medill.northwestern.edu/mnschicago/archives/2002/10/300_protesters.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite web |author=Katz, Marilyn |date=[[October 2]] [[2007]] |title=Five Years Since Our First Action |publisher=Chicagoans Against War & Injustice |url=http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?p=127 |accessdate=2008-02-17}} Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177.</ref> speaking out against |
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Glauber, Bill |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=1 |title=War protesters gentler, but passion still burns |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/203569621.html?dids=203569621:203569621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Strausberg, Chinta |date=[[October 3]] [[2002]] |work=Chicago Defender |page=1 |title=War with Iraq undermines U.N. |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-220379051.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite news |author=Bryant, Greg |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |publisher=[[Medill School of Journalism#Medill News Service - Chicago|Medill News Service]] |title=300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq |url=http://mesh.medill.northwestern.edu/mnschicago/archives/2002/10/300_protesters.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}} {{cite web |author=Katz, Marilyn |date=[[October 2]] [[2007]] |title=Five Years Since Our First Action |publisher=Chicagoans Against War & Injustice |url=http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?p=127 |accessdate=2008-02-17}} Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177.</ref> speaking out against it.<ref>{{cite news |author=Obama, Barack |date=[[October 2]] [[2002]] |title=Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq |url=http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php |publisher=BarackObama.com |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> |
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On [[March 16]], [[2003]], the day President Bush issued his 48-hour [[ultimatum]] to [[Saddam Hussein]] to leave Iraq before the U.S. [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]],<!-- |
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--><ref>{{cite web |author=Office of the Press Secretary |date=[[March 16]] [[2003]] |title=President Bush: Monday "Moment of Truth" for World on Iraq |publisher=The White House |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030316-3.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Associated Press |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=1 |title='Moment of truth for the world'; Bush, three allies set today as final day for Iraq to disarm or face massive military attack |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in [[Richard J. Daley Center|Daley Plaza]] and told the crowd "It's not too late" to stop the war.<!-- |
--><ref>{{cite web |author=Office of the Press Secretary |date=[[March 16]] [[2003]] |title=President Bush: Monday "Moment of Truth" for World on Iraq |publisher=The White House |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030316-3.html |accessdate=2008-02-17}} {{cite news |author=Associated Press |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=1 |title='Moment of truth for the world'; Bush, three allies set today as final day for Iraq to disarm or face massive military attack |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Moment%20of%20truth%20for%20the%20world)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in [[Richard J. Daley Center|Daley Plaza]] and told the crowd "It's not too late" to stop the war.<!-- |
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--><ref>{{cite news |author=Ritter, Jim |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=3 |title=Anti-war rally here draws thousands |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> |
--><ref>{{cite news |author=Ritter, Jim |date=[[March 17]] [[2003]] |work=Chicago Sun-Times |page=3 |title=Anti-war rally here draws thousands |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=headline(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=title&p_text_advanced-0=(Anti-war%20rally%20here%20draws%20thousands)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> |
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--><ref>{{cite news |author=McCormick, John; Dorning, Mike |date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=7 |title=Obama marks '02 war speech - Contender highlights his early opposition in effort to distinguish him from his rivals |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1351610621.html?dids=1351610621:1351610621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> |
--><ref>{{cite news |author=McCormick, John; Dorning, Mike |date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] |work=Chicago Tribune |page=7 |title=Obama marks '02 war speech - Contender highlights his early opposition in effort to distinguish him from his rivals |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1351610621.html?dids=1351610621:1351610621&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |format=paid archive |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Capital building and darfur rally.JPG|right|thumb|Obama addressing the Save Darfur rally at the [[National Mall]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] on [[April 30]] [[2006]]<ref>{{cite news | first=Kasie | last=Hunt | title=Celebrities, Activists Rally Against Darfur Genocide | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-30-darfurrally_x.htm | work =USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For excerpts from Obama's speech, see: {{cite news | title=More Must Be Done in Darfur | date=[[April 30]] [[2006]] | url=http://blog.thehill.com/2006/04/30/more-must-be-done-in-darfur/ | work =The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>]] |
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[[Image:Barack Obama in New Hampshire.jpg|left|thumb|Obama taking questions from a crowd in [[New Hampshire]]]] |
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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]].<ref>For audio and text, see: {{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=A Way Forward in Iraq | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/hottopics_details.php?hottopics_id=52 | publisher=Chicago Council on Global Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In a March 2007 speech to [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee|AIPAC]], a [[Israel lobby in the United States|pro-Israel lobby]], he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action.<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/speech/070302-aipac_policy_fo/index.php | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-30}} For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: {{cite news | last=Mendell | first=David | title=Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran | format=paid archive | date=[[September 25]] [[2004]] | publisher= |
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]].<ref>For audio and text, see: {{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=A Way Forward in Iraq | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/hottopics_details.php?hottopics_id=52 | publisher=Chicago Council on Global Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In a March 2007 speech to [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee|AIPAC]], a [[Israel lobby in the United States|pro-Israel lobby]], he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action.<ref>{{cite web | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/speech/070302-aipac_policy_fo/index.php | publisher=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-30}} For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: {{cite news | last=Mendell | first=David | title=Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran | format=paid archive | date=[[September 25]] [[2004]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/699578571.html?dids=699578571:699578571&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Detailing his strategy for fighting global terrorism in August 2007, Obama said "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan's [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]]. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity, even without the support of the Pakistani government.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Warns Pakistan on Al-Qaeda | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6926663.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For video and text of the speech, see: {{cite news | title=Policy Address on Terrorism by The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event&event_id=269510 | work=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | accessdate=2008-01-30}} For details of the aborted 2005 military operation, see {{cite news | first=Mark | last=Mazzetti | title=Rumsfeld Called Off 2005 Plan to Capture Top Qaeda Figures | date=[[July 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/qaeda.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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In a December 2005 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, and at the [[Save Darfur Coalition|Save Darfur]] rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose [[genocide]] in the [[War in Darfur|Darfur region]] of [[Sudan]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | coauthors=Sam Brownback | title=Policy Adrift on Darfur | date=[[December 27]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600547.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Jim | last=Doyle | title=Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/01/MNGFBIIFOA1.DTL | work=San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He has [[divestment|divested]] $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Kuhnhenn | title=Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | publisher= |
In a December 2005 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, and at the [[Save Darfur Coalition|Save Darfur]] rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose [[genocide]] in the [[War in Darfur|Darfur region]] of [[Sudan]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | coauthors=Sam Brownback | title=Policy Adrift on Darfur | date=[[December 27]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600547.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Jim | last=Doyle | title=Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/01/MNGFBIIFOA1.DTL | work=San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He has [[divestment|divested]] $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Kuhnhenn | title=Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=SFGate.com | url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/17/politics/p171906D95.DTL | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Hit Iran Where It Hurts | date=[[August 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/08/30/2007-08-30_hit_iran_where_it_hurts.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Renewing American Leadership | date=July–August 2007 | url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html | work=Foreign Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]] and other religious |
Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]] and other religious people.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Lerner | title=U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia | date=[[July 3]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2006-07-02.3949597607 | work=Tikkun Magazine | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/194/story_19473_1.html | title=Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | work=Beliefnet | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2006, he joined Sen. [[Sam Brownback]] (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on [[AIDS]] and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and [[Rick Warren]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Manda | last=Gibson | title=At Global AIDS Summit, Churches Challenged to Take the Lead | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/HIVAIDSCommunity/StartingAMinistry/churches_challenged_to_take_the_lead.htm | work=PurposeDriven.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.<ref>{{cite news | title=Screaming Crowds Welcome U.S. Senator 'Home' | date=[[August 27]], [[2006]] | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/26/kenya.obama/index.html | publisher=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" and not be ashamed of it.<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Race Against Time—World AIDS Day Speech | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://obama.senate.gov/speech/061201-race_against_time_-_world_aids_day_speech/index.html | work=Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an [[open letter]] stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear [[Pro-life#Term controversy|pro-death]] stance and invite him to [[Saddleback Church]] anyway."<ref> {{cite news | title=Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups | date=[[November 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/791771591.html | work=Christian Newswire Press Release | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Van Biema | title=The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1565076,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked' | date=[[June 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/24/politics/main2971556.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Brody | title=Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204016.aspx | work=Christian Broadcasting Network | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> |
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Obama made several statements in a campaign video released in October 2007 related to defense spending and nuclear weapons. In addition to promising to end the war in Iraq, Obama stated that he will enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars. He stated that he will stop investing in missile defense systems, that he will not weaponize space, that he will "slow development of future combat systems," and that he would work towards a world without nuclear weapons. To achieve this goal, Obama wishes to end development of new nuclear weapons, to reduce the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, to enact a global ban on production of fissile material, and to seek negotiations with Russia in order to take [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBMs]] off high alert status.<ref>{{cite video |people=Barack Obama |date2=2007-10-22 |title=Obama-Caucus4Priorities |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o84PE871BE |format=flv |publisher=Obama '08 |accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref> |
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Obama is a sponsor of the [[Global Poverty Act]], which "requires the President to develop and implement a comprehensive policy to cut extreme global poverty in half by 2015 through aid, trade, debt relief, and coordination with the international community, businesses and [[NGO | NGOs]]."<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama, Hagel, Cantwell Introduce Bill to Fight Global Poverty | date=[[December 11]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071211-obama_hagel_can/ }}</ref> The legislation, if approved, dedicates 0.7 percent of the U.S. gross national product to foreign aid, which over 13 years he said would amount to $845 billion over and above what the U.S. already spends.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=22&num=18845 | title=Barack Obama's Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote | date= February 12, 2008 | publisher = National Ledger | author = Cliff Kincaid}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Obama met his wife, Michelle Robinson, in June 1989 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of [[Sidley Austin|Sidley & Austin]].<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: {{cite news | first=Sarah | last=Brown | title=Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act | date=[[December 7]] [[2005]] | work=Daily Princetonian | url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/12/07/news/14049.shtml | accessdate=2008-04-28}} {{cite news | first=Eric | last=Tucker | title=Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama | date=[[March 1]] [[2007]] | publisher=ABC News | url =http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2916437 | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date.<ref>Obama (2006), p. 329.</ref> They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on [[October 3]], [[1992]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet' | date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/585261,CST-NWS-wedding03.stng | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.<ref>Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: {{cite web | title=Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama | url=http://www.gannettnewsservice.com/?cat=153 | work=Gannett News Service | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
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Obama grew up with his half-sister [[Maya Soetoro-Ng|Maya Kassandra Soetoro]], the daughter his mother had with her second husband. Obama also has seven other half-siblings; his father had six other sons and one daughter.<ref name="Auma">{{cite news | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545465,BSX-News-wotreew09.article | title=AUMA OBAMA:Her restlessness, her independence | author=Scott Fornek | publisher=''Chicago Sun Times'' | date=2007-09-09|accessdate=2008-03-23}}</ref> His biological parents and his one time step-father are no longer living. |
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[[Image:BarackObama-Basketball.JPEG|thumb|right|upright|Obama rebounding the ball during a basketball game with U.S. military from [[Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa|CJTF–HOA]] during his visit at [[Camp Lemonier]], Djibouti, on [[August 31]] [[2006]]<ref>{{cite news | title=Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August—1 September 2006 | format=video | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | publisher=YouTube | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9GqdzQeCz0 | work =Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref>]] |
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Obama met his wife, [[Michelle Obama|Michelle Robinson]], in June 1989 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of [[Sidley Austin]].<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: {{cite news | first=Sarah | last=Brown | title=Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act | date=[[December 7]] [[2005]] | work=Daily Princetonian | url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/12/07/news/14049.shtml | accessdate=2008-04-28}} {{cite news | first=Eric | last=Tucker | title=Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama | date=[[March 1]] [[2007]] | publisher=ABC News | url =http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2916437 | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date.<ref>Obama (2006), p. 329.</ref> They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on [[October 3]], [[1992]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet' | date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/585261,CST-NWS-wedding03.stng | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.<ref>Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: {{cite web | title=Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama | url=http://www.gannettnewsservice.com/?cat=153 | work=Gannett News Service | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
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Applying the proceeds of a $2 million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]], Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring [[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year | date=[[December 24]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051224obama,1,1815354.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of well-connected developer, and Obama supporter, [[Tony Rezko]], provoking continued media scrutiny of Obama and his relationship with Rezko.<ref>{{cite news | author=Slevin, Peter | title=Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser | date=[[December 17]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2007, ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama's Money | date=[[December 7]] [[2007]] | url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/5.html | publisher=CNNMoney.com | accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also: |
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[[Image:BarackObama-Basketball.JPEG|thumb|right|upright|Obama playing basketball with U.S. military in Djibouti in 2006<ref>{{cite news | title=Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August—1 September 2006 | format=video | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | publisher=YouTube | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9GqdzQeCz0 | work =Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref>]] |
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Applying the proceeds of a book deal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-obama-rezkomar15,0,4474107,full.story|title=Obama: I trusted Rezko|date=2008-03-15}}</ref> the family moved in 2005 from a [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]], Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring [[Kenwood, Chicago|Kenwood]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year | date=[[December 24]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051224obama,1,1815354.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of developer [[Tony Rezko]], a fundraiser for several prominent Illinois politicians from both major political parties<ref>[http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/donor_lookup.php?name=Rezko OpenSecrets FEC filing information]</ref>, and the transaction later drew scrutiny from news outlets over Obama's dealings with Rezko. While Obama was never accused of wrongdoing, Rezko was under investigation for and later convicted of unrelated corruption charges, and Obama donated $150,000 in Rezko-linked campaign contributions to charity.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html | title=Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser | work=The Washington Post | date=[[December 17]], [[2006]] | accessdate=2008-06-10| last=Slevin | first=Peter}}</ref> In December 2007, ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama's Money | date=[[December 7]] [[2007]] | url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/5.html | publisher=CNNMoney.com | accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also: |
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{{cite news | first=Zachary A | last=Goldfarb | title=Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates | date=[[March 24]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from sales of his books.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zelany | title=Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/politics/17obama.html | date=[[April 17]] [[2008]] | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
{{cite news | first=Zachary A | last=Goldfarb | title=Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates | date=[[March 24]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from sales of his books.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zelany | title=Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/politics/17obama.html | date=[[April 17]] [[2008]] | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
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Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow | date=[[June 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/politics/01hoops.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also: {{cite news | title=The Love of the Game | format=video | date=[[April 15]] [[2008]] | publisher=YouTube (BarackObama.com) | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Lqm5emQl4 | work=[http://www.hbo.com/realsports/stories/2008/episode.133.s1.html HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel] | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. "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 do not succumb. I've been chewing [[Nicorette]] strenuously."<ref> {{cite news | first=Christi | last=Parsons | title=Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-28}} </ref> Replying to an ''Associated Press'' survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook.<ref>{{cite news | title=Questions for the Candidates | date=[[May 15]] [[2007]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-05-17-2380332271_x.htm | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."<ref>{{cite news | title=Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CNN | url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/24/obama.poker.ap/index.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow | date=[[June 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/politics/01hoops.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-28}} See also: {{cite news | title=The Love of the Game | format=video | date=[[April 15]] [[2008]] | publisher=YouTube (BarackObama.com) | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Lqm5emQl4 | work=[http://www.hbo.com/realsports/stories/2008/episode.133.s1.html HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel] | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. "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 do not succumb. I've been chewing [[Nicorette]] strenuously."<ref> {{cite news | first=Christi | last=Parsons | title=Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-28}} </ref> Replying to an ''Associated Press'' survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook.<ref>{{cite news | title=Questions for the Candidates | date=[[May 15]] [[2007]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-05-17-2380332271_x.htm | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."<ref>{{cite news | title=Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CNN | url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/24/obama.poker.ap/index.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> |
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In ''The Audacity of Hope'', Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his |
In ''The Audacity of Hope'', 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 stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." In the book, Obama explains how, through working with [[black church]]es as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=My Spiritual Journey | date=[[October 23]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> He has been a member of Chicago's [[Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago|Trinity United Church of Christ]] since 1992.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24371827/ | title=Obama denounces former pastor | publisher=MSNBC.com | work=The Associated Press | date=[[April 29]], [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref> |
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| url = http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/ |
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| title = 'Call to Renewal' Keynote Address |
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| accessdate = |
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| accessmonthday = June 16 |
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| accessyear = 2008 |
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| author = |
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| last = Obama |
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| first = Barack |
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| date = June 28, 2006 |
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| year = 2006 |
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| month = June 28 |
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| work = Barack Obama: U.S. Senator for Illinois (website) |
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}}</ref> |
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==Books== |
==Books== |
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Obama's first book, ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'', was published before his first run for political office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. The book's last few chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] family and heritage. In the 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."<ref>Obama (1995), p. vii.</ref> In a 1995 review, novelist [[Paul Watkins (novelist)|Paul Watkins]] wrote that ''Dreams'' "persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither."<ref>{{cite news | first=Ihsan | last=Taylor | title=New & Noteworthy Paperbacks | date=[[August 29]] [[2004]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E1DE163EF93AA1575BC0A9629C8B63 | work =The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-09}}</ref> The [[audiobook]] edition earned Obama the [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]] of 2006.<ref name=Grammys>{{cite news | title=Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book | date=[[February 10]], [[2008]] | publisher=KVOA.com | url=http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7850708&nav=HMO6HMaY | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> |
Obama's first book, ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'', was published before his first run for political office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. The book's last few chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] family and heritage. In the 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."<ref>Obama (1995), p. vii.</ref> In a 1995 review, novelist [[Paul Watkins (novelist)|Paul Watkins]] wrote that ''Dreams'' "persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither."<ref>{{cite news | first=Ihsan | last=Taylor | title=New & Noteworthy Paperbacks | date=[[August 29]] [[2004]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E1DE163EF93AA1575BC0A9629C8B63 | work =The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-09}}</ref> The [[audiobook]] edition earned Obama the [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]] of 2006.<ref name=Grammys>{{cite news | title=Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book | date=[[February 10]], [[2008]] | publisher=KVOA.com | url=http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=7850708&nav=HMO6HMaY | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> |
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His second book, ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', was published in October 2006 and soon rose to the top of the [[New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' Best Seller]] hardcover list.<ref>{{cite news | first=Julie | last=Bosman | title= |
His second book, ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', was published in October 2006 and soon rose to the top of the [[New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' Best Seller]] hardcover list.<ref>{{cite news | first=Julie | last=Bosman | title=Obama’s New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller | date=[[November 9]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/books/09obam.html | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}} The paperback edition currently ranks fourth on ''The New York Times'' nonfiction list. {{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/index.html |title=Best Sellers |work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> The ''Chicago Tribune'' credits large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president.<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | coauthors= Christi Parsons | title=Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand' | date=[[June 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-obama_senate_recordjun12,1,48733.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> Former U.S. presidential candidate [[Gary Hart]] said the book's self-portrayal 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Hart | title=American Idol | date=[[December 24]] [[2006]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E1D61531F937A15751C1A9609C8B63 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Tomasky | title=The Phenomenon | date=[[November 30]] [[2006]] | publisher=Internet Archive | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070401154934/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19651 | work=New York Review of Books | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> In February 2008, he won a [[Grammy Award|Grammy award]] for the spoken word edition of ''Audacity''.<ref name=Grammys /> Foreign language editions of the book have been published in Italian, Spanish, German, French, Danish and Greek.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nick | last=Malkoutzis | title=Obama's Audacious Vision | date=[[March 27]] [[2008]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus | url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_civ_1_27/03/2008_94776 | work=Kathimerini English Edition | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> The [[Italian language|Italian]] edition was published in April 2007 with a preface by [[Walter Veltroni]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://libreriarizzoli.corriere.it/libro/obama_barack-audacia_della_speranza_l.aspx?ean=9788817016582 | title= L'audacia della speranza | publisher=Libreria Rizzoli | accessdate=2008-03-18 | language=Italian}}</ref> former Mayor of [[Rome]], currently leader of [[Italy]]'s [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] and one of Obama's earliest supporters overseas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2005/aprile/30/politico_prevale_sull_amministratore_co_10_050430003.shtml | title=Il politico prevale sull' amministratore | publisher=Corriere della Sera | date=[[April 30]] [[2005]] | accessdate=2008-03-18 | language=Italian}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-eurobama25feb25,1,5411037.story?track=rss | title=Obama's European counterparts | work=Los Angeles Times | author=Tracy Wilkinson | date=[[February 25]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-03-18}}</ref> |
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==Cultural and political image== |
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[[Image:Flickr Obama Austin 01.jpg|thumb|right|Obama supporters at a campaign rally in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]], on [[February 23]] [[2007]]<ref>{{cite news | first=Wayne | last=Slater | title=Obama Reels in Austin Crowd | date=[[February 24]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022407dntexobama.10794.html | work =Dallas Morning News | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Elliott | title=Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too | date=[[May 28]], [[2007]] | publisher=Boston Globe | url =http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/28/obama_measuring_campaign_success_not_just_in_cash_but_crowds_too/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07 }}</ref>]] |
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Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural [[Rorschach inkblot test|Rorschach test]], a neutral persona on whom people can project their personal histories and aspirations.<ref name='ref name=Enda2006'>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10828 | work =The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Garrett M | last=Graff | title= The Legend of Barack Obama | date=[[November 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1836.html | work =Washingtonian | accessdate = 2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=John | last=Podhoretz | title=Obama: Rorschach Candidate | date=[[December 12]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama__rorschach_candidate_opedcolumnists_john_podhoretz.htm?page=0 | work=New York Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' magazine article described as his "[[everyman]]" image.<ref>{{cite news | last=Finnegan | first=William | title=The Candidate: How the Son of a Kenyan Economist Became an Illinois Everyman | date=[[24 May]] [[2004]] | publisher=New Yorker | url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/040531fa_fact1 |accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jonathan | last=Tilove | title=In Obama Candidacy, America Examines Itself | date=[[February 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1170922945129720.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 | work=Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> In ''Dreams from My Father'', he ties his maternal family history to possible [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestors and distant relatives of [[Jefferson Davis]], president of the southern [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>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| Harry Truman]], see: {{cite news | first=David | last=Nitkin | coauthors=Harry Merritt | title=A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/bal-te.obama02mar02,0,3453027.story | work =Baltimore Sun | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Mary | last=Jordan | title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own | date=[[May 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07 }} {{cite news | title=Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises | date=[[September 8]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS 2 (Chicago) | url =http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Barack.Obama.family.2.339709.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-04-07}} |
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</ref> Speaking to [[Jew]]ish audiences during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked the linguistic root of his [[East Africa]]n first name ''Barack'' to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''[[baruch]]'', meaning "blessed."<ref>{{cite news | first=Harold | last=Brackman | title=Obama and the Jews | date=[[March 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=17348 | work=Jewish Journal | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> 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."<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200610/20061018/slide_20061018_284_110.jhtml |title=Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First | date=[[October 18]] [[2006]] | work=The Oprah Winfrey Show | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> |
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With his Kenyan father and American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his [[Ivy League]] 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)|civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Wallace-Wells | first=Benjamin | title=The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama? | date=November 2004 | work =Washington Monthly | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0411.wallace-wells.html |accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line | date=[[December 28]], [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/28/america/obama.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> 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|Salon]]'', "erases the significance of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] and continuing [[Racism in the United States|racism]] while giving the appearance of progress."<ref>{{cite news | first=Debra J | last=Dickerson | title=Colorblind | date= [[January 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/index_np.html | work=Salon | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: {{cite news | first=Gary | last=Younge | title=Obama: Black Like Me | date=posted [[October 27]] [[2006]] ([[November 13]] [[2006]] issue) | url =http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061113/younge | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Stanley | last=Crouch | title=What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me | date=[[November 2]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-04-07 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308142850/www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}} {{cite news | first=Laura | last=Washington | title=Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'? | date=[[January 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obamacommentary/193216,CST-EDT-LAURA01.article | work =Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-04-07}} {{cite news | first=Clarence | last=Page | title=Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question | date=[[February 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | work=Houston Chronicle | accessdate=2008-04-07 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308133020/www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}}</ref> Film critic [[David Ehrenstein]], writing in a March 2007 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "[[magical Negro]]" roles played by black actors in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] movies.<ref>Ehrenstein, David. "[http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail Obama the 'Magic Negro']", ''Los Angeles Times'', [[March 19]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-04-07]].</ref> 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. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."<ref>{{cite news | first=Les | last=Payne | title=In One Country, a Dual Audience | format=paid archive | date=[[August 19]] [[2007]] | url =http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/1322008241.html?dids=1322008241:1322008241&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Newsday | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> |
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Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, [[Eugene Robinson (journalist)|Eugene Robinson]] characterized him as "the personification of ''both-and''," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the [[culture war]]s" of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eugene | last=Robinson | title=The Moment for This Messenger? | date=[[March 13]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031200983.html | work =The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | last=Senior | first=Jennifer | title=Dreaming of Obama | date=[[October 2]] [[2006]] | work=New York Magazine| url=http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/politics/21681/index.html |accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> Obama, who defines himself in ''The Audacity of Hope'' as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized by [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] commentator [[David Sirota]] for demonstrating too much "Senate clubbiness", and was encouraged to run for the U.S. presidency by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] columnist [[George Will]].<ref>Obama (2006), p. 10. Sirota wrote that Obama's [[advice and consent|confirmation]] of [[Condoleezza Rice]] as Secretary of State and his reluctant support of a Senate [[filibuster]] opposing President Bush's [[Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Samuel Alito]] to the U.S. Supreme Court may disappoint "those who see him as a bold challenger of the system".{{cite news | first=David | last=Sirota | title=Mr. Obama Goes to Washington | date=[[June 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/sirota | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-04-07}}{{cite news | first=George F | last=Will | title=Run Now, Obama | date=[[December 14]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301901.html | work=The Washington Post | accessdate=2008-04-07}} Other praise by conservative media:{{cite web|url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/01/bainbridge-asks.html|title=The Daily Dish}} conservative commentator [[Andrew Sullivan]] defends his praise for Obama, theatlantic.com, January 2008 [http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/washwatch_4.htm Washington Watch: Obama's fund-raising record reveals weakness of Hillary's campaign] Conservative editor [[Jeffrey T. Kuhner]] praises Obama.</ref> But in a December 2006 ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," [[Ronald Reagan]] speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] advised Will and other "[[The Establishment|establishment]]" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=The Man From Nowhere|date=[[December 15]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110009388 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: {{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=Out With the Old, In With the New | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110011083 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK | format=paid archive | date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1353513781.html?dids=1353513781:1353513781&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+4%2C+2007&author=Mike+Dorning | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-04-07}} See also: {{cite news | first=Toby | last=Harnden | title=Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide | date=[[October 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/12/wobama112.xml | work=Daily Telegraph | accessdate=2008-04-07}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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==Notes== |
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* |
* Mendell, David. ''<span class="plainlinks">[http://www.harpercollins.com/book/index.aspx?isbn=9780060858209 Obama: From Promise to Power]</span>'', Amistad/[[HarperCollins]], 2007. ISBN 0-06-085820-6. |
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* |
* Obama, Barack. ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'', Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3 |
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* |
* Obama, Barack. ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9. |
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==Further reading== |
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* [http://obama.senate.gov/ Barack Obama U.S. Senator for Illinois] (U.S. Senate office) |
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* [http://www.barackobama.com/ Obama '08—BarackObama.com] (2008 U.S. presidential campaign) |
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Revision as of 21:09, 19 June 2008
Template:Redirect4 Template:FixHTML
Barack Obama | |
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United States Senator from Illinois | |
Assumed office January 4 2005 Serving with Richard Durbin | |
Preceded by | Peter Fitzgerald |
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13 district | |
In office January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004 | |
Preceded by | Alice J. Palmer |
Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul |
Personal details | |
Born | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | August 4, 1961
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Michelle Obama (m. 1992) |
Children | Malia Ann (b. 1998), Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001) |
Residence(s) | (Kenwood), Chicago, Illinois |
Alma mater | Occidental College, Columbia University, Harvard Law School |
Profession | Attorney |
Signature | |
Website | Barack Obama - U.S. Senator for Illinois |
| ||
---|---|---|
Pre-presidency 44th President of the United States First term Second term Post-presidency Publications Personal |
||
Template:FixHTML Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August 4 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and the first African American presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the upcoming 2008 U.S. presidential election. He married Michelle Obama in 1992 and has two daughters. Obama has written two books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and a personal commentary on U.S. politics titled The Audacity of Hope.
A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. From 1992 to 2004, he also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. 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 winning a landslide 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 cosponsored 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. In the current 110th Congress, he has sponsored legislation regarding 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 war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.
Early life and career
Obama was born on August 4 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr., of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kansas.[1] His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.[2] They separated when he was two years old and later divorced.[3] After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old.[1] He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's family while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.[4] Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[5] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[6]
Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked at Business International Corporation and New York Public Interest Research Group before moving to Chicago in 1985 to take a job as a community organizer.[7][8] He entered Harvard Law School in 1988.[9] His election in 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported.[10] Obama graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, then returned to Chicago where he headed a voter registration drive and began writing his first book, Dreams from My Father, a memoir published in 1995.[11]
Between 1993 and 2002, Obama served on the board the Woods Fund of Chicago, a philanthropic organization providing grants to Chicago's disadvantaged people and communities.[12] In 1999 he was joined on the board by Bill Ayers, who had previously hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 1996.[12] His tenuous association with Ayers would later draw scrutiny during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.[13]
Obama taught constitutional law part-time at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.[14]
Obama worked as an associate attorney with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2002. After 1996, he worked at the firm only during the summer, when the Illinois Senate was not in session.[15] Obama worked on cases where the firm represented community organizers, pursued discrimination claims, and on voting rights cases. He also spent time on real estate transactions, filing incorporation papers and defending clients against minor lawsuits.[16] Mostly he drew up briefs, contracts, and other legal documents as a junior associate on legal teams.[16] Obama also did some work on taxpayer-supported building rehabilitation loans for Rezmar Corp.,[17] half-owned by Tony Rezko, who later raised approximately $250,000 for Obama's various political campaigns.[18] In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for political corruption charges and the case was brought to trial in March 2008.[19] Obama has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.[20]
State legislature
Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.[21] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.[22] He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[23] 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 detained.[23]
Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.[24] In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.[25][26]
In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[27] During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.[28] He was criticized by rival pro-choice candidates in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for a series of "present" or "no" votes on late-term abortion and parental notification issues.[29] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.[30]
U.S. Senate campaign
In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.[31] Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.[32] In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes.[33] However, Hull's popularity declined following reports of his ex-wife's allegations of domestic abuse.[34] Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois.[35] He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.[36]
Obama's opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.[37] 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.[38] A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.[39] Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts.[40] In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.[41]
In July 2004, he wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.[42] After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."[43] Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.[44]
U.S. Senate career
Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4 2005.[45] Though a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.[46] He hired Pete Rouse, a 30-year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, as his chief of staff, and economist Karen Kornbluh, former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, as his policy director.[47] He recruited Samantha Power, author on human rights and genocide, and former Clinton administration officials Anthony Lake and Susan Rice as foreign policy advisers.[48]
The Senate historian lists Obama as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.[49] He is the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[50] CQ Weekly, a nonpartisan publication, characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007, and the National Journal ranked him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment of selected votes during 2007.[51][52] Asked about the Journal's characterization of his voting record, Obama expressed doubts about the survey's methodology, blaming "old politics" labeling of political positions as "conservative" or "liberal" for creating predispositions that prevent problem-solving.[53]
Legislation
Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform. In 2005, he cosponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Republican John McCain of Arizona.[54] He later added three amendments to the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the House of Representatives.[55] In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border.[56] President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."[57]
Partnering with Republican Senators Richard Lugar of Indiana and then Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar-Obama" expanded the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines.[59] The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine launched in December 2007 and run by the Office of Management and Budget.[60] After Illinois residents complained of waste water contamination by a neighboring nuclear plant, Obama sponsored legislation requiring plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks.[61] A compromise version of the bill was subsequently blocked by partisan disputes and later reintroduced.[62] 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.[63]
In January 2007, Obama worked with Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress and require disclosure of bundled campaign contributions under the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act," which was signed into law in September 2007.[64] He introduced S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections.[65] Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with McCain of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production.[66] Obama also introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007," a bill to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.[67]
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for an official review following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.[68] He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, and joined Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in introducing legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism.[69][70] A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.[70] Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.[71] The legislation passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, but was blocked from becoming law by President Bush in October 2007.[72]
Committees
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006.[74] In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.[75] He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs.[76]
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama has 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 terrorist attacks.[77] Following meetings with U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, he visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. At a meeting with Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the legislative election, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."[78] He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad. In a speech at the University of Nairobi, he spoke about political corruption and ethnic rivalries.[79] The speech touched off controversy among Kenyan leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.[80]
Presidential campaign
Template:Future election candidate
In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[82] Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 House Divided 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."[83] Speaking at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to negative campaigning.[84] Since announcing his presidential campaign Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as his top three priorities.[85]
Obama's campaign raised US$58 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.[86] Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate.[87] In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.[88] Amidst concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned Secret Service protection to Obama 18 months before the general election.[89]
With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.[90] Campaigning in Iowa, he told The Washington Post that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from independent and Republican voters in the general election.[91] Among the first four DNC-sanctioned state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina while winning an equal number in New Hampshire; Clinton, however, won the popular vote in Nevada and New Hampshire.[92] His win in Iowa was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers, while blacks turned away from Clinton after perceived attempts by Clinton to label Obama as a racial candidate.[93] Trailing Clinton nationally by 20% heading into the February Super Tuesday, he eliminated that lead and emerged with another 20 more delegates than Clinton.[94] He broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising more than $90 million for his primary campaign while Clinton raised $45 million in the same period.[95] After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses.[96] He then won the Vermont primary and the caucus portion of Texas primary and caucuses, but lost the Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas primary elections to Clinton.[97]
In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama's former pastor of 23 years, Jeremiah Wright.[98] After ABC News broadcast clips of his racially and politically charged sermons,[98][99] Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks and ending Wright's relationship with the campaign.[100] Obama delivered a speech, during the controversy, entitled "A More Perfect Union"[101] that addressed issues of race. After Wright reiterated some of his remarks in a speech at the National Press Club,[102] Obama strongly denounced Wright, who he said "[presented] a world view that contradicts who I am and what I stand for."[103] Obama resigned from Trinity on May 31, 2008, after Catholic priest Michael Pfleger gave a guest oratory that disparaged Hillary Clinton. Obama stated his resignation was to avoid an impression that he endorsed the entire range of opinions expressed at that church.[104][105]
During April, May, and June, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota held primaries; Obama won North Carolina, Oregon, and Montana, and Clinton won the rest, with an aggregate result of Obama remaining ahead in pledged delegates after these contests. During the same period, Obama received endorsements from more superdelegates than did Clinton.[106] On May 31, the Democratic National Committee agreed to seat all of the Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing the delegate gap between the two Democrats and increasing the number of delegates needed to win the nomination.[107] On June 3, with all states counted, Obama passed the 2118 delegate mark and became the Democratic presumptive nominee.[108] On that day, he gave a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota, paying tribute to his rival Clinton, who suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.[109] Obama is the first African American to be the presumptive nominee of a major political party.[110]
Political positions
On the role of government in economic 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 upward mobility [...] we should be guided by what works."[111] Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with social Darwinism.[112] In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor.[113] Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA that he supports universal healthcare in the United States.[114]
Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.[116] Obama's campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.[117]
At the Tax Policy Center in September 2007, he blamed special interests for distorting the U.S. tax code.[118] His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut,[119] close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore tax havens, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the IRS.[120] Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.[121] Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no grandfathering of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.[122]
Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq.[123] On October 2, 2002, the day Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[124] Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally in Federal Plaza,[125] speaking out against it.[126]
On March 16, 2003, the day President Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq before the U.S. invasion of Iraq,[127] Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in Daley Plaza and told the crowd "It's not too late" to stop the war.[128]
Obama sought to make his early public opposition to the Iraq War before it started a major issue in his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign to distinguish himself from his Democratic primary rivals who supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[129] and in his 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign, to distinguish himself from four Democratic primary rivals who voted for the resolution authorizing the war (Senators Clinton, Edwards, Biden, and Dodd).[130]
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.[132] In a March 2007 speech to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action.[133] Detailing his strategy for fighting global terrorism in August 2007, Obama said "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity, even without the support of the Pakistani government.[134]
In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.[135] He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.[136] 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."[137]
Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicals and other religious people.[138] In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren.[139] Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.[140] He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" and not be ashamed of it.[141] Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway."[142] 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."[143]
Personal life
Obama met his wife, Michelle Robinson, in June 1989 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin.[144] Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date.[145] They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.[146] The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.[147]
Applying the proceeds of a $2 million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood.[149] The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of well-connected developer, and Obama supporter, Tony Rezko, provoking continued media scrutiny of Obama and his relationship with Rezko.[150] In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.[151] Their 2007 tax return showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from sales of his books.[152]
Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.[153] Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. "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 do not succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously."[154] Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook.[155] Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."[156]
In The Audacity of Hope, 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 stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." In the book, Obama explains how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."[157] He has been a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992.[158]
Books
Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published before his first run for political office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in Los Angeles and New York City, and his employment as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s. The book's last few chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his Luo family and heritage. In the 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."[159] In a 1995 review, novelist Paul Watkins wrote that Dreams "persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither."[160] The audiobook edition earned Obama the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album of 2006.[161]
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006 and soon rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller hardcover list.[162] The Chicago Tribune credits large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president.[163] Former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart said the book's self-portrayal 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."[164] 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."[165] In February 2008, he won a Grammy award for the spoken word edition of Audacity.[161] Foreign language editions of the book have been published in Italian, Spanish, German, French, Danish and Greek.[166] The Italian edition was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni,[167] former Mayor of Rome, currently leader of Italy's Democratic Party and one of Obama's earliest supporters overseas.[168]
Cultural and political image
Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral persona on whom people can project their personal histories and aspirations.[170] Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 New Yorker magazine article described as his "everyman" image.[171] In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.[172] Speaking to Jewish audiences during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked the linguistic root of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed."[173] 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."[174]
With his Kenyan father and American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his Ivy League 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 civil rights movement.[175] 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, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress."[176] Film critic David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 Los Angeles Times article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "magical Negro" roles played by black actors in Hollywood movies.[177] 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. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."[178]
Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 Washington Post opinion column, Eugene Robinson 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.[179] Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized by progressive commentator David Sirota for demonstrating too much "Senate clubbiness", and was encouraged to run for the U.S. presidency by conservative columnist George Will.[180] But in a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "establishment" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career.[181] 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."[182]
Notes
- ^ a b Scharnberg, Kirsten (March 25 2007). "The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) "Meet Barack". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13. See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1. - ^ Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see "Barack Obama: Creation of Tales". East African. November 1 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: Jones, Tim (March 27 2007). "Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Serafin, Peter (March 21 2004). "Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) See also: Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4. - ^ "Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83". Occidental College. January 29 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party?". Columbia College Today. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Scott, Janny (October 30 2007). "Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) Secter, Bob (March 30 2007). "Portrait of a Pragmatist". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13.{{cite news}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ Lizza, Ryan (March 19 2007). "The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education" (alternate link). New Republic. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) Obama (1995), pp. 135–139. - ^ Levenson, Michael (January 28 2007). "At Harvard Law, a Unifying Voice". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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suggested) (help) See also: Heilemann, John (October 22 2007). "When They Were Young". The New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Butterfield, Fox (February 6, 1990). "First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Ybarra, Michael J. (February 7, 1990). "Activist in Chicago now heads Harvard Law Review" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Matchan, Linda (February 15, 1990). "A Law Review breakthrough" (paid archive). The Boston Globe. p. 29. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Corr, John (February 27, 1990). "From mean streets to hallowed halls" (paid archive). The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C01. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Drummond, Tammerlin (March 12, 1990). "Barack Obama's Law; Harvard Law Review's first black president plans a life of public service" (paid archive). Los Angeles Times. p. E1. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Pugh, Allison J. (Associated Press) (April 18, 1990). "Law Review's first black president aims to help poor" (paid archive). The Miami Herald. p. C01. Retrieved 2008-05-02. See also: Kantor, Jodi (January 28, 2007). "In law school, Obama found political voice". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-05-02. Mendell (2007), pp. 80–92.
- ^ Kodama, Marie C (January 19 2007). "Obama Left Mark on HLS". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) See also: Obama (1995), p. xiii and Reynolds, Gretchen (January 1993). "Vote of Confidence". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13. - ^ a b Barman, Ari (May 1, 2008). "Obama Under the Weather". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
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(help) - ^ Curry, Tom (April 18, 2008). "Ex-radical Ayers in eye of campaign storm". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
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(help) - ^ Pallasch, Abdon M (February 12 2007). "Professor Obama was a Listener, Students Say". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ "Law Graduate Obama Got His Start in Civil Rights Practice". Associated Press. International Herald Tribune. February 19 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
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(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b Moran, Dan (2008-04-08). "Obama's lawyer days: brief and not all civil rights". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
- ^ "Obama and his Rezko ties". Associated Press. Chicago Sun-Times. April 23 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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(help) - ^ Staff writer (2008-03-14). "Obama: Rezko Raised Up to $250K". Associated Press. Newsvine. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Courtroom Wire: Notes From Tony Rezko's Corruption Trial". FOXNews. April 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
{{cite news}}
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missing|last=
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ignored (help) - ^ "Witness: Obama attended Rezko party". Associated Press. MSNBC.com. April 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
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(help) - ^ Jackson, David (April 3 2007). "Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) White, Jesse (2001). "Legislative Districts of Cook County, 1991 Reapportionment". Illinois Blue Book 2001-2002. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. pp. p. 65.{{cite book}}
:|pages=
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|chapterurl=
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suggested) (help)State Sen. District 13 = State Rep. Districts 25 & 26. - ^ Slevin, Peter (February 9 2007). "Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) Helman, Scott (September 23 2007). "In Illinois, Obama Dealt with Lobbyists". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: "Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics". Associated Press. CBS News. January 17 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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(help) "In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career" (video). CLTV. Chicago Tribune. February 9, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ a b Scott, Janny (July 30 2007). "In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) See also: Pearson, Rick (May 3 2007). "Careful Steps, Looking Ahead". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ "13th District: Barack Obama". Illinois State Senate Democrats. August 24 2000. Archived from the original (archive) on 2000-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) "13th District: Barack Obama". Illinois State Senate Democrats. October 9 2004. Archived from the original (archive) on 2004-08-02. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Federal Elections 2000: U.S. House Results - Illinois". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2008-04-24.. See also: "Obama's Loss May Have Aided White House Bid". and Scott, Janny (September 9 2007). "A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) - ^ McClelland, Edward (February 12 2007). "How Obama Learned to Be a Natural". Salon. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) See also: Wolffe, Richard (July 16 2007). "Across the Divide". Newsweek. MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) Helman, Scott (October 12 2007). "Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) and "Obama learned from failed Congress run". - ^ Calmes, Jackie (February 23 2007). "Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) - ^ Youngman, Sam (March 14 2007). "Obama's Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) See also: "US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms". Associated Press. International Herald Tribune. November 12 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Zorn, Eric (March 9 2004). "Disparagement of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help)"Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views". Associated Press. MSNBC. August 9 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Youngman, Sam (February 15 2007). "Abortion Foes Target Obama Because of His Vote Record on Illinois Legislation". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-20.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Coffee, Melanie (November 6 2004). "Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat". Associated Press. HPKCC. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
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(help) - ^ Helman, Scott (October 12 2007). "Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Davey, Monica (March 7 2004). "Closely Watched Illinois Senate Race Attracts 7 Candidates in Millionaire Range". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Mendell, David (March 17 2004). "Obama Routs Democratic Foes; Ryan Tops Crowded GOP Field". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Hayes, Christopher (March 17 2004). "Check Bounce" (alternate link). TNR Online. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Wallace-Wells, Ben (April 1 2007). "Obama's Narrator". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Davey, Monica (May 17 2004). "From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) See also: Jackson, John S (August 2006). "The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race" (PDF). Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. Southern Illinois University. Retrieved 2008-04-13. - ^ "Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois". CNN. June 25 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Lannan, Maura Kelly (August 9, 2004). "Alan Keyes Enters U.S. Senate Race in Illinois Against Rising Democratic Star". Associated Press. Union-Tribune (San Diego). Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ Liam, Ford (August 13, 2004). "Keyes Sets Up House in Cal City". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ For debate transcripts and video, see Alan Keyes Archives: "Alan Keyes and Barack Obama Debate, Hosted by Illinois Radio Network". October 12 2004.
{{cite web}}
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(help) "U.S. Senate Debate Sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Illinois". October 21 2004.{{cite web}}
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(help) "Debate Sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago". October 26 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13.{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois". CNN. Retrieved 2008-04-13. Slevin, Peter (November 13 2007). "For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) - ^ For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party?". Columbia College Today. Retrieved 2008-04-13. See also: Bernstein, David (June 2007). "The Speech". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Obama, Barack (July 27 2004). "Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention" (text or video). BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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- ^ Archibold, Randal C (July 29 2004). "The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
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(help) Roach, Ronald (October 7 2004). "Obama Rising". Black Issues In Higher Education. DiverseEducation.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "About Barack Obama". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Babington, Charles (December 8 2006). "For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) Dorning, Mike (September 17 2007). "Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Enda, Jodi (February 5 2006). "Great Expectations". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) Bacon Jr., Perry (August 27 2007). "The Outsider's Insider". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Traub, James (November 4 2007). "Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) King, Neil (September 5 2007). "Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) Sweet, Lynn (May 10 2007). "Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Breaking New Ground: African American Senators". U.S. Senate Historical Office. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Member Info". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved 2008-04-27. See also: Zeleny, Jeff (June 26 2005). "When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Nather, David (January 14 2008). "The Space Between Clinton and Obama". CQ Weekly. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) See also: Curry, Tom (February 21 2008). "What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007". National Journal. January 31 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Obama Interview" (transcript). WJLA-TV. Politico. February 12 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) See also: Toner, Robin (March 23 2008). "Obama's Promise of a New Majority". International Herald Tribune. also NYT version (published 2008-03-25). Retrieved 2008-04-30.{{cite news}}
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- ^ U.S. Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session (May 12 2005). "S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Immigration Bill Divides House, Senate". USA Today. September 22 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) See also: "Obama Statement on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform Bill". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. May 25 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence". CBS 2 (Chicago). November 20 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act". White House. October 26 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act". White House. September 26 2006.
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(help); Text "2008-04-27" ignored (help) - ^ "Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President". Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office. January 11 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) See also: Lugar, Richard G (December 3 2005). "Junkyard Dogs of War". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) The Lugar-Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding. "Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law". Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office. June 28 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ McCormack, John (December 21 2007). "Google Government Gone Viral". Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) See also: "President Bush Signs Coburn-Obama Transparency Act". Tom Coburn U.S. Senate Office. September 26 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite web}}
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(help) The site provides the name and location of each entity receiving a Federal award, the funding agency, and the amount of the grant or contract. "About This Site". USAspending.gov. Retrieved 2008-04-27. - ^ McIntire, Mike (February 3 2008). "Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Dobbs, Michael (February 14 2008). "Obama's 'Backroom Deal'?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Democratic Republic of the Congo". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. April 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27. "The IRC Welcomes New U.S. Law on Congo". International Rescue Committee. January 5 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Weixel, Nathaniel (November 15 2007). "Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) Weixel, Nathaniel (December 5 2007). "Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: "Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007". Federal Election Commission. September 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Stern, Seth (January 31 2007). "Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation". CQPolitics.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, 1st Session (January 31 2007). "S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite web}}
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) See also: "Honesty in Elections" (editorial). The New York Times. January 31 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ H. Josef, Hebert (January 29 2007). "Congress Begins Tackling Climate Issues". Associated Press. CBS News. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) Williamson, Elizabeth (January 10 2007). "The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still… Coal". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Krystin, E. Kasak (February 7 2007). "Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home". Medill News Service. The Times (Munster, Indiana). Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) "Latest Major Action: 1/30/2007 Referred to Senate committee." U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, 1st Session (January 30 2007). "S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite web}}
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action". Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office. October 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
{{cite web}}
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(help) See also: Dine, Philip (December 23 2007). "Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Graham-Silverman, Adam (September 12 2007). "Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran". CQ Today. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ a b "Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. December 20 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. August 2 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Stout, David (2007-10-03). "Bush Vetoes Children's Health Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-27. See also: "Reaction to Children's Health Veto". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Nunn-Lugar Report" (PDF). Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office. August 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ "Committee Assignments" (archive). Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Obama Gets New Committee Assignments". Associated Press. Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. November 15 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Baldwin, Tom (December 21 2007). "Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience". Sunday Times (UK). Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Larson, Christina (September 2006). "Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Goudie, Chuck (January 12, 2006). "Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor". WJLS-TV. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud". News24.com. August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) - ^ Wamalwa, Chris (September 2, 2006). "Envoy Hits at Obama Over Graft Remark". The Standard (Nairobi). Retrieved 2008-04-27.
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(help) Moracha, Vincent (September 4, 2006). "Leaders Support Obama on Graft Claims". The Standard (Nairobi). Retrieved 2008-04-27.{{cite news}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ For other photos of this event, see: "Presidential Campaign Announcement" (photo gallery). Barack Obama, Flickr. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ "Obama Launches Presidential Bid". BBC News. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) Video at Brightcove.TV. - ^ "Presidential Campaign Announcement" (video). Obama for America. Brightcove.TV. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ "Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting" (video). Democratic National Committee. February 2 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) Full text from CQ Transcripts Wire. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. See also: Harris, Paul (February 4 2007). "The Obama Revolution". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-14. See also: Falcone, Michael (December 21 2007). "Obama's 'One Thing'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
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(help) - ^ Malone, Jim (July 2 2007). "Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination". Voice of America. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Cummings, Jeanne (September 26 2007). "Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook". Politico. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Cadei, Emily (February 21 2008). "Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising". CQ Politics. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
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(help) - ^ Kennedy, Helen (May 4 2007). "Obama Gets Earliest-Ever Secret Service Detail". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Newton-Small, Jay (October 28 2007). "Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help)
Nagourney, Adam (October 28 2007). "Obama Rolls Out Aggressive Approach to Clinton's Campaign". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Balz, Dan (November 9 2007). "On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Iowa". CNN. January 5 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
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(help)
"Election Center 2008: Primary Results for South Carolina". CNN. January 22 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11.{{cite news}}
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(help)
"Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire". CNN. January 10 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help)
"Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Nevada". CNN. January 22 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Johann Hari (March 13 2008). "Johann Hari: What wouldn't Clinton do to secure power?". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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(help) See also: "Entrance Polls: Iowa". CNN. January 3 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-18.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Melanye T. Price (March 16 2008). "What Obama Means" (paid archive). Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2008-03-18.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Montgomery, James (January 4 2008). "Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus Wins Are Largely Thanks To Young Voters". MTV. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ "2008 Democratic Delegates". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ Dan Morain (March 7 2008). "Obama sets fundraising record with $55 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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(help) - ^ Brian Knowlton (February 21 2008). "Make That 11 for Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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(help) - ^ "Results: March 4 - Multi-State Events". CNN. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ a b Brian Ross (March 13 2008). "Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
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ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) See also: Sullivan, Andrew (March 16 2008). "For The Record". The Daily Dish. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2008-03-18.{{cite news}}
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(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Jeff Goldblatt (March 14 2008). "Obama's Pastor's Sermon: 'God Damn America'". FOXNews. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
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(help) - ^ Johnson, Alex (2008-03-14). "Controversial minister leaves Obama campaign". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ Barack Obama (March 18 2008). "Remarks by Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
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(help) - ^ "Reverend Wright at the National Press Club". CQ Transcriptions. The New York Times. April 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
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(help) - ^ "Obama denounces former pastor". The Associated Press. MSNBC.com. April 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
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(help) - ^ "Obama resigns from controversial church". CNN. May 31 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
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(help) - ^ "Obama quits church after long controversy". MSNBC. June 1 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
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(help) - ^ "Superdelegates put Obama within reach". The Associated Press. MSNBC.com. May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
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(help) - ^ "Clinton Wins Puerto Rico Primary". The Associated Press. Free Internet Press. June 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
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(help) - ^ "Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee - CNN.com". Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff and Michael Luo (2008-06-04). "Obama Clinches Nomination". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
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(help) - ^ John Whitesides in Washington. "Obama clinches nomination". Retrieved 2008-06-06.
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- ^ Franklin, Ben A (June 1 2005). "The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon". Washington Spectator. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ Zeleny, Jeff (September 12 2005). "Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Pickler, Nedra (January 25 2007). "Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years". Associated Press. Union-Tribune (San Diego). Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. Tumulty, Karen (May 29 2007). "Obama Channels Hillary on Health Care". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: "Creating a Healthcare System that Works". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14. - ^ "Rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC" (video). Obama for America. Brightcove.TV. August 23 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
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(help) - ^ Schoenberg, Shira (November 21 2007). "Obama Shares School Plan". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Davis, Teddy (November 20 2007). "Obama Bucks Party Line on Education". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama". Tax Policy Center. September 18 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ "Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy". CBS. August 13 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
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(help) - ^ "Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings". CNN. September 18 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Zeleny, Jeff (October 9 2007). "Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Barack Obama. "The Blueprint for Change: Barack Obama's plan for America" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ^ Strausberg, Chinta (September 26 2002). "Opposition to war mounts" (paid archive). Chicago Defender. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) - ^ Office of the Press Secretary (October 2 2002). "President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution". The White House. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
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(help) Tackett, Michael (October 3 2002). "Bush, House OK Iraq deal; Congress marches with Bush" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Glauber, Bill (October 3 2002). "War protesters gentler, but passion still burns" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) Strausberg, Chinta (October 3 2002). "War with Iraq undermines U.N." Chicago Defender. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03.{{cite news}}
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(help) Bryant, Greg (October 2 2002). "300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq". Medill News Service. Retrieved 2008-02-03.{{cite news}}
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(help) Katz, Marilyn (October 2 2007). "Five Years Since Our First Action". Chicagoans Against War & Injustice. Retrieved 2008-02-17.{{cite web}}
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(help) Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177. - ^ Obama, Barack (October 2 2002). "Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) - ^ Office of the Press Secretary (March 16 2003). "President Bush: Monday "Moment of Truth" for World on Iraq". The White House. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
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(help) Associated Press (March 17 2003). "'Moment of truth for the world'; Bush, three allies set today as final day for Iraq to disarm or face massive military attack" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Ritter, Jim (March 17 2003). "Anti-war rally here draws thousands" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) - ^ McCormick, John (July 14 2003). "Senate hopefuls abound for '04; Forum attracts 9 for Fitzgerald post" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1 (Metro section). Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help) Chase, John; Mendell, David (January 23 2004). "Senate candidates divided over Iraq; 5 Democrats hit Bush on policy" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1 (Metro section). Retrieved 2008-02-03.{{cite news}}
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ McCormick, John; Dorning, Mike (October 3 2007). "Obama marks '02 war speech - Contender highlights his early opposition in effort to distinguish him from his rivals" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hunt, Kasie (May 1 2006). "Celebrities, Activists Rally Against Darfur Genocide". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) For excerpts from Obama's speech, see: "More Must Be Done in Darfur". The Hill. April 30 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ For audio and text, see: Obama, Barack (November 20 2006). "A Way Forward in Iraq". Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) - ^ Obama, Barack (March 2 2007). "AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
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(help) For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: Mendell, David (September 25 2004). "Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Obama Warns Pakistan on Al-Qaeda". BBC News. August 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) For video and text of the speech, see: "Policy Address on Terrorism by The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. August 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-30.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) For details of the aborted 2005 military operation, see Mazzetti, Mark (July 8 2007). "Rumsfeld Called Off 2005 Plan to Capture Top Qaeda Figures". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Obama, Barack (December 27 2005). "Policy Adrift on Darfur". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) Doyle, Jim (May 1 2006). "Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Kuhnhenn, Jim (May 17 2007). "Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings". Associated Press. SFGate.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) Obama, Barack (August 30 2007). "Hit Iran Where It Hurts". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Obama, Barack (July–August 2007). "Renewing American Leadership". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ Lerner, Michael (July 3 2006). "U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia". Tikkun Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) "Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address". Beliefnet. June 28 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Gibson, Manda (June 28 2006). "At Global AIDS Summit, Churches Challenged to Take the Lead". PurposeDriven.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Screaming Crowds Welcome U.S. Senator 'Home'". CNN. August 27, 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama, Barack (December 1 2006). "Race Against Time—World AIDS Day Speech". Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups". Christian Newswire Press Release. November 28 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Van Biema, David (December 1 2006). "The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked'". Associated Press. CBS News. June 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
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(help) See also: Brody, David (July 30 2007). "Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2008-01-14.{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: Brown, Sarah (December 7 2005). "Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
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(help) Tucker, Eric (March 1 2007). "Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama". Associated Press. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-04-28.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama (2006), p. 329.
- ^ Fornek, Scott (October 3 2007). "Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: "Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ "Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August—1 September 2006" (video). Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa. YouTube. February 6 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Zeleny, Jeff (December 24 2005). "The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
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(help) - ^ Slevin, Peter (December 17 2006). "Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Obama's Money". CNNMoney.com. December 7 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
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(help) See also: Goldfarb, Zachary A (March 24 2007). "Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-28.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Zelany, Jeff (April 17 2008). "Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Kantor, Jodi (June 1 2007). "One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
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(help) See also: "The Love of the Game" (video). HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. YouTube (BarackObama.com). April 15 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-28.{{cite news}}
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- ^ Parsons, Christi (February 6 2007). "Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
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(help) - ^ "Questions for the Candidates". Associated Press. USA Today. May 15 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess". Associated Press. CNN. September 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: Obama, Barack (October 23 2006). "My Spiritual Journey". Time. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Obama denounces former pastor". The Associated Press. MSNBC.com. April 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama (1995), p. vii.
- ^ Taylor, Ihsan (August 29 2004). "New & Noteworthy Paperbacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
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(help) - ^ a b "Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book". Associated Press. KVOA.com. February 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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(help) - ^ Bosman, Julie (November 9 2006). "Obama's New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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(help) The paperback edition currently ranks fourth on The New York Times nonfiction list. "Best Sellers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06. - ^ Dorning, Mike (June 12 2007). "Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Hart, Gary (December 24 2006). "American Idol". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
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(help) - ^ Tomasky, Michael (November 30 2006). "The Phenomenon". New York Review of Books. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Malkoutzis, Nick (March 27 2008). "Obama's Audacious Vision". Kathimerini English Edition. International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "L'audacia della speranza" (in Italian). Libreria Rizzoli. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "Il politico prevale sull' amministratore" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. April 30 2005. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
{{cite web}}
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(help) See also: Tracy Wilkinson (February 25 2008). "Obama's European counterparts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Slater, Wayne (February 24 2007). "Obama Reels in Austin Crowd". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Elliott, Philip (May 28, 2007). "Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too". Associated Press. Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Enda, Jodi (February 5 2006). "Great Expectations". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) See also: Graff, Garrett M (November 1 2006). "The Legend of Barack Obama". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) Podhoretz, John (December 12 2006). "Obama: Rorschach Candidate". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Finnegan, William (24 May 2004). "The Candidate: How the Son of a Kenyan Economist Became an Illinois Everyman". New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) See also: Tilove, Jonathan (February 8 2007). "In Obama Candidacy, America Examines Itself". Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ 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 Truman, see: Nitkin, David (March 2 2007). "A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) Jordan, Mary (May 13 2007). "Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) "Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises". Associated Press. CBS 2 (Chicago). September 8 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Brackman, Harold (March 9 2007). "Obama and the Jews". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First". The Oprah Winfrey Show. October 18 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (November 2004). "The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama?". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-04-07. See also: Scott, Janny (December 28, 2007). "A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) - ^ Dickerson, Debra J (January 22 2007). "Colorblind". Salon. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite news}}
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(help) For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: Younge, Gary (posted October 27 2006 (November 13 2006 issue)). "Obama: Black Like Me". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) Crouch, Stanley (November 2 2006). "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) Washington, Laura (January 1 2007). "Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) Page, Clarence (February 25 2007). "Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Ehrenstein, David. "Obama the 'Magic Negro'", Los Angeles Times, March 19 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ Payne, Les (August 19 2007). "In One Country, a Dual Audience" (paid archive). Newsday. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Robinson, Eugene (March 13 2007). "The Moment for This Messenger?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) See also: Senior, Jennifer (October 2 2006). "Dreaming of Obama". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Obama (2006), p. 10. Sirota wrote that Obama's confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and his reluctant support of a Senate filibuster opposing President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court may disappoint "those who see him as a bold challenger of the system".Sirota, David (June 26 2006). "Mr. Obama Goes to Washington". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help)Will, George F (December 14 2006). "Run Now, Obama". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) Other praise by conservative media:"The Daily Dish". conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan defends his praise for Obama, theatlantic.com, January 2008 Washington Watch: Obama's fund-raising record reveals weakness of Hillary's campaign Conservative editor Jeffrey T. Kuhner praises Obama. - ^ Noonan, Peggy (December 15 2006). "The Man From Nowhere". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: Noonan, Peggy (January 4 2008). "Out With the Old, In With the New". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Dorning, Mike (October 4 2007). "Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
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(help) See also: Harnden, Toby (October 15 2007). "Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-04-07.{{cite news}}
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(help)
- Cited works
- Mendell, David. Obama: From Promise to Power, Amistad/HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN 0-06-085820-6.
- Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3
- Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.
Further reading
- Curry, Jessica. "Barack Obama: Under the Lights", Chicago Life, Fall 2004. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1 2006. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", GQ, September 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- Mundy, Liza. "A Series of Fortunate Events", The Washington Post Magazine, August 12 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- Wallace-Wells, Ben. "Destiny's Child", Rolling Stone, February 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
- Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", Chicago Reader, December 8, 1995. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
External links
- Official sites
- Barack Obama U.S. Senator for Illinois (U.S. Senate office)
- Obama '08—BarackObama.com (2008 U.S. presidential campaign)
- Congressional links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Site directory